Smoking and gambling might soon play a role in educating Texas students. A school finance plan proposed by Governor Perry is on the agenda of the 30-day special legislative session. Perry's plan would gain revenue for Texas schools in part by hiking fees on cigarettes and adult entertainment. Another part of the plan calls for the approval of video lottery terminals (VLT) at racetracks.
Nicknamed the "sin tax", Governor Perry's plan would call for a dollar a pack tax on cigarettes, five-dollar fee for adult entertainment, and would allow video gaming at state racetracks.
Slot machines involve spinning electromagnetic reels, and are known in the trade as line-up games. When the reels stop, the way they line up determines whether a player wins. Video terminals can also include line-up games, but the difference is the "reels" are animated on a video screen. Video versions can also feature a variety of games that require no line-ups such as poker, keno and blackjack, or a combination on a single machine. Both styles depend on a computerized random number generator in each machine to determine the outcome of each play.
New York has taken the concept to the next level in its preparation for Video Lottery Terminals at eight of the state's 10 tracks. They have a new generation of technology where machines do not have a random number generator. Instead, there will be a predetermined number of winners, much like the paper lottery. Gamblers play against other players as part of a lottery. In slot machines it is you against the machine. It looks like a video terminal, but the outcome is not determined at the terminal. The pool of winners are picked at the central computer.
VLT payouts in Delaware range from 87% to 95%. Gross proceeds in 2002 were $565 million of which the state takes 35%.
VLT payouts in West Virginia range from 85% to 92%. In 2002 $595 million in gross proceeds were generated with 40% being returned to the state.
At the present time Shreveport/Bossier offers games that return up to 99.9% (Pickem). You can also find plenty of NSUD, 9/6 JOB, 8/5 BP that return over 99%. The only benefit of having VLTs in Texas would be to insure that Louisiana continues to offer competitive games to attract players from the metroplex. Can you imagine playing video poker which returns 92% or less? Not only would the expected returns from the Texas VLTs be below 95%, published reports indicate that the state hopes to set the gross gaming tax at a whopping 50%. That is not a misprint, Texas wants FIFTY percent of the gross gaming revenue generated by VLTs. The gross gaming tax in Nevada is currently 6.25%. and Louisiana is 21.5%.
It appears that Governor Perry believes that morons should shoulder more of a burden for the cost of education in Texas. Of course, for this to happen a state constitutional amendment must pass the legislature and be approved by the voters of Texas. This may be too tall an order since many religious groups feel they have an obligation and duty to protect their moron members from themselves. These groups are lobbying hard to prevent the passage of this moron tax and are expected to prevail for the short term, if not for the long term. Don't worry morons, your day will come this decade. In the meantime, you can play MEGABUCKS and BINGO to help educate our youth.
Rastis P. Rulz