Hawaii Back Again Looking at Gambling

KITV in Honolulu is reporting that Hawaii is again taking a look at legalized gambling. Joe Souki, a leglislator from Maui, introduced a bill to allow a single standalone gambling facility in Waikiki. Why? Money, naturally. Here's the key quote from Souki, "We have that great liability with the state Employee’s Retirement System that we need to take care of, and we have a health problem. We have an education problem. We have these needs. Nobody wants to raise taxes and we need the money."

Having a large, first class casino in Waikiki is a huge winner, in my opinion. The article points out the Hawaii Convention Center as a good option being that it is 15 years old and in need of a "facelift." Also, according to the center itself, bookings are down this year. A casino at that property should bring higher activity to the convention center as well as higher tourist numbers overall. Singapore materially benefitted from the two casino resorts opened a couple of years back. Waikiki already has the resort properties but doesn't have gambling.

I have previously posted on the great opportunity Hawaii has in regard to adding gambling to its overall hospitality offering. Those posts can be found here and here. With the increased attraction of Macao and Singapore due to gaming, Hawaii might need to do this just to keep up with other premier Pacific locations.