Budget Blackjack

Tough times are making work for Lady Luck. Faced with paralyzing budget shortfalls, state lawmakers nationwide are turning to expanded casino gambling as a source of extra tax revenue. In Massachusetts, lawmakers introduced a plan on Aug. 23 to sell licenses for three new casinos and a slots parlor, with the initial support of Governor Deval Patrick. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is studying a constitutional amendment that would allow non-Indian casino gambling in his state. And in Illinois, lawmakers are pushing Governor Pat Quinn to sign off on new casinos in Chicago and four other locations.

These shifts would follow several recent casino-gambling expansions. Last year, Delaware and Pennsylvania legalized open-table gambling–games like blackjack and roulette–while Maryland opened its first casino. “You see a pattern,” says Michael Pollock, a New Jersey gaming consultant.

Stricken states and municipalities have expanded gambling in past downturns. Nevada legalized gaming in 1931, during the Great Depression. Atlantic City, N.J., adopted its defining pastime during the malaise of the ’70s. The payoff can be lucrative. Last year, the nearly 500 commercial casinos in 22 states delivered about $7.6 billion in tax revenue to state and local governments, according to the American Gaming Association. It’s safe to bet that number will be growing.

EDUCATION

Cutting Class

Not all students will return this fall to the same schools they left, thanks to significant budget cuts in 23 states. Illinois has eliminated funding for some AP courses. Parts of South Dakota have moved to a four-day school week. Schools in Wicomico County, Maryland, are looking to scale back bus contracts, and Wisconsin schools are considering cutting custodial staff. A middle school in Ocala, Fla., was forced to allocate $0 to teachers for classroom supplies.

NUMBER

26% Barack Obama’s approval rating on the economy in August, according to Gallup–a new low for him

UNEMPLOYMENT

Job Tide Lifts Some States’ Boats

The national unemployment rate stood at 9.1% in July, down 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier. Some states have improved more than the national average, including key 2012 swing states like Nevada, Florida, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan.

Unemployment-rate change, July 2010 to July 2011

[The following text appears within a map. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual map.]

BIGGEST DECREASE

NEVADA

-2.0%

BIGGEST INCREASE

ALABAMA

+0.8%

BETTER THAN AVERAGE

AVERAGE

WORSE THAN AVERAGE

SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

EARTHQUAKE

Spires Down

A rare 5.8 quake in Virginia twisted pinnacles, cracked flying buttresses and downed fleur-de-lis spires at Washington’s National Cathedral on Aug. 23. The church has hosted funerals and memorial services for nearly a dozen Presidents. Its famous Darth Vader gargoyle escaped unscathed, as did most other local structures.