27 Feb Electronic Gaming Funding a Failure for New Minnesota Vikings Stadium
Electronic pull-tab gaming was supposed to purchase a new minnesota vikings stadium, but that plan hasn't materialized as prepared
When the Minnesota Vikings decided if it was available that they needed a new stadium, they wanted to take advantage of public financing. The state of Minnesota obliged, but decided that rather than take the money from the general fund or develop a unique tax to raise the money, they'd bring electronic gambling machines to thousands of bars as well as other venues around the state. It seemed like an audio plan until it had been put into practice.
Net Gain: Bupkes
This week, Minnesota announced that residents and visitors to the state had put down about $15 million in the machines during the period of their year that is first in. Of this, around 85% went right back to players in the form of winnings, leaving only about $2 million in earnings. That was split among charity expenses, donations and basic taxes, and left nothing at all for the stadium that is new. That's right: the pull-tab that is electronic games raised absolutely nothing for their intended function over their very first year in service.
The failure is definitely an embarrassment for Governor Mark Dayton, who has been strongly behind the newest Vikings stadium. According to him, the true numbers which have come in show that the state itself had been using quite the gamble by relying on the machines to fina