Yesterday, The Desert Sun reported what everybody that lives in a community with an Indian gaming facility in or near it already knew. Areas with tribal gaming prosper.
The Sun’s article "Study: Gaming boosts opportunities on reservations – Report finds reduced rates of poverty, higher incomes, better education options", reports "Tribal gaming in California has reduced poverty and improved employment, incomes and educational opportunities in communities near casinos, according to a University of California, Riverside study….
The study, published in UCR’s ‘Policy Matters’ edition, is titled ‘Lands of Opportunity: Social and Economic Effects of Tribal Gaming on Localities.’"
The UCR study concluded "[m]edian income levels rose more significantly among families within 10 miles of a gaming reservation – from $32,515 in 1990 to $48,578 in 2000 near reservations, or 55 percent, as opposed to a 33 percent increase" (in areas outside of a gaming reservation).
Why is this happening?
It’s simple really. The tribes invest in their local community, buy from their local community and provide steady, good jobs, with solid benefits to their local community. Which is a recipe for success both for the tribes and the neighbors.
I know this because I live in Riverside County – the nexus of Indian gaming in Southern California. The tribes here have been great neighbors and committed to their community.
The facts speak for themselves.