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Volume 4,
No.4 |
Riverboat
Helps Keep Small Community Afloat: How does one measure the impact of a new business on a community’s economy? By the increase in tax revenues? By the number of other new businesses and jobs generated? This article, which briefly examines these criteria in connection with the opening of a riverboat casino in Metropolis, Illinois, does not explore the social implications of casino gambling. Unemployment Rates Down;
Wages Up While unemployment statistics aren’t available for the city of Metropolis, they do exist for Massac County—and Metropolis accounts for about 80 percent of Massac County’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment. The following chart shows annual average unemployment rates as well as high and low rate levels in 1992 (just prior to the 1993 casino opening) and 1997. Average weekly wages for Massac County have increased steadily from $389 in 1993 to $511 in 1997, an increase of 31 percent. (Average weekly wages for the State of Illinois, though higher, increased 17 percent over the same period.)* Business Booms
In early 1993, Players Casino opened for
business in Metropolis. From 1993 to 1997, the Chamber of Commerce officiated
at more than 50 ribbon cuttings. In addition to business start-ups, eight
Certificates of Merit were awarded to existing businesses for remodeling
and/or adding employees. All this activity in a river town of about 6,700
population.
“CITY NOW HAS $21 MILLION!”This headline appeared in the February 11th, 1998 edition of the Metropolis Planet. The article went on to state that the major source of this revenue was admission taxes from Players Island Casino. Remarkably, during 1997 and 1998, casino tax revenue ranged between $400,000 and $500,000 per month. City Makes improvements;
Public Services Upgraded Metropolis has implemented programs to upgrade every public service—streets, utilities, parks, and more—including about $300,000 worth of emergency vehicles that were purchased in 1995. In April 1997, the city offered $2 million to the Illinois Department of Transportation to defray some of the costs of four-laning US Route 45 from I-24 to Yasoda Street (aproximately 2.5 miles). The land acquisition, engineering, and utility relocation phases of the project are currently underway. Construction of two bridges started in late fall of 1998 and a formal ground breaking was held on November 24th. In Spring 1999, highway construction will begin and, weather permitting, completion is anticipated in 2000. * Average wages based on ES-202 data for private employment covered by the Unemployment Insurance Act |
last updated: May 1, 2001