February 22nd, in a thankfully rare regrettable decision, the Tukwila City Council voted to end gaming in Tukwila in five years.

It was a 4-3 vote with council members Duffie, Hernandez, Robertson and Hougardy voting in the majority.
In 2010, gaming revenues from three house bank commercial card rooms, a.k.a. mini casinos, came to $2.1million. It might have been more but one mini casino had already temporarily shut down and may not reopen. Accessory business like food supply and hotel bookings is estimated at greater than $1 million.

If this ordinance remains in effect, closures will begin earlier than the deadline of five years. The council recognizes that it has no plan to deal with the results of its decision. In my opinion, the council has kicked the can down the road hoping for state Legislative change that will allow future council members to revise or replace this ordinance. The result? Over $2 million in tax revenue a year gone. Loss of accessory business. Over 400 mini casino employees lose their jobs.

Inevitably, Tukwila will have to come up with a combination of tax increases to businesses and residents as well as more service reductions and city employee layoffs.

The biggest concern on the part of the council is that in the absence of this action, mini casinos will proliferate throughout Tukwila. There is no evidence to support that concern. Ignored or overlooked is the fact that the number of mini casinos in the state has gone down, not up.

There are other ordinances and code options as I and others have presented at the council meetings. Councilmember Seal got it right in an eloquent statement that her job is not to legislate morality but to exercise fiduciary responsibility on behalf of Tukwila citizens and that to enact this ordinance without a plan is irresponsible.

Councilmember Hougardy got it wrong with references to anecdotal evidence and, in essence, saying that Tukwila residents and the region as a whole would be better off without gaming in Tukwila.

Bottom line if you care about this issue: it takes one of the four in majority to rescind the ordinance. Please call those council members and tell them what you think. Ultimately we all get what we deserve based on what we do or what we do not do. Note: Audio recording of the council meeting can be ordered at the city clerk counter.

Chuck Parrish
Tukwila