City Budget Director Jennifer Maguire will have some bad news for City Council today. When voters approved Measure K earlier this year, they had hoped that expanding gambling activity in San Jose would increase revenue to the city by at least $5 million. Now the first figures are in, and the city was off by about $4 million. But that’s only part of the problem. Overall, projected revenues stand about $10 million short of what was anticipated. This is hardly good news for the city, which already expects to face a $110 million deficit.
Part of the problem, agree card dealers and officials alike, is that fewer people are willing to gamble when faced with economic uncertainty as they are. “People are saving. They gamble less, and there are fewer patrons,” says Ron Werner, Vice President of the Bay 101 card room. Revenues at Bay 101 are actually down by about 6 percent from what they were last year.
Nevertheless, the Mayor’s Office is taking a “better than nothing” approach. The city has gained another $1 million in revenue from the expansion of gambling, says spokeswoman Michelle McGurk. Had the city not passed the measure, they would be down by another million.
Read More at The Mercury News.
