Gambling Boat In Galveston Texas
A Primer of the Island's Experience with Gambling's Past
By Bill Cherry
Once again, there are those who hope that legislation allowing casino gambling in Texas will be introduced in this session, and that it will be approved.
And once again, the uninformed and the unrealistic dreamers who live in Galveston are salivating...they think this is the answer to turning around an economically crashing city.
The majority of today's Galvestonians were not here or not old enough at the time to be able to evaluate what effect gambling had on the island's lifestyle and economy before it left for good in 1957.
I was.
In the days when Galveston's vice was operating wide-open, most homes and businesses throughout the U.S. were not air conditioned. So while tourists came to Galveston for the beaches, they primarily came for the constant gulf breezes that blew through their hotel room windows, and weren't available anywhere else nearby.
That's a very important component, but one that is rarely thought about much less considered by those who favor the return of gambling casinos to the island, this time, legal.
Gambling Ship In Galveston Texas
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<< Sam Maceo, Galveston Gambling Kingpin
In the ‘40s and early ‘50s, because of World War II, cars were old and unreliable, and tires and batteries and repair parts were scarce. And there were no super highways until the Eisenhower administration. A trip from Houston to Galveston took a couple of hours. A trip from Dallas took forever unless you took the train, and many did. Nevertheless, in the main, it was rare for families to venture too far from home.
The island's casinos and gaming devices were primarily owned by one family, the Maceos; Sam and Rose Maceo were the family's kingpins.There were no stockholders living throughout the United States. The Maceos lived on the island, their children went to the island's schools, and the family's money was banked and spent there. All but Sam Maceo owned their own homes. Expansion of their businesses was limited to their combined personal wealth and credit.
Gambling was illegal. There was no license, there was no contract. Every day was a new day. Should the citizens of the island one day feel it was time for the Maceos to close up, all they had to do was put in motion that their illegal businesses were no longer welcome there, and ask that the laws be enforced.
But why would anyone want to do that? It would mean no more enormous profits to spend in the city, no more big bank deposits, and no more clothes bought at Nathan's, Levy's, Robert I. Cohen's and Eiband's by their then out of work employees.
Often overlooked is that the majority of the ancillary businesses that gambling supported was seasonal. As soon as Labor Day hit, they closed down until the next Splash Day, which was traditionally the first weekend in May.
Consequently the major portion of those who were employed by the casinos, the restaurants and the beach amusements were itinerants as was the clientele. For eight months out of the year, those workers weren't there to earn pay checks and spend them in the local stores. The customers weren't there to contribute to the economy either.
The reason the concept worked well for Galveston is an irony. The Maceos knew they had to be there day in and day out to protect their interests. They had to worry about public opinion. They had to do their best to be considered an asset to the city. And they had to be benevolent, almost to a fault.
But then came the advent of air conditioning in every home, office and store, and the addition of the super highway system. Profits began to fall, and whether those who like to tell the stories of Will Wilson and the Texas Rangers want to believe it or not, controlled vices would have soon left Galveston without them.
Local stores like E.S. Levy's, Eiband's, Robert I. Cohen's and Nathan's had been very profitable, not because gamblers brought them exceptional business, but because it was inconvenient and costly for Galvestonians to drive to downtown Houston to shop. As soon as the Gulf Freeway and Gulfgate Mall opened, everyday islanders left for Houston by the hundreds to shop.
Frantically, merchants put up 'Shop Galveston' billboards everywhere. If that helped at all, it was marginal. The island's tourist and retail economies were hemorrhaging. The shopping district of downtown breathed its last breath.
Comparing Galveston with Lake Charles, Louisiana is interesting. Lake Charles is half again the size of Galveston. The last time I checked, it had a river boat casino that was nearly 70,000 square feet and was owned by a publicly traded corporation. Inside there were 1,400 slot machines and 58 gaming tables. There was an adjacent hotel with 262 rooms. The median family income in Lake Charles was a paltry $37,774.
Why would one think it would have been otherwise?
The majority of the money generated by the Lake Charles river boat and companion hotel is immediately siphoned out of the city to the location of the parent corporation. For the most part, the high wage earners don't live or spend their money in Lake Charles. And to add insult to injury, the majority of the profits the corporation earns there are thrown into the pot to be divvied up among the shareholders who live worldwide.
If Galveston wants to try gambling again, the formula that worked before should be considered.
To reiterate, the casinos and gaming equipment should be owned by individuals or a privately-held corporation or partnership where all of the owners have their primary homes and offices in Galveston. The licenses to operate should be issued by the city and be able to be yanked if a public vote declares Galvestonians want them closed.
A fair share of the gross income from the casinos should go for maintenance and improvements of the city's and public schools' infra-structures.
However, a better investment of time might be to accept as fact that even without a beach Friendswood, Pearland, League City and the Clear Lake part of Houston have experienced phenomenal growth since Galveston's casinos breathed their last breath.
They did it without gambling as a part of their equations, and they aren't asking to be able to stick it in now.
Throughout that same period, Galveston's population and economy declined. It, too, did that without casinos. Perhaps it's time to compare and contrast.
Copyright 2011 - William S. Cherry
Bill Cherry's Galveston Memories (VanJus Press 2000) has sold
thousands of copies nationwide.
BILL CHERRY, REALTORS
DALLAS - PARK CITIES
Gambling Casinos In Galveston Texas
Since 1964
Gambling Boat In Galveston Tx
214 503-8563