MOScout Daily Upate: More $$$ Pours Into Sports Betting - Kunce Fundraising - Royals Plan? - MO Inflation - MO AI and more….
Situational awareness: 4 weeks from Election Day…
More Money into Sports Betting
The pro-sports betting committee, Winning for Missouri Education, received another $5 million yesterday from Betfair Interactive, the FanDuel parent company. That brings FanDuels’ investment into the campaign to $14 million. DraftKing, the other sports betting company, has tossed in about $15 million over this same period, bring the campaign’s total war-chest to nearly $30 million.
Meanwhile, Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment, the committee opposing sports betting, recorded another $3+ million check from Caesar Entertainment. They’ve now funded that committee to the tune of about $15 million.
· The conventional wisdom is that it generally takes far fewer dollars to defeat a proposal than to pass one.
And
The ads of these two campaigns have focused on the benefit of sport betting money going to education. The pro-sports betting campaign touts this as a major advantage, while the campaign against claims it’s a false promise.
The Missouri National Education Association’s legislative director Otto Fajen weighs in on the question on social media: When people ask me, I suggest they ignore the discussion about education funding and decide what you think about having a constitutional amendment on sports betting.
The fiscal note correctly points out that the IP does not authorize any entity (DOR or gaming commission) to actually collect the tax. That is why there is a statement that revenues could be zero. With the general level of contention in the legislature, we can’t assume it would be easy to quickly pass enabling legislation to collect the allowed tax.
Then it is up to the future legislature to decide how to appropriate. It doesn’t even have to go to public education institutions nor does it have to be added to existing education funding. It could be used to supplant GR, which will seem all the more likely and tempting if we move into an era where state funds grow slowly or decline.
Kunce Touts Fundraising
Press release: Lt. Col. Lucas Kunce (USMCR) has raised $8.3 million between July 1st and September 30th, with nearly 130,000 people donating and 63% of donations coming from first-time donors. Kunce’s fundraising in the last three months is historic — the most ever raised by a Missouri Senate challenger and the largest ever quarterly haul for direct contributions for any federal candidate in state history.
Royals to Washington Square Park?
KC Business Journal reports on the path of least resistance for the Royals. “Washington Square Park may be uniquely positioned for city leaders to assume ownership of a downtown Kansas City Royals ballpark, and financially support it without another public vote.”
· Proponents of a Washington Square Park ballpark in recent months have highlighted how comparatively simple its land assembly would be. Its 11-plus acres include the city's 5-acre park, managed by its Parks & Recreation Department, and a 6.14-acre office property that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City will vacate in early 2025. By comparison, the Royals' illustrated stadium sites in the East Village and East Crossroads respectively called for transactions with 12 or 23 unique property owners. Both also may have involved city-led eminent domain, and would have demolished rows of small businesses or low-income apartments.
MO Inflation
Pew Research looks at where inflation has hit hardest in the last four and half years since the pandemic. St. Louis makes the list. See it here.
MO AI
Missouri Economy Indicators shows that Missouri businesses are adopting artificial intelligence tools into their practice slightly faster than the national average. “While massive disruptions in the labor market due to AI are years away, Missouri’s fastest-growing jobs will likely use AI as a tool to complement worker, rather than replace them, in the coming years.”
Nolte B-Roll
Jerry Nolte’s campaign puts up some B-roll film for the PAC or any willing third-party to take and use in a commercial. It’s oddly calming to watch. See it here.
eMailbag: Why The Chamber Hearts Pereles
One MOScouter explains the Missouri Chamber of Commerce’s endorsement of Joe Pereles in Senate 15: “Pereles was an attorney forever for the Drurys who are big Chamber backers… Even though [the Drurys] are Republicans they are supporting Pereles.”
eMailbag: Why Hawley Works With Dems
One reader brings this snark “from a DC Republican Senate staffer, verbatim”: One big reason Josh partners with so many Democrats is that Senate Republicans can't stand him.
Lobbyists Registrations
Benjamin Travlos added Missouri Soybean Association; and deleted Missouri Farm Bureau.
Meagan Howerton deleted Bristol-Myers Squibb, Coalition of Surety Agents of Missouri, and Lotto.com Missouri LLC.
$5K+ Contributions
Winning for Missouri Education (pro-sports betting) - $5,000,000 from Betfair Interactive US LLC (Jersey City, NJ).
Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment (anti-sports betting) - $3,300,000 from Tropicana St Louis, LLC.
Vote "NO" on 3 - $100,000 from D John Sauer.
American Dream PAC (pro-Kehoe) - $25,000 from Mainline Services LLC.
American Dream PAC - $20,000 from Walmart (Bentonville, AR).
American Dream PAC - $10,000 from Jeff Layman.
American Dream PAC - $10,000 from Western Anesthesiology Associates, Inc.
Freedom and Liberty PAC (pro-Nicola) - $15,000 from Rex Sinquefield.
MO Republican Party - $49,915 from Wagner Victory Committee (Hudson, WI).
Majority Forward (Senate Dems) - $5,001 from STL Democratic Coalition (pro-Roberts).
Missouri Leadership Forum - $15,000 from GJ Grewe, Inc.
21st Century St. Louis PAC - $20,000 from Lodging Hospitality Management.
Missouri Freedom Foundation PAC - $8,100 from Pregnancy Help Center.
MoCannTrade PAC - $12,500 from Elevate Missouri.
Association of MO Electric Cooperatives (AMEC PAC) - $10,000 from Associated Electrix Co-Op Inc.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Emily Wright, and Pat Conway.