Bill Miller: Casinos are job creators, community partners

In 2004, when the Pennsylvania Legislature passed the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act, it was hard to anticipate just how important the gaming industry would become to Pennsylvania’s economy. Throughout economic peaks and valleys of the past 15 years, gaming companies have consistently served as an anchor for state and local economies, supporting more than 30,000 jobs, generating billions of dollars in tax revenue and investing in their communities.

Fifteen years later, gaming’s positive impact on the Keystone State is clear.

In my relatively short tenure at the American Gaming Association, I have seen the profound effects our industry has had all across the country. The gaming industry has always been dedicated to bettering the communities that we call home, and, since the first properties opened here in 2006, Western Pennsylvania is no exception.

The Casinos and Communities report we released last month captures a small part of that story — not just about the strong economic contributions the industry has made to areas like Pittsburgh and Washington County — but about the lasting partnerships it has created to give back to communities.

When the Greater Washington County Food Bank needed a new location, local grants from casino revenue, generated in large part by The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, made it possible to fund a new building with state-of-the-art infrastructure. And recently, tax dollars provided by Rush Street’s Rivers Casino helped save a live-work space development on Pittsburgh’s North Shore.

All across the state, gaming investments in these community partnerships are yielding impressive results. The City of Chester’s Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland spoke to the strong career opportunities his townspeople have found in the gaming industry, allowing them to buy homes and take better care of their families.

One casino employee shared her story of working four jobs to make ends meet before starting a job at Rivers Casino’s buffet. She worked her way up through greeter, busser, dealer and eventually to her current supervisory role of Rivers’ pit manager for table games, a job that has helped support her daughter through college.

In Pennsylvania, like in other gaming jurisdictions across the country, the gaming industry isn’t just creating jobs, it’s enabling careers.

From volunteerism to philanthropy, small business empowerment to local resident employment, gaming’s success is widely felt in Western Pennsylvania. As gaming continues to grow, our communities will continue to be the big winners.

Bill Miller is president and CEO of the American Gaming Association.