Ventura council approves Players Casino relocation
The Californian casino closed last December due to Covid-19 crisis.
US.- The Ventura City Council has approved the first step in letting Players Casino temporarily relocate to the Derby Club at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Council members voted 6-0 in favor of the casino’s relocation Monday with councilman Mike Johnson absent. A final decision is expected for November 8.
The casino filed for bankruptcy and shut in December 2020 after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ventura lost $2m in cardroom tax from the closure of the Players Casino, according to the city’s budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
The fairgrounds are located on state, not local, grounds, which means the city is giving up partial control: Ventura won’t be able to count on the 15 per cent tax revenue from the casino it might have otherwise been able to receive.
The move is only temporary to get Players running again. IT would then move again if the efforts are successful. City and casino officials agreed to a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT agreement, as part of the compromise.
City attorney Gregory Diaz said: “The intent is to have the casino return to a regular business location in the city.”
In order for the casino to relocate, the city must keep its local licence and have its state gaming license transferred to the fairgrounds location. Under the city’s municipal code, Ventura must license card club employees and provide law enforcement services when necessary, according to a staff report.
The new payment agreement between the city and the casino will run until 2025. Instead of the current arrangement of taxing the casino 15 per cent on its operations, the city would tax the business 10 per cent on operations for the first two years.
The new agreement went from 15 per cent to 10 per cent because of relocation costs. Casino officials asked to defer 5 per cent of the payment until 2027 because of the costs involved in moving.
Patrick Berry, the casino’s general manager, said: “I think from our viewpoint right now that the percentage, the 10 per cent and the deferral is what’s going to allow us to keep in business.”
Berry added: “We don’t know what’s going to happen, and we hope nothing happens and things just go up from here. But we need to make sure we stay in business for the future, that’s really our thought.”
Under this new agreement, the city is estimated to receive approximately $1.3m per year. Prior to closure, the city was receiving approximately $2m in taxes from the casino.
