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Study: Casino Could Boost Texas Economy

"`It's a type of activity people want to engage in, and people have a limited amount of access to it in the state,' said Ray Perryman of The Perryman Group, a Waco-based economic analysis firm.

"Perryman said the study, whose findings were obtained by the Chronicle, showed that Texas is losing millions of dollars in tax revenue because Texans are spending and wagering billions of dollars in Louisiana.

"...His report states that the casino could generate $127.2 million in tax revenues for the state and $10.9 million for local governments in 2005. It also could create 15,160 permanent jobs, of which 12,600 would remain in the East Texas region around the reservation, the study concluded.

"Of the almost $2 billion in estimated economic impact, about $1.35 billion would be felt in that region around Livingston, about 90 miles north of Houston, Perryman said.

"...The study also indicates that Texans, primarily from Houston, spend almost $500 million at Louisiana casinos in Lake Charles and Kinder. Perryman estimated that 70 to 75 percent of that money would return to the state.

"...Tribal leaders are counting on House Bill 809, by state Rep. Terry Keel, R-Austin, and a companion bill in the Senate authored by state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, to revive casino gambling on the tribal land..."

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