It is all over
It’s official, Donald Trump is back. He secured a solid win in the Presidential election last week with 312 electoral votes to Kamala Harris’ 226. In the process, he won over seven battleground states, including Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.
The final key swing state secured by Trump was Nevada, the home of Las Vegas. Evidently, the gambling-loving residents of Nevada believe a Trump presidency is the right choice for them, but is their faith justified?
it seems those efforts could earn Musk a White House role
Tech billionaire Elon Musk also had a major part to play in this year’s election, endorsing Trump and using his platform to drum up support for the Republican. Not only that, Musk ran a lottery to give away $1m to multiple Trump voters. Now, it seems those efforts could earn Musk a White House role.
VegasSlotsOnline News has taken a look at the issue to determine whether the US gambling industry should be excited or concerned about another Trump term and the involvment of Musk.
Corporate tax cuts
Of course, most of us know that Trump has a history with the gambling industry. Through his The Trump Organization, he purchased several Atlantic City casinos in the 1980s, all of which he eventually bankrupted. This included the most expensive casino ever-built at the time, the $1.1bn Trump Taj Mahal.
Now he has no real vested interest in the casino sector having sold all of his properties, but does still maintain a pro-business stance, one that guided his domestic policy-making duing his last presidency and looks certain to have the same impact again through his plan to rescue a struggling American economy.
Trump intends to cut corporate taxes for US businesses, from 21% to 15%
Through his “America First” agenda, Trump intends to cut corporate taxes for US businesses, from 21% to 15%, while imposing tariffs on foreign goods coming into the US. It’s a plan that he believes could stop rising inflation and interest rates, with 2/3 voters claiming that the US economy is on the wrong track under the incumbent party.
Tax breaks for US companies could certainly bode well for casinos and sportsbooks, if this policy will also apply to them. As of yet, plans are sketchy, and he claims this will apply to companies that make their products in the US.
No taxes on tips
As for casino and sportsbook workers, they can expect tax breaks too. To secure the key battleground jurisdiction of Nevada, the state with the highest proportion of restaurant, hotel, and casino workers in the country, both Harris and Trump confirmed they would implement a ban on taxes for tips.
Trump has not yet released details of the proposal, which will first have to pass through Congress to make it into law. There are many questions as to the details, including if it would include a break on both federal income and payroll taxes. Unlike Harris, Trump did not also decide to push for a raise on minimum wage.
Less than 5% of workers earning less than $25 per hour receive tips
While this tip tax ban might benefit some in Las Vegas casinos, experts have questioned the impact of this policy on a wider scale. According to CNBC, there were just 4 million tipped workers in the US in 2023, representing only 2.5% of the US workforce. Less than 5% of workers earning less than $25 per hour received tips.
Ernie Tedeschi, Director of Economics at the Yale Budget Lab, deemed it “a particularly poorly targeted way to reach low-wage workers.” Regardless, it clearly played a key role in Nevada’s swing towards the Republicans, given that the state voted Democrat in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Tackling unions
Trump’s pro-corporation stance might benefit the likes of MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment, but it certainly isn’t good news for their workers. During his previous term from 2016, he spent four years attempting to weaken trade unions, implementing a number of policies to do so.
He suspended union elections for a period during the COVID-19 pandemic and implemented a rule that would make union elections take longer and require unnecessary litigation. All of this slowed union progress down to a crawl in a time that was crucial for casino workers in particular, as they sought to retain jobs amid intermittent periods of shuttered casinos.
used his presidential powers to stack courts with anti-labor judges
Opponents of Trump also claim that he used his presidential powers to stack courts with anti-labor judges, making it more difficult for unions to secure legal success. The National Labor Relations Board also appointed more anti-labor officials, who would often choose to side with employers in contract disputes.
It is likely that Trump will follow the same tactic this time around, and it’s one of the main reasons the Las Vegas trade union representing casino workers positioned itself firmly against the ex-casino mogul. The Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which represents 60,000 Vegas and Reno workers, expressed its support for Harris throughout the election.
Musk and DOGE
Unique to this Trump term is the influence of Elon Musk. The billionaire threw his support behind Trump in this election cycle, and reports suggest the incoming President is considering rewarding him with a White House role. Musk has proposed creating a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) through which he would assess policy on tech development and dealmaking.
Trump supposedly wants to make it easier for companies to develop new technologies and complete M&A, removing red tape implemented by current President Joe Biden during his term. Musk could have an integral role if his DOGE becomes a reality.
As a result, many Silicon Valley executives are anticipating an innovation boom. Rainmaker Founder Augustus Doricko said he expects the next four years to be “imbued with aspirational mega-projects and visionary initiatives with precedent.” With the gambling industry often at the forefront of new tech, including some firms’ adoption of Artificial Intelligence, this could help propel the US industry forward.
Outside of gambling, Doricko anticipates much wilder innovations, such as: “New cities. Lunar and Martian colonization. Free electricity. Weather control.”
