California cities that are heavily dependent on revenues from card clubs are staggering after five weeks of a shutdown of every commercial and tribal casino in the Golden State.
Possibly the worst hit is Hawaiian Gardens, a small municipality in Los Angeles County that gets 70 percent of its revenue from taxes of The Gardens Casino.
There are others in the county with similar problems, although none to that extent. The Bicycle Hotel & Casino is the principal source of tax revenues to the city of Bell Gardens. By the end of April the city calculates it will have lost $2 million.
The Los Angeles Daily News reported that the Gardens Casino’s closure has cost the city $1.5 million in taxes so far., which will force government worker layoffs, dipping into reserves and amputating many programs.
None of the state’s card clubs are eligible for Paycheck Protection Program loans because their principal source of revenue is gambling.
Kyle Kirkland, president of the California Gaming Association wrote to the state’s congressional delegation last week: “Without the help of PPP funding, California’s gaming operators, all of which voluntarily ceased operations in mid-March, will be forced to permanently lay off employees and some may not be able to reopen.”
The mayors of Hawaiian Gardens and Bell Gardens have written similar letters to California Governor Gavin Newsom to request that they be allowed to tap the state’s gambling control fund, which has a $97million surplus.
