Latest Weather Blog
Texas hold up: Louisiana's reliance on out-of-state visitors for gaming revenue
Related Story
BATON ROUGE - In the United States last year, $14.67 billion in tax revenue came from commercial gaming. In Louisiana, the hub for gaming is in Lake Charles.
Paul Stone is a Texas-based sports betting podcaster who spends much of his time in Shreveport.
"Casino gambling generates a lot of revenue, and it's all about proximity and convenience," Stone said. “It's just a two-hour drive east to Lake Charles on I-10, a really easy drive, and then up the state, Dallas is just about three hours east to Shreveport, Bossier City.”
Land-based casinos and sports betting are not legal in Texas. For the past couple of years, the Texas legislature has tried passing a series of constitutional amendments to expand gaming.
In 2023, several Texas lawmakers tried to establish destination resort casinos. At the time, the Texas House came up with 101 votes, technically passing it to the Senate.
"It did not get to the Texas Senate, and much of that is due to the opposition of any form of the expansion of gambling by the state's lieutenant governor, who is very powerful in our state," Stone said.
Dan Patrick, the Texas lieutenant governor, has said publicly that he’s not interested in expanding gaming after polling members of the House and Senate.
The Las Vegas Sands Casino empire, the Adleson family, and the new owners of the Dallas Mavericks are pushing for resort-style casinos in major metropolitan areas in Texas, such as Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Corpus Christi.
“They're involved for the third straight session and have employed a murderer's row of lobbyists,” Stone said. “They're putting on the full-court press as much as they know it’s an uphill battle.”
Unlike Louisiana legislature, the Texas legislature only meets every two years. To legalize gambling in the Lone Star State, two-thirds of its House and Senate would have to agree and it would require voter approval.
In fiscal year 2022 to 2023, Louisiana land-based casinos grossed about $260 million, according to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. That money goes into the state general fund, and from there it’s up to lawmakers. For the most part, the money goes towards education, health care, transportation, and infrastructure, according to State Sen. Jeremy Stine, R-Lake Charles.
Stine said that in his hometown, gaming has become the financial backbone of the city. The state general fund is broken up based on the needs of the state. For 2026, Gov. Jeff Landry's current budget has K-12 education getting about 34.6 percent and health care getting about 26 percent. Those amounts are subject to change before lawmakers approve it.
"It truly has helped us rebound after hurricanes Laura and Delta, and so those casino markets are vitally important," Stine said.
The petrochemical industry put Lake Charles on the map in the 1950s, but outgoing Mayor Nic Hunter said that when casinos started popping up in the 1990s, it was a game changer.
“Gaming has meant a lot to this community,” Hunter said.
Lake Charles has three resort-style casinos: Golden Nugget, L'Auberge and Horseshoe Casino. Lake Charles casinos make more money than those of any other Louisiana city, according to the Gaming Control Board, which Stine acknowledged is a surprise to most people.
"You wouldn't think it, but we're two hours away from Houston,” Stine said. “We're the largest gaming market for the entire state of Louisiana. It also employs thousands of people in our area and southwest Louisiana, and thousands of people across Louisiana."
In 2023, visitors spent about $245 million in Lake Charles, compared to about $95 million in Shreveport and Baton Rouge.
On Friday nights in Lake Charles is swarmed by visitors driving in from Texas, packing parking lots. From 2017 to 2023, nearly 70 percent of Lake Charles casino visitors were from out of state, compared to 64 percent for Shreveport, and 15 percent for Baton Rouge.
Folks who live and work in Lake Charles say they benefit from the attention. Boat captain Chase Rains runs a fishing charter and says the influx of guests helps out all local industries.
"There are Texas license plates everywhere, which we like,” Rains said. “I feel like without the Texas help, it would kind of peter out. I'm hoping it doesn't go to Texas with the gambling.”
Hurricanes Laura and Delta devastated Lake Charles five years ago. Rains described washing his family’s dirty clothes on his tug boat and bringing them back home.
“Laura destroyed everything here,” Rains said.
Since the hurricanes, the coastal Louisiana town has had to do a ton of rebuilding, and Hunter said the money made from casinos goes right back into the local economy and infrastructure, paying for equipment.
“This is cliché because I say it so much, but when people see a new fire truck in Lake Charles, they can thank gaming revenue for that,” Hunter said. "If you had to go a year without buying a fire truck, it’s a lot different than having to lay off employees or not be able to make your payroll."
If visitors start visiting Texas casinos instead of Lake Charles casinos, Hunter said, the city will see lasting consequences.
“It's not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when Texas gets gaming,” Hunter said. "We have had some pretty blunt and honest conversations with our local casinos about this prospect."
Hunter has encouraged local casinos to create attractions that can’t be replicated in cities like Houston. City hall has tossed around the idea of providing water taxis to downtown Lake Charles or the lakefront. Economically, the city has been saving up, setting aside enough casino money every year so that in eight to 10 years, they’ll have a full year’s revenue in reserve.
“When that first year of Texas gaming hits . . . we will have a full year of reserve there that we can kind of live off of and understand what that impact is going to be," Hunter said.
In Baton Rouge, the discussion of Louisiana's worst case scenario arises every two years when the Texas legislature heads back to session. Stine said it’s time for the legislature and local officials to get around the table and figure out how to supplement lost revenue and jobs.
This year, the Texas legislature has two proposals - one to legalize casinos and another for sports book gambling.
About a dozen conservative Texas lawmakers have publicly committed to blocking attempts to expand gambling of any kind.
Stone, the podcaster, said some people, including those in some churches and other groups concerned with the social consequences of gambling, will always oppose it in Texas. But they might not be the majority.
In February, the University of Houston conducted a study asking Texans if they support casino gaming. The researchers said their work shows that about 73 percent of Texas residents do.
Hunter said Louisiana needs to keep an eye on what's happening there.
“I would hope that Baton Rouge is taking it seriously because I believe Texas gaming is going to be here one day,” he said.
The proposed measures in Texas are believed to be unlikely to pass this year.
News
