It looks like 2015 will be a not-so-happy new year for the Casino Queen, as the East St. Louis riverboat casino has laid off about 20 workers and managers due to declining revenue, according to President and General Manager Jeff Watson.
In addition, the casino has cut two hours of operation and is only open 20 hours a day, now closing from 4-8 a.m. “Eventually, we may not stay open even that long on a daily basis,” said Watson.
Casino Queen and other Illinois casinos have “crapped out” in recent years, due to a dramatic drop in electronic gaming resulting from the states’ legalization of video gambling in public places back in 2009.
That, combined with the 2008 smoking ban in Illinois, has driven down Illinois casino revenue, according to Illinois Casino Gaming Association Executive Director Tom Swoik.
For the City of East St. Louis, the struggles of the Casino Queen mean less money to run the struggling city government, which receives over one-third of its operating budget from the casino.
“That’s part of what gets new police cars. That’s part of what keeps police officers and firefighters on the streets and public works employees on the street here in East St. Louis,” said ESL Mayor Alvin Parks.
That’s a great sound bite, but too bad Mayor Parks didn’t think of that during his past two terms as mayor. Because, during that time, Parks’ administration has failed at attracting any major development, businesses or employers to bolster the tax revenues for the city.
As result, like a drug addict, ESL is financially dependent upon the Casino Queen for its very survival. And, as the Casino Queen goes, so goes the city of ESL.
The potential budget deficiencies would cause ESL to become an even more dangerous and service-less community, likely causing the population to decline even further as East Boogie becomes dangerously close to village status.
ESL Councilwoman Emeka Jackson-Hicks is gearing up her campaign to replace Parks as the next mayor of ESL, and this will be a major issue as she and businessman Courtney Hoffman II challenge Parks in the municipal elections in April.
What either one of them will do, that Parks has failed or been incapable of doing over the past eight years, remains to be seen. But I as well as ESL voters will want answers, especially as it pertains to attracting businesses, jobs and revitalization to East Boogie.
After eight years of rhetoric, photo-ops, grand schemes, “poli-tricks” and now, the economic anemia resulting from the Casino Queen, talk will be considered as cheaper than usual. We need concrete answers and concrete results, yesterday.
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com; Twitter@JamesTIngram.
