A casino accustomed to pocketing the public’s cash from its one-armed bandits now claims it’s being robbed by a different bandit – the state of Illinois, according to a report in the Aurora
Beacon News.
 Hollywood Casino in Aurora, Illinois |
Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed legislation last week that would
tax Hollywood Casino’s revenues above $250 million at 70 percent, up from the present 50 percent.
Blagojevich and the Illinois Legislature, passed the two-year tax
increase in an attempt to plug a $5 billion deficit by bringing the state an additional $200 million annually.
Hollywood’s parent company, Penn National Gaming Inc. is now threatening to sue the state and challenge the constitutionality of Illinois’ tax structure.
The company’s CEO, Peter Carlino, also wrote a memo to employees, saying the casino, located in Aurora, Illinois, will have to cut its work force by 20 percent in an attempt to offset the revenue it expects to lose under the new law. It also plans to eliminate many table games and will be forced to charge patrons $5 just to walk through the door.
 |
”To be able to pay our bills, and to eventually retire our debt, it is essential for us to be able to recapture as much of the $30 million that has been stolen from us as best as we possibly can,” wrote
Carlino, according to the newspaper. ”We must look hard at every activity that occurs at our facility and decide whether it is profitable enough for us to continue with it.”
The memo says reduction in cash flow makes it impossible for Penn National to even meet the interest payments on the loan it used to buy the property earlier this year.
”We would not be able to retire $1 of the principal that we owe on our loan,” the newspaper quotes Carlino. ”It is clear that, if Penn National did not have other resources to make up these deficits, the
property would be in immediate foreclosure, and we would be bankrupt.”
Carlino said the industry never thought the state would again raise
casino taxes after going from 40 to 50 percent in 2002. That increase wiped out any additional profit from the $75 million the casino invested in renovating its facilities, reports the Beacon News.
”After last year, no one thought it was possible that this governor or
the Legislature would be crazy enough to do more damage,” Carlino said.
What is a woman? The answer in Genesis 2 worked for lots of years
Nin Privitera