Casino News

Hawaii casinos 'a possibility'

2010-02-15 11:37:39

Hawaii could be set to see the opening of its first casinos as gambling bills have cleared the initial committee review stage in the state.

Organisations linked to the gaming world previously spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to lobby for such changes close to ten years ago, but were unsuccessful at the time, the Honolulu Advertiser reports.

Commenting on the proposals, chairman of the House's Finance Committee Marcus Oshiro said it was time the island began to reconsider its stance.

He remarked: "I think we should have a public hearing. It's been about ten years since we've had a good public hearing on these issues."

According to Mr Oshiro, while he personally does not believe in gambling, he is willing to admit the plans need to be opened up to debate.

House speaker Calvin Say recently stated that legalising establishments of this kind could help to reduce the region's budget deficit.