Horry County, South Carolina is currently faced with a momentous decision on what to do about the offshore gambling barges that operate in the county’s waters.
There are three offshore gambling barges in Conway that will either have to be phased out over a five year, or taxed for 10% of their revenue, according to South Carolina state law.
Some area lawmakers fear that the offshore gambling barge owners will fight either a request for more gambling revenues, or an attempt to force them to close or to take their business elsewhere.
If the offshore gambling barge owners do decide to fight both of the options, county officials fear that they will soon have multiple and protracted lawsuits on their hands.
“If we are going to get sued in March, I need to put that in my budget and prepare for it,” County Attorney John Weaver said.
Weaver said that he would not be surprised if the offshore gambling barge operators decided to press charges, but that he did not know if they could afford a long- running lawsuit. He predicted that a lawsuit would cost the casino boat operators around $10 million.
Tags: casino boat, offshore gambling
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