The city council of Billings, Montana voted last week to allow a new casino, the Town Pump Casino.
Montana has a healthy casino market, with 1,400 licensed operators who deploy 16,000 slot machines.
Dennis Benson, who owns the Warden Casino, told the Billings News, “It’s very competitive, but that’s part of America. Everything is competitive in America.”
He and his wife Jessie did not have a gaming background when they moved to Montana from Minnesota and they spent a lot of time learning the regulations that govern casinos.
Montana State Gambling Administrator Rick Ask observed that there’s a lot to being a small casino operator. “It’s not just a matter of opening the door and placing a few machines and a beer tap,” he said. “You need to know how to draw and keep customers.”
Liquor licenses, which are a requirement for a casino, cost about $500,000. Each machines produces from $10 to $160 a day. Operators pay the state about $60 million annually.
And there is no shortage of people wanting to open up the casinos.
