A Hawaii lawmaker is proposing allowing the state’s international gateway airports to permit slot machine gambling to help fund airport infrastructure projects.
State Rep. Cindy Evans wants a bill passed which would let departing passengers on international flights gamble while waiting to board aircraft.
"Why not allow the visitor in their last few hours, spend their money in Hawaii and and leave their money in Hawaii, why not allow them to have a slot machine and gamble," Evans said.
"This is about finding money to support the airports. I think it’s out of the box. I think it’s very unique and different, because it’s not about gambling in Hawaii."
Evans, the House majority leader, said it would be available only for travelers in secure international terminals with a boarding pass for an onward overseas destination.
Evans says she has blocked all previous gambling bills in Hawaii but believes the usual fears of increased crime and gambling addiction do not apply in this case.
However the Hawaii Tourism Authority has opposed the move.
"Legalized gambling would not enhance our destination brand, but rather dilute it and distract from what makes our Hawaiian Islands unlike anywhere else in the world," said HTA CEO Ronald Williams.
