In a recent poll, 68 percent of South Carolina residents support a bill proposed by state Rep. Todd Rutherford, allowing a limited number of casinos if the state’s share of casino revenue is used for roads and infrastructure. Thirty percent were against the measure, and two percent were not sure or refused to answer. Winthrop Poll conducted the survey for The State newspaper.
“That is literally earth shattering. What South Carolinians said in this poll is that they are tired of the Republicans digging into their pockets and taking their tax money when there is another alternative. These poll numbers suggest Republicans need to get a grip on what the rest of South Carolina is saying, which is that it’s time to move forward and do so in a progressive way,” Rutherford said.
In opposition, state Senator Shane Massey said, “I don’t think gambling is a solution to our problems. It likely creates even more problems. I can’t imagine that 68 percent of my constituents would support that. We were just barely able to get enough legislative support to allow nonprofits to have raffles. I just don’t think you’re going to have anywhere near the support needed to open casinos or turn the Grand Strand into Las Vegas.”
The Grand Strand, located in Myrtle Beach, south of Charlotte and near the Georgia border and Savannah, is the preferred location for a casino resort. Supporters said a casino there, and other select properties, could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue annually for the state to use to fix its crumbling roads. Some Republicans would rather raise the state’s gasoline tax.
But Rutherford’s legislation is unlikely to move forward, as Republicans who control the state House and Senate strongly oppose it. They said gambling would create more crime and addiction, and they question the poll’s findings, noting national pollsters incorrectly predicted Democrat Hillary Clinton would become president.
“After the last election, I don’t really have a great deal of confidence in polls, said House Judiciary Committee chair Greg Delleney. “State-sponsored gambling doesn’t encourage good citizenship. The state ought to be enhancing responsibility among its citizens, good conduct and moral conduct. That’s not gambling.” Delleney added decisions about allowing gambling should not be left to voters. “People hire us to make those decisions. That’s what we should do. We’re not California,” he said.
Two-thirds of legislators in both the House and Senate would have to vote for Rutherford’s proposal, then voters would make the final decision regarding casino gambling in the next general election.
Still, South Carolina residents’ attitudes toward gambling are changing. In October 2014, a Winthrop Poll indicated 47.3 percent of South Carolina residents said they supported opening a limited number of gambling casinos; 47.3 percent were opposed. In the latest poll, with no mention of how the revenue would be used, 54 percent supported casinos, 42 percent were opposed, 3 percent were not sure and 1 percent refused to answer. When the question mentioned using casino revenues to fix roads, support increased to 68 percent and opposition fell to 30 percent.
Former state legislator and current lobbyist Boyd Brown said, “There’s been a seismic mind change over the last couple of years. Part of the Republican brand is free markets and getting the government to put decisions in the hands of its citizens. This falls right in line with that ideology. All we’re asking, again, is to let the voters decide.”
