HAMMOND — Officials at the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority plan to keep a close eye on the coming legislative session as state lawmakers consider requests for help from the gambling industry.
Speros Batistatos, president and CEO of the convention bureau, said the revenue the agency receives from casino admissions makes up about 40 percent of its annual budget. Hotel room tax is the second major component. Board members Thursday approved the final $4.6 million budget for 2015. An estimated $1.4 million of that will be from casino admission tax.
That amount is roughly 11 percent less than the agency received in 2014 in casino revenues. The 2015 budget also represents removal of the costs associated with the former South Shore Air Show. Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson last month decided to bring the air show back to the city’s lakefront. The SSCVA will no longer control the event.
A future significant reduction in casino admission fees paid to the county or the elimination of those fees would have an immediate negative impact on the agency and its operation.
“If we lost the admission tax it would be a death blow to the organization,” Batistatos said, adding the agency must strike a balance between keeping the casino industry thriving and profitable while preserving one of the tourism bureaus main revenue sources in any position it takes on legislative action.
Batistatos said the agency will continue to look at ways of diversifying its revenue sources.
Copyright © 2024, Chicago Tribune