Good article in today’s Miami Herald about expanded casino gambling in Florida:
The promise of new jobs from gambling has been key to state lawmakers' decision to allow the games to become more high-stakes and widespread.
“This is like building the Hoover Dam during the Depression,'' Brunetti has said.Gambling opponents, however, say the industry isn't accounting for the sizable social costs of gaming — costs that ultimately make casinos a drain on local economies, not a boon.
So who's right?
There is some truth to both sides — which makes a precise cost/benefit analysis challenging. It's unquestionable that South Florida's new casinos have been on a hiring blitz, accounting for nearly 8,800 permanent casino jobs these days in Miami-Dade and Broward counties — more than triple the industry tally of six years ago. The hiring surge is all the more valuable because much of it came during Florida's recent period of record-high unemployment.
via Weighing the odds for gambling’s impact on South Florida – Business Monday – MiamiHerald.com.
There’s also a sidebar video interview with economist Doug Walker that’s pretty good.