Editorial: Approve off-reservation casino for Ho-Chunk Nation

For years the Gazette’s editorial board opposed the Beloit proposal. Many casino jobs offer low pay, and easy access to gaming would create more habitual gamblers who pose problems for families, employers and society. Other businesses might be reluctant to open in a city with a casino.

Yet jobs have been to slow in coming to Rock County. In 2012, Beloit native Stephanie Klett, Walker’s tourism secretary, convinced us of a casino’s value. She has seen how casino complexes lifted the economies of Bayfield and Green Bay through jobs, tourism and spin-off developments.

Rock County draws vacationers, but many spend just a day or two before heading elsewhere. A casino complex that includes restaurants, live entertainment and a convention center could keep visitors here longer and push Rock County into Wisconsin’s top 10 for tourism.

The Ho-Chunk say they would invest upward of $200 million in the complex. It would create hundreds of construction jobs and between 1,000 and 2,000 permanent jobs, many going to nontribal members. It would generate local tax revenues, including Rock County’s share of casino profits.

Weighing all that, the complex is a gamble worth taking. Rock County could use that economic engine.

We hope federal officials and Gov. Walker see that, too.