Gov Dayton: Pull tabs in grocery stores
E-Pulltabs Coming Up Short In Funding Vikings Stadium
Excerpt:
The revenue coming in from the electronic pulltab games are not enough to fund the new Vikings stadium.
But state leaders say pulltab revenues will get better, even as the budget report issued on Wednesday said the money isn’t coming in anywhere near as rapidly as predicted.
Gov. Mark Dayton says he’s not overly concerned, but that the state might need to start marketing electronic pulltab gambling — not just at bars, but even grocery stores.
“There are enterprises like Cub Foods that are qualified and eligible to allow these games,” Dayton said. “And we are going to need somebody to go out and market these opportunities. So I think we will catch up. We are slightly behind now, but we’ll get there.”Comment: Folly! See earlier posts: Electronic pull-tabs: Revenue Reality Check and Flaws in the Stadium plan
More on 12/13: State looks to expand use of electronic pulltabs for stadium:
ReplyDeleteThe sluggish pace of electronic pulltab sales has the state looking at fresh venues to entice gamblers -- including the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
The devices are supposed to pay the state's share of the new Minnesota Vikings stadium. But so far, only 85 of the state's more than 6,000 bars have installed the devices. That has led to revenues that are 51 percent below projection, forcing the state to downgrade its revenue estimates by millions of dollars for the coming year.
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When the news of the lackluster forecast broke last week, Dayton briefly speculated that the devices could someday be installed in grocery stores.
Tom Barrett, executive director of the Minnesota Gambling Control Board, said that idea is not under consideration, but said there has been talk of games at locations that sell 3.2 liquor.