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    Kansas casinos have $673 million impact on state’s economy, study says

    December 10, 2014

    he three state-owned casinos in Kansas contributed $673 million to the state’s economy and supported approximately 4,000 jobs in 2013,according to a study commissioned by the casino industry’s top trade association.

    The impact included about $148 million in total labor income and about $193 million in total tax revenue, according to the study.

    It was conducted by Oxford Economics, based in Oxford, England, on behalf of the American Gaming Association, which represents casino operators and manufacturers. Kansas was one of 23 states examined in detail. Some of the state studies have yet to be released.

    The state studies expand on the AGA’s national “Get to Know Gaming” campaign intended to promote the benefits of casino gambling. Casinos nationally injected $240 billion into the economy and supported about 1.7 million jobs, Oxford researchers said.

    In states with a similar number of casinos, Kansas’ $673 million impact ranked between Delaware’s $726 million from three casinos, and New Mexico’s $382.8 million from five casinos.

    “It was a big number, even given the relative infancy of the industry in Kansas,” said Chris Moyer, director of media relations for the AGA. “When we looked at the report for each state, even we were surprised to see just how large the industry is and how wide-ranging the impact is.”

    The three casinos included in the Kansas study are the Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City, which opened in 2009; the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane, which opened in December 2011, and the Hollywood Casino in Kansas City, which opened in February 2012.

    The Kansas Lottery is accepting applications until Dec. 19 for a fourth casino, to be built in southeast Kansas.

    Analysts estimated direct, indirect as well as induced economic impacts from the casinos. Indirect impacts include the hiring of third-party entities such as cleaning, food and equipment services by the casinos. Induced impacts come from employees spending their wages in the state’s economy for things like rent, transportation and food.

    The $673 million total impact in 2013 included $415.7 million in direct output, $117.8 million in indirect output and $139.2 million in induced output.

    The study found that the three Kansas casinos provided more than 2,200 direct jobs, including about 1,900 casino jobs and nearly 400 jobs associated with ancillary spending, which includes purchases by casino patrons at retailers and businesses outside the casino as well as businesses operated by third parties inside the casinos.

    The casinos generated about 800 indirect jobs and 1,000 induced jobs, researchers said.

    The study also said that without the 4,000 casino-related jobs, the unemployment rate in Kansas would rise from 4.8 percent to 5.3 percent.

    Total direct labor income was about $92 million, while income from indirect labor was $27 million, and income from induced labor was $29 million, the study said.

    Oxford analysts surveyed casinos and used data from federal, state and private sources in their estimates. The study doesn’t say how much of the economic impact from the casinos came from out-of-state visitors or from money that was reallocated within the state.

    Researchers didn’t include the state’s Native-American casinos, or slots and video lottery terminals in bars and other non-casino locations.

    Total revenues at the three state-owned Kansas casinos in 2013 amounted to nearly $391 million, including $365 million in gaming revenue and about $26 million in non-gaming revenue, the study said.

    The tax impact from the casinos included $43 million in state and local taxes, $50 million in federal taxes and $99 million in gaming taxes, the study said.

    State and local taxes include $17 million in sales taxes, $5 million in personal income taxes and $15 million in property taxes, according to the study.

    The federal tax impact included $14 million in personal income taxes, $8 million in corporate taxes and $24 million in Social Security taxes.

    The study claimed that without the total tax impact from the casinos, households in Kansas would pay an average of $173 more in taxes each year.


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