SAN ANTONIO — A proposed bill filed in the Texas State Legislature hopes to bring casino gambling to Texas, with Bexar County among the targeted locations.
House Bill 494 is the brainchild of a state legislator who hopes gambling can help the Lone Star State the same way it's helped Louisiana.
State Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-TX22, said he believes bringing casinos to Texas would greatly benefit the economy.
"There's a restaurant, there's a hotel, it employs thousands of people," he said.
Currently, San Antonio gamblers don't have many options; it's a two-and-a-half hour drive to Eagle Pass or a five-hour drive to Louisiana. Private poker houses do represent a loophole in the Alamo City, but those require memberships and the house doesn't take a cut.
There's still a few hurdles the bill has to clear. If the legislature passes it in the upcoming session, Texans would then have to vote on approving it.
Deshotel said he knows the bill has its opponents, including those who assert gambling is bad for society.
"We have all of that because they lose their money in Louisiana," the lawmaker said in response. "Louisiana gets all the revenue, we get all the problems."
He said he wants to see gambling revenue be used to help provide wind and flood insurance for the state.
"Calculated in our insurance premiums is the cost of forest fires and the cost of hailstorms," he said, adding those are things that don't affect the gulf region, where most of the targeted counties are.