La Crosse Tribune: Poll: Casino plan in trouble

A majority of La Crosse County residents oppose construction of a casino by the Ho-Chunk Nation, according to a La Crosse Tribune/ NewsChannel 8 opinion poll.

But the margin was closer than a similar countywide ballot on a casino proposal in 1995.

A survey of 440 voters in La Crosse County, conducted during the week of Oct. 16 by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Political Science Department, showed 53 percent of county residents opposed the casino, 35 percent favored it and 12 percent were undecided.

In 1995, when the Lac du Flambeau tribe wanted to put a casino in the former Holiday Inn building on Barron Island, voters rejected the idea by a 2-to-1 margin.

UW-L political science Professor Joe Heim said a concern about jobs particularly after the Oct. 20 announcement that LaCrosse Footwear would eliminate 200 manufacturing jobs in La Crosse might be making the issue closer than it was five years ago, when it failed 20,478 to 11,065 in a countywide referendum.

On Election Day, Nov. 7, county voters will have a similar referendum question dealing with a proposed Ho-Chunk casino at an unspecified location.

County residents will be asked: "Do you favor or oppose the development and operation of a Ho-Chunk Nation casino at a site in La Crosse County?"

Heim said a "substantial gender gap" showed up on the survey, with 48 percent of men supporting the casino and only 26 percent of women favoring it. Of the men, 38 percent opposed the casino and 63 percent of women were in opposition. Because of this, Heim said, "it would appear that the supporters would need an unusually strong vote (and turnout) from males to pass this referendum."

Republicans were slightly more likely to oppose the casino than Democrats. Of those identifying themselves as Republicans, Go percent opposed the casino; 53 percent of those identifying themselves as Democrats opposed the casino.

Older voters were more likely to oppose the casino, Heim said, despite the fact that retirees make up a major group of casino patrons.

Education was also a factor, Heim said, as people with more education tended to oppose the casino, and those with less education tended to support it. Of those with a high school education or less, 42 percent favored the casino and 47 percent opposed it. Of those with some college, 35 percent favored it and 51 percent were opposed. Among college graduates, 34 percent favored the casino and 56 percent opposed it.

For the casino question, 440 La Crosse County residents were interviewed by telephone. That makes for a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.