{"id":94873,"date":"2018-12-16T12:58:03","date_gmt":"2018-12-16T20:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=94873"},"modified":"2018-12-17T02:39:01","modified_gmt":"2018-12-17T10:39:01","slug":"texas-democrat-pushing-to-bring-casinos-to-states-coastal-counties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-democrat-pushing-to-bring-casinos-to-states-coastal-counties\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Democrat Pushing to Bring Casinos to State\u2019s Storm-Prone Coastal Counties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas State Representative Joe Deshotel (D-Beaumont) wants to bring casino gambling to the Texas coast and he wants the revenues it generates to subsidize the state\u2019s underfunded windstorm insurance system.<\/p>\n

\"Joe
Joe Deshotel sees coastal casinos as a solution to the Texas\u2019 windstorm insurance problem. Inland residents resent their tax dollars subsidizing cheap insurance policies for those who choose to live in \u201criskier\u201d parts of the state. (Image: Bob Daemmrich\/Texas Tribune)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His bill would establish a statewide referendum that would ask voters whether they want to change the state constitution to permit casino gambling and authorize six casino licenses across six coastal counties — including Galveston, Jefferson, and Nueces, Bexar and Harris, plus another to be determined at a later date.<\/p>\n

In the summer and fall months, the Texas coast is battered by tropical and subtropical cyclones. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused an estimated $125 billion\u2019s worth of damage and resulted in the deaths of 103 people.<\/p>\n

State government subsidizes the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) to offer cheap premiums\u00a0to coastal residents, but as storms become stronger and more frequent, insuring against them isn\u2019t getting any cheaper.<\/p>\n

TWIA has said it wants to raise premiums by ten percent, a proposal that was recently rejected by Governor Greg Abbot. But inland residents question why their taxes should subsidize \u201crisky behavior\u201d \u2013 i.e., owning a property in an area prone to environmental disaster.<\/p>\n

Not His First Rodeo<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Deshotel believes he has the solution, although he has been pushing similar bills<\/a> since 2015, to no avail. The Texas legislative session is biennial, which makes this is his third effort. It has no co-sponsors.<\/p>\n

Gambling may be a hard sell in this famously conservative state — but so is increased taxation — and Deshotel is giving this his best shot.<\/p>\n

Just like the lottery, where a portion of funds go to public education, this is a need that’s underfunded,” he told The Houston Chronicle<\/em>. “If the lottery helps education, we can help with the problem of windstorm, which is disproportionately paid for by the coastal counties.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unfortunately for Deshotel, even the lottery is controversial in Texas. It has faced opposition in the legislature ever since it was established in 1991, despite the $2.2 billion-odd a year it brings in for good causes.<\/p>\n

Lone Casino State<\/strong><\/h2>\n

“It’s something we should do regardless of whether the funds are dedicated to those issues,” Deshotel insisted. “Every bordering state to Texas has legalized gambling. We lose millions of dollars in potential tax revenue to those areas. We have the consequences of gambling, but none of the positives.”<\/p>\n

Texas currently has just one casino, the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle, situated on Kickapoo tribal lands, a stone\u2019s throw from the Rio Grande Mexican border. As full scale-casino gaming is not legal, it offers bingo, poker, and slots-style electronic pull-tab dispensers.<\/p>\n

Attempts by Texas\u2019 two other federally recognized tribes, the\u00a0Alabama-Coushatta\u00a0and the\u00a0Tigua Indians, to establish similar ventures have been met with\u00a0fiercely opposition<\/a> by the state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texas State Representative Joe Deshotel (D-Beaumont) wants to bring casino gambling to the Texas coast and he wants the revenues it generates to subsidize the state\u2019s underfunded windstorm insurance system. His bill would establish a statewide referendum that would ask voters whether they want to change the state constitution to permit casino gambling and authorize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":94875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,61,13592],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTexas Democrat Pushing to Bring Casinos to State\u2019s Coastal Counties<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"State Rep. 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Joe Deshotel believes authorizing casinos in six coastal counties will offset state subsidized windstorm insurance \u2013 because if there\u2019s one thing Texans hate worse than gambling, it\u2019s increased taxation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-democrat-pushing-to-bring-casinos-to-states-coastal-counties\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-16T20:58:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-12-17T10:39:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/deshotel.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"890\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"538\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-democrat-pushing-to-bring-casinos-to-states-coastal-counties\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-democrat-pushing-to-bring-casinos-to-states-coastal-counties\/\",\"name\":\"Texas Democrat Pushing to Bring Casinos to State\u2019s Coastal Counties\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-democrat-pushing-to-bring-casinos-to-states-coastal-counties\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/texas-democrat-pushing-to-bring-casinos-to-states-coastal-counties\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/deshotel.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-16T20:58:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-12-17T10:39:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"State Rep. 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