Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus, whose district includes the Las Vegas Strip, will continue to serve as co-chair of the Congressional Gaming Caucus for the 117th Congress.
The caucus, which was relaunched a year ago, includes more than 30 representatives from across the country and serves as a platform to discuss issues related to the U.S. gaming industry and inform policymakers about relevant regulatory and legislative matters.
The Committee on House Administration officially recognized Titus, a Las Vegas Democrat, and Republican Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania as the caucus’s co-chairs. Titus will also co-chair the Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus with Florida Republican Gus Bilirakis. The caucus covers more than 100 members.
“These bipartisan groups in the House will lead the way on crafting federal policy to boost the economy in regions that have disproportionately suffered due to the pandemic,” Titus said in a statement.
The American Gaming Association said last month it was seeking industry’s inclusion in the financial aid under the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package currently under consideration on Capitol Hill.
Also, two other pieces of federal legislation – a $2.25 billion measure to support tourism and travel markets, and a bill that offers tax credits and other incentives to boost the struggling nationwide convention and tradeshow market – would help in the gaming industry’s recovery.
“The renewal of the Congressional Gaming Caucus is a critical step for the industry as we navigate our recovery,” AGA CEO Bill Miller said on Twitter.
Titus said Las Vegas’ gaming and tourism markets were challenged throughout 2020 by the pandemic. On the Las Vegas Strip, gaming revenues declined 43.3% to $3.73 billion – the lowest overall total since 1996. Overall gaming revenues in downtown Las Vegas declined 32.2% to $464.2 million. Las Vegas tourism declined 55.2% to just over 19 million visitors.
“At a time when so many in Southern Nevada are struggling through no fault of their own, we certainly have our work cut out for us to bring back jobs in downtown Las Vegas and on the Strip,” Titus said in a statement. “I’m grateful to my colleagues for their continued support and I look forward to working across the aisle on these important issues.”
When the Gaming Caucus was reformed before than pandemic, Titus said one of the efforts was seeking an increase in the reporting threshold for slot machine jackpots and bingo winnings from $1,200 to $5,000, saying the figure is outdated.
The $1,200 reporting threshold was set in 1977 and has never been updated.
Miller expressed a continued push in that effort when he addressed the gaming industry’s plans for managing through what many expect to be a long recovery period of the gaming, tourism, and travel industries.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
