Every city hopes to be home to businesses that are woven seamlessly into the fabric of their community. Businesses that not only provide quality jobs, but that are active and engaged corporate citizens, working with their community towards a common goal of prosperity and wellbeing for all. Chula Vista is the lucky beneficiary one such business – Seven Mile Casino.
Since their arrival in our city, Seven Mile Casino has proven their dedication to our community day after day. They have never wavered in their commitment to providing quality entertainment and recreation, valuable jobs, and supporting our community’s needs whenever possible.
That’s why in the fall of last year the Chula Vista community immediately spoke out in support for our local cardroom and neighbor Seven Mile Casino when the California Bureau of Gambling Control announced suddenly that they were considering rescinding approvals of games that have been played in California cardrooms for decades.
The rescission of these game approvals would endanger Seven Mile Casino’s profitability and ability to operate, and therefore threatens an important pillar of the Chula Vista community. The loss of this business would be a crippling blow for our city.
As elected officials, we see the impact that the tax revenue from Seven Mile Casino has on our city daily. These funds are a large part of the reason we are able to provide our community with emergency services, safe roads, and parks and recreation programs. Hundreds of our residents are employed there with quality, well-paying jobs that allow many of them to care for their families and own homes in Chula Vista. These jobs are unique in that they require little to no prior education or training.
Our community not only reaps the benefits of Seven Mile as a source of entertainment, but also as a local partner. They support many local nonprofits such as South Bay Community Services and fundraisers with financial donations and generously provide their facilities for use during community events throughout the year, including HarborFest and our Fourth of July Festival.
Seven Mile Casino took a chance on our community, purchasing and remodeling buildings in a deteriorating, blighted area. These buildings have now become a thriving entertainment complex and have triggered a revitalization of a portion of our city.
When the Bureau held a workshop in San Marcos in January to gather feedback from stakeholders on the proposed regulations changes, hundreds from our community turned out to support Seven Mile and share directly with the Bureau the important role they play in our community.
The show of support for Seven Mile Casino from their neighbors and community members was a testament to the quality business and community member they are and the impact that California cardrooms have in their communities.
Today, as nearly eleven months have passed since the Bureau of Gambling Control’s original announcement, city’s like our own, whose prosperity is so closely tied with the prosperity of our local cardroom, are still shaken by the knowledge that such a large source of good in our communities is in danger.
It is our hope that our state’s regulators see past the politics and move to support Seven Mile Casino and the other cardrooms across California that are doing the right thing in our communities. We must find a solution that ensures the viability of these businesses and the communities who benefit from their presence. The future of the City of Chula Vista and communities across California depends on it.
