BizJournals.com – For Jonathan Blue, the issue of expanded gaming in Kentucky isn’t about gambling. It’s about jobs.
Blue, the owner of Louisville-based Blue Equity LLC, spoke about the issue Tuesday morning during a meeting of ACG Kentucky at the Marriott Louisville Downtown.
As previously reported, Blue and attorneys Terry McBrayer and Ed Glasscock launched Kentucky Wins last month. It is a grassroots effort focused on allowing a public vote on expanded gaming.
Blue told the assembly of local deal makers and deal facilitators that allowing the creation of as many as seven casinos statewide would create up to 10,953 full-time equivalent jobs, with payroll of $289 million.
That doesn’t include the one-time employment boost from the construction jobs created in building the casinos, he said, or the indirect job creation that would result.
If one of those casinos is built in Louisville, as expected, the economic impact would be like landing a Fortune 500 company’s headquarters for the city — without paying any tax incentives, Blue said.
After the presentation, Jason Fackler pointed out to Blue that using his payroll numbers, the average jobs created would pay about $26,000, an amount low enough to qualify a person with a dependent child for some state assistance programs. He wondered if the state might be gaining tax revenue from casinos, only to have to pay it out in the form of assistance to casino employees.
