Locals casino company Station Casinos wanted to borrow $300 million to pay its owners a special dividend. While we won’t second-guess the wisdom of borrowing all this money for a non-investment purpose, we believe the “We Love Locals” company could find better ways to show Las Vegas residents some real love.
For example, Station Casinos could give out ten $500 neighborhood jackpots a week invest directly in our community or help the needy in Southern Nevada.
With its $300 million, Station Casinos could do any of these things instead:
1. Buy 3 million textbooks for students in the Clark County School District!
Fact: An elementary school textbook costs about $30-$100.
2. Give an iPad Air 2 to every K-12 student in town!
Fact: Each iPad Air 2 with Wi-Fi and 4G and 128 GB of memory sells for $829.
There are approximately 320,000 students in the Clark County School District.
3. Give a $1.4 million grant to each elementary school in the Clark County School District!
Fact: There are 213 elementary schools in the CCSD.
Through October, 2014, Station Casinos had given $2.5 million to dozens of high-need elementary schools over 14 years.
4. Pay four years of college for nearly 14,000 locals!
Fact: The cost of going to college for one year at UNLV (for Nevada residents) is: $5,382.
5. Pay off student debt for 13,800 recent college grads in Nevada!
Help is available, and you're not alone! http://t.co/SLatSRNsZz #studentloans pic.twitter.com/sygzCOKdGV
— Student Loan Relief (@slrelief) April 20, 2015
Fact: Average student debt of Nevada college graduates of the class of 2013 was $21,666.
6. Fund the medical school at UNLV!
Fact: It is estimated that UNLV’s new School of Medicine will need $350 million of philanthropic contributions over ten years.
7. Privately fund a new ballpark for the 51s in Summerlin and build an MLS stadium in downtown!
Fact: The owners of the 51s are seeking to build a new $65-million ballpark.
A $200-million, 24,000-seat MLS stadium was proposed for downtown Las Vegas, but it failed to get public funding.
8. Feed the hungry in Southern Nevada for over 2 ½ years!
Fact: According to local nonprofit Three Square, more than 315,000 people suffered food insecurity in Southern Nevada in 2012, and each $1 donation equals 3 meals.
9. Pay to build ten more DMVs in the Las Vegas area!
Fact: Governor Sandoval’s budget proposal includes the construction of one new DMV in Southern Nevada for $23.4 million.
10. Let 37,000 locals park free in DTLV for a whole year!
Fact: “Premium zone” parking in Downtown Las Vegas costs $2 per hour between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. seven days a week.
BONUS: Send 1,200 lucky Las Vegas locals to space!
Fact: Virgin Galactic is selling space travel tickets for $250,000 per person.