Author: Casino Connection Staff

The Coeur d’Alene tribe of Idaho last week announced it would reopen its casino on May 1, becoming the first casino to reopen in the U.S. since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic. The casino closed on March 20, five days before the order from Idaho Governor Brad Little issued a stay-at-home order, which expires on April 30.

Thus far there have been no Covid 19 cases on the reservation or in surrounding Benewah County.

“Based on local trends and the consistently low number of confirmed cases in the region, we believe we can safely start to reopen the reservation,” said Ernie Stensgar, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. “Protecting lives and protecting livelihoods don’t have to be mutually exclusive. We have a plan that we believe can do both and frankly, it is time to take action.”

The reopening followed a task force set up by tribal council that decided on the process and procedures for reopening. The task force included tribal members, casino executives and medical professionals.

“We made the difficult decision to enact an early stay-home order and shut down the casino, which is an essential tribal operation that keeps many of our other vital programs running,” Stensgar continued. “Our swift and deliberate actions worked to keep our community safe. The curve has flattened in our region.”

The property will reopen in phases, starting with an April 27 opening for tribal members. The general public will be admitted on May 1, according to CEO Laura Stensgar.

Some changes include:

• Significant social distancing, including more space between tables in restaurants, fewer operating slot machines (every other machine switched off) and plexiglass barriers at key locations throughout the property.
• Facemasks will be required of everyone on the property, employees and guests alike.
• The spa, buffet, OTB and bingo parlors will remain closed.
• The casino will shut down between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. each day for a deep cleaning.
• All concerts and special events will be postponed to a later date.

Under a statewide plan issued by Governor Little, Idaho will begin a four-phase reopening plan on May 1. Phase one will permit the reopening of retail and places of worship on May 1. On May 15, restaurants, hair and nail salons and gyms may reopen, all under the mandate of social distancing. Bars, nightclubs, concert venues and movie theaters would remain closed until further notice.

A partial reopening of Nevada’s economy, including the all-important casino industry, could come in the early days of May, although state officials and industry leaders both stress that nothing is certain without reasonable assurances that the Covid-19 pandemic is containable.

Last week, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman sparked widespread criticism and outright ridicule for her contention, in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, that the city’s billion-dollar gaming industry should reopen at once, and serve as “a control group” for the rest of the region. Goodman’s jurisdiction does not include the Las Vegas Strip. But Governor Steve Sisolak maintained last week that he won’t assign a date for reopening until testing has ramped up enough to allow infections to be tracked𑁋and in that way, hopefully, contained𑁋and treatment capacity is sufficient to handle any new cases.

He said state officials will be looking for 14 days of “consistent and sustainable” downward trends in the number of new cases and hospitalizations.

It’s been a difficult call, considering the near total dependence of Nevada’s economy on gaming and gaming-related tourism. The jobless rate has soared in the space of a month to more than 6 percent, nearly double the all-time low of 3.6 percent in January and February. The state has been swamped with claims for unemployment benefits at the same time that the casino closures have shut off its principal source of direct and indirect tax revenues. Oxford Economics has ranked state the second-most economically vulnerable state behind Maine to the pandemic’s impacts.

As Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox said, “Our economy is in a freefall.”

Culinary Local 226, the industry’s largest union and the largest in the state, has begun pushing for the industry to continue paying workers for the duration of the closure.

It’s expected casinos will be included in the federal guidelines for partially reopening the U.S. economy known as Phase I. That would point to a resumption of business sometime between May 5 and 15. But if that happens it will be anything but business as usual. Many non-gaming amenities will remain closed, strict social distancing measures will dictate limited activity on gaming floors, there will be constant cleaning and sanitizing of all public and back-of-house areas, employees will be equipped with face masks, it’s likely guests will be too, and body temperature scans will be mandatory on arrival.

Then again, whatever form the reopening takes, it’s not expected to bring a swift end to Nevada’s woes, considering the havoc the pandemic has wrought on the travel industry nationwide amid widespread stay-at-home orders, mandated business closures and fears of big gatherings.

As Las Vegas analyst John Restrepo of RCG Economics noted, “Even if we were under a glass bubble and everything was open here, there wouldn’t be people traveling here.”

In any event, Sisolak is adamant that the state must reach a point, as he put it, “where saving lives and restarting our economy are not mutually exclusive.”

The gaming industry, despite the tens of millions of dollars it’s losing every day, apparently agrees.

“Our members understand it is critical to take a measured approach that ensures the reopening of Nevada’s tourism industry is done strategically and correctly for the long-term health of our industry and its reputation,” said Virginia Valentine, president of the Nevada Resort Association.

“It is imperative to flatten this curve so we can re-emerge in a safe, sustainable way,” Maddox said.

William Hornbuckle, acting CEO of MGM Resorts International, concurred in a video message to employees recorded from his home, “We have to consider every aspect of our business so we can welcome our guests safely and keep each other safe while we do it.”

As he put it, “This is a completely uncharted path.”

As of Friday, state health officials reported 4,200 confirmed cases of the virus and 195 deaths, far fewer what was initially feared𑁋a “strong indicator,” Sisolak said, “that our aggressive control measures were both necessary and effective.”

“All of the measures that we’re monitoring do indicate that Nevada has started to reach a plateau,” Kyra Morgan, a state biostatistician, said last week. “However, there’s not sufficient data to indicate that we’ve actually started to see a significant decline in new cases.”

Which means things could change if there’s any reversion or uptick in infections.

“This is atypical,” Sisolak said. “The reopening needs to be flexible, because it’s going to rely on data, and this is a virus. There’s going to have some real-time decision-making, if we see a spike in cases.”

The possibility has not eluded gaming operators. Maddox addressed it specifically in an opinion piece published last week in The Nevada Independent detailing the company’s plans for reopening.

“The only way to cross this river is one stone at a time,” he wrote, “and we need to put our feet in the water before it is too late.”

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced a plan to reopen the commonwealth, including the 12 casinos that have been shut down since mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In an address to citizens on April 17, Wolf called on the state legislature to pass several relief measures for businesses and individuals as the state gradually reopens its businesses.

“Over the next few weeks, we will need to continue our social distancing efforts while we continue to plan for a phased reopening,” Wolf said. “There is no magic wand to wave to get us back to where we want to be. I will work every day to repair the damage this virus has caused.”

Wolf emphasized the state’s reopening should only occur once adequate testing for the Covid-19 virus is available and health-care officials have adequate personal protective equipment. He said there must be a monitoring and containment system at the ready, and that unnecessary large gatherings will remain banned until further notice.

Wolf laid out six standards that will need to be met before a gradual reopening can begin:

• The approach must be “data-driven,” informing a regional approach to reopenings;
• The state will have guidance for employers, individuals and health-care facilities for “assured accountability” during reopening;
• Adequate personal protective equipment and COVID-19 testing must be available (Wolf did not specify what exactly the capacity would need to be);
• There must be a monitoring and containment system to deal with new cases of the disease after reopening has begun;
• Protections for vulnerable populations must remain consistent throughout reopening; and,
• Limitations on large gatherings unrelated to occupations must remain in place throughout the reopening process.

Wolf also proposed legislation to offer relief to Pennsylvanians, including expansions of paid sick leave and unemployment and workers’ compensation insurance, and called for changing the law so no Pennsylvanians would be denied health insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions, “no matter what happens at the federal level.”

In related news, officials in Bucks County, home of Bensalem’s Parx Casino, have announced that the county is making $150,000 in host-community casino revenue taxes available to the Covid-19 Emergency Nonprofit Relief Program, which aids local nonprofit relief efforts related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The funds are being distributed to nonprofits through the county Redevelopment Authority (RDA).

“Our nonprofits have shown an amazing ability to meet the public’s need on shoestring budgets, but now they would have almost no ability to assist if it weren’t for the generosity and quick response of the RDA,” commissioner Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia said, according to the Bucks County Courier Times.

Funds must be used to support human and emergency services, health and public safety or facility costs. Eligible nonprofits can apply for a maximum grant of $10,000 by submitting a request at bcrda.com by May 1.

“During this unprecedented time, the Redevelopment Authority is going to do everything possible to support Bucks County communities,” Jeff Darwak, redevelopment authority executive director, told the Courier Times. “I want to thank the county commissioners and county staff for their efforts to initiate these emergency relief programs.”

The money for nonprofits is in addition to $600,000 in gambling revenues set aside as part of the emergency economic rapid response loan program that offers one-time loans to private companies in the tourism and hospitality industry in the county.

In an elaborate ceremony on April 21, officials of the Comanche Nation and Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma signed new gaming compacts that allow them to offer sports betting and banked table games like blackjack at their casinos in the state.

Governor Kevin Stitt said in a statement, “The new compacts recognize the sovereign rights of individual tribes to conduct gaming in Oklahoma. The compacts take a sound approach to assessing the value of substantial exclusivity in a modernized tribal gaming industry, and importantly, the compacts expand opportunity for both the compacting tribes and the state to compete in future gaming markets.”

But later the same day, state Attorney General Mike Hunter proclaimed that the agreements “are not authorized by the state Tribal Gaming Act” because they permit sports betting.

“The governor has the authority to negotiate compacts with the tribes on behalf of the state,” Hunter said. “However … sports betting is not a prescribed ‘covered game’ under the act.”

It’s the latest dustup in the battle between Stitt and Oklahoma tribes over gaming compacts. A number of tribes claimed the compacts, giving them exclusive gambling rights automatically renewed on January 1. Stitt argued that the 15-year compacts expired on that date. The Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw nations sued Stitt on December 31; they later were joined by nine other tribes, including the Otoe-Missouria and the Comanches. Mediation in that suit has been postponed until May 31 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which also shut down the state’s casinos.

Stitt had expressed the desire to negotiate higher exclusivity fees under the existing compacts for the right to operate Class III gaming. The current fees range from 4 percent to 10 percent. The compacts signed last week are totally new and include several oversight measures and clarifications. They actually allow for lower rates; the state’s share would increase if each of the tribes builds up to three new off-reservation casinos—one of the provisions of the new compacts, in addition to allowing banked card games and on-site sports betting.

Observers note the Comanche compact would allow the tribe to build three casinos in Chickasaw territory. In 2017, the Chickasaws received federal approval to build a casino at Comanche, near the Comanche Nation’s headquarters in Lawton. The Comanches currently operate casinos in Lawton, Devol, Elgin and Walters.

Based in Red Rock, the Otoe-Missouria operate five casinos in north central Oklahoma that produce about half the revenue of the Comanches’ four venues.

Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association President Matthew Morgan said, “We respect the sovereignty of each tribe to take what actions it believes it must on behalf of its citizens. All the same, Governor Stitt does not have the authority to do what he claims to have done. Without the engagement of the Oklahoma legislature, he has entered agreements based on a claim of unilateral state authority to legalize sportsbooks, to revamp the Oklahoma Lottery and to authorize new gaming facilities in Norman and Stillwater, among other places. That’s simply not the law.

“I expect tribal and state officials are now reviewing the documents he released and trying to understand what exactly it is Governor Stitt is trying to do,” Morgan said. “But at the end of the day, I suspect his actions have not helped matters for anyone.”

In 2018, the tribes paid a total of $6 million in exclusivity fees to the state. They continue to operate Class III gaming and remit fees to the state.

The new compacts would have to be approved by the Department of the Interior and are certain to face legal and political opposition.

Stitt said additional compacts would be filed later, representing the unique requirements and interests of each tribe.

The Virginia General Assembly recently convened for one day to consider gambling legislation amendments focusing on electronic skill games, casino revenue and sports betting.

The most controversial proposal concerned the thousands of electronic games of skill that have sprung up across the state. Governor Ralph Northam had supported a ban on the unregulated, untaxed games which legislators said would cannibalize Virginia Lottery profits that help fund public education. However, legislators granted the games a one-year extension to operate. Northam promised to veto any future legislation that would extend the games beyond June 30, 2021.

He also will require the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to adopt regulations to govern the industry. Each machine will be taxed at $1,200 a month, which would generate $150 million over the next year for a Covid-19 relief fund to help small businesses survive the economic shutdown from the pandemic.

Pace-O-Matic subsidiary Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment, which operates 7,500 machines in 2,500 businesses, issued a statement thanking Northam and legislators. “We are pleased that a system for regulation and taxation of skill games has been put in place. This is something our company has long advocated that the commonwealth do,” the company said.

Legislators also adopted amendments legalizing casinos in Richmond, Danville, Bristol, Norfolk and Portsmouth. Now referendums can be held in each city on November 3 to allow residents to determine if they want a casino.

The original casino measure was passed and sent to Northam last month but he added several amendments, including raising gambling license fees, allocating the state’s share of gaming revenue to education and including the state’s two NASCAR racetracks among others allowed to partner with bookmakers on mobile sports betting. Sports wagering will be allowed on professional and collegiate sports, except those involving Virginia colleges and universities.

Casinos will pay 18 percent in taxes on their first $200 million of annual gaming revenue, increasing to 23 percent on revenue between $200 million and $400 million, with a maximum of 30 percent on revenue above $400 million. Sports wagering revenue will be taxed at 15 percent.

Several tribes have sued the U.S. Treasury Department to prevent any of the $8 billion Covid-19 relief under the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act legislation earmarked for federally-recognized tribes from being disbursed to Alaska’s Native corporations.

Tribes that filed in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. last week included the Tulalip Tribes and Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation of Washington State, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians of Maine, and the Akiak Native Community, and the Asa’carsarmiut Tribe and Aleut Community of St. Paul Island in Alaska. They filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota plans to seek a court order halting the distribution of the funding, claiming that at least $3 billion is intended to go to the Alaska Native corporations.

The department is scheduled to begin paying out of the fund on April 26. It is intended to help sovereign tribes go under as all tribal casinos have closed along with other businesses.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. commented that the money “is what Indian Country will rely on to start up again,” adding, “Congress surely didn’t intend to put tribal governments, which are providing health care, education, jobs, job training, and all sorts of programs, to compete against these Alaska corporate interests, which looks like a cash grab.”

Tribal casinos fund governmental services such as health care, elder care, education and housing. Tribes rarely have large reserves, because as soon as money flows in, it flows out.

Two weeks ago, the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association called for the dismissal of Bureau of Indian Affairs Assistant Secretary Tara Sweeney over her proposal to give Alaskan Native Corporations some of the $8 billion. California Nations Indian Gaming Association and National Congress of American Indians wrote letters highly critical of the proposal, although they fell short of calling for Sweeney’s ouster.

Alaskan lands were not considered Indian land after Alaskan tribes in 1971 rejected the reservation system of the lower 48 states. Instead of reservations, the tribes received fee land under state jurisdiction. Alaska Native villages are recognized on the list of federally recognized Indian tribes. However, Alaska Native Corporations are state corporations subject to state law and taxation and without tribal sovereignty.

The Interior Department insists that the Alaska Native corporations qualify since they fit the definition of “Indian Tribe” in the bill.

Tribes retorted that Congress intended the money to go to the nation’s 574 federally recognized tribes with sovereign lands that treat with the U.S. government to government.

Jonodev Chaudhuri, chairman of the Indian Law and Policy Group at the law firm Quarles and Brady LLP and former chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, told the Associated Press: “The federal government’s responsibility to consult with tribal nations is based on not only longstanding policies, but it’s also based on important standards of respect.” He added, “Consultation is to be meaningful and timely.”

Sweeney was criticized because she was a longtime executive and stockholder of Arctic Slope Regional Corp., one of the largest Alaska Native corporations.

The Interior Department defended Sweeney, saying, “To suggest she has personal motives or that she is attempting to divert funds away from American Indians is completely false. Her approach has always been focused on inclusiveness, transparency and partnerships.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sweeney exchanged tweets, with Schumer writing: “President Trump’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney is diverting funds for tribal governments during coronavirus to for-profit Alaska Native Corporations. We can’t put these corporations before tribal governments and people. Sweeney used to be an exec for an ANC, and she wants to profit!”

Sweeney responded, “Even for you, this is an ignorant and despicably low attack that could not be further from the truth. Perhaps you should read the law you negotiated and voted for as Alaska Natives are entitled to receive the funding from US Treasury.”

In a related development, the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development projects that Indian gaming could lose about $49.5 billion to effects of the pandemic on wages and benefit.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based project wrote to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin: “The Covid-19 crisis poses an immediate threat to the states and regions in which tribal economies are embedded. Tribes’ enterprises and governments, and their employees, support huge amounts of direct and indirect (spillover) economic activity and tax revenues in their regional economies, and in the US as a whole.”

The brunt of the damage “would be borne by non-Indians. Our estimates indicate that approximately 70 percent of the impact—915,000 jobs, with wages and benefits totaling $40.2 billion—would be suffered by non-Indian workers.”

Collateral damage is also being felt by state and local governments which are losing $9.4 billion annually under present trends and the federal government, which is losing $15.9 billion. Losses come from revenue sharing and taxes paid by Indian casinos.

The Harvard Project urged federal action: “The need for federal COVID-19 response funds in Indian Country is as urgent as it is overwhelming. Speed is important, but it is no less important that forthcoming funds be allocated to tribes in ways that reflect the federal-tribal government-to-government relationship and the economic realities of Indian Country.”

Rhode Island, whose two casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton provide the third largest source of revenue to the state, is watching that source of funding melt away after the Twin River operations closed indefinitely March 14 under the Covid-19 threat and an executive order by Governor Gina Raimondo. Meanwhile 5,000 residents have the virus and 155 have died.

Last year, the state’s casinos brought in $400 million in taxes. It estimates it is losing $1 million a day in lost revenues.

Whenever they reopen they will face the necessity to impose social distancing that could prevent them from bouncing back.

Richard McGowan, a Boston College professor who closely watches the gaming industry, told the Boston Globe: “They’re going to have to come up with a completely different business model,” He continued, “Having six feet between slot machines would be death for Rhode Island.”

McGowan predicts that casinos will have to rely more on non-gaming amenities since players won’t be able to sit next to each other when the casinos reopen. “It’s going to take a long time for people going to want to be close together,” he said.

Twin River says it has enough liquidity to meet all its obligations for the next 12 months, including “debt service, required capital expenditure and acquisitions.” That hasn’t stopped the company from studying whether it might qualify for any federal aid in the CARES Act relief funds. It is considering applying for a loan through the Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program.

The governor has said she would support applying some federal allocations aimed at low and hourly wage workers to some employees of Twin River.

After weeks of will-they-or-won’t-they, organizers finally postponed the annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

The 51st annual tournament—the country’s single largest live poker event—was scheduled to run from May 26 to July 15. The tourney will take place sometime in the fall instead, another victim of the coronavirus pandemic.

Besides its size, the tournament ranks as one of the most lucrative annual poker events. Last year’s World Series of Poker drew a record 187,298 entries from 118 countries and awarded a record $293.2 million in prize money.

Despite pleas from Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, the resort remains uncertain when Nevada’s casinos, including the tournament’s home since 2004, the Rio, will reopen.

“We are committed to running the World Series of Poker this year, but need additional time to proceed on our traditional scale while prioritizing guest and staff well-being,” World Series of Poker Executive Director Ty Stewart said in a statement.

Stewart said World Series of Poker events will be played online through the WSOP.com site during the summer. Details of an expanded series of tournaments, he said, will be announced. WSOP.com is only available in four states: Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

The WSOP tournament as it was scheduled planned to feature more than 70 events, but the rescheduled version will be shortened. Still the world championship, the $10,000 buy-in Main Event championship, will remain, according to CDC Gaming Reports.

Before the postponement, officials wondered whether the 2020 tournament would be the last at the Rio. The event uses 500 poker tables and covers 200,000 square feet of ballroom space inside the Rio’s convention center, taking over the entire facility for seven weeks.

In December, Caesars Entertainment sold the Rio for $516.3 million in a sale/leaseback to New York-based Dreamscape Companies. Caesars will continue to operate the Rio for at least the next two years. But Eldorado Resorts purchased Caesars, which owns the World Series of Poker, in a $17.3 billion deal. Last June, when the transaction was announced, Eldorado CEO Tom Reeg twice referred to the World Series of Poker as “an iconic brand.”

Seth Palansky, vice president of communications for Caesars Interactive, believes the Rio will continue to be the home of the tournament. The sheer size of the event will pose a challenge in finding new home.

Many of the World Series of Poker’s circuit events in the U.S. are held at non-Caesars properties, as is the World Series of Poker Europe, so Las Vegas can still host the event in a property not owned by Caesars.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has named Golden Nugget owner and billionaire Tilman Fertitta to a task force that will advise on how to reopen the state after the pandemic shutdown.

Abbott’s Special Advisory Council to the Governor’s Strike Force to Open Texas, composed of business leaders, medical experts and public and private figures will have the job of putting together a plan to resurrect the Lone State’s economy, which has been closed by executive order since March 19.

Besides owning the two Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas, plus one each in Louisiana, Mississippi and New Jersey, Fertitta also owns Landry’s restaurants in 35 states. He has furloughed about 40,000 workers nationwide. Forbes has estimated that he is worth $4.8 billion.

Several of Las Vegas’ largest casinos have begun taking hotel reservations for May 1, despite a recent statement from Governor Steve Sisolak that he’s not ready to begin relaxing the Covid-19 restrictions that have all but shut down the state’s economy.

It was reported last week that resorts operated by Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International𑁋18 in all, including MGM’s Mandalay Bay Convention Center and MGM Grand Garden Arena𑁋have been accepting reservations, although prospective visitors were being informed that the May 1 date could change subject to orders from the governor.

If he doesn’t issue such an order, it may not matter anyway, with travel at a standstill nationwide and fears of large public gatherings likely to persist.

Nevada’s largest industry was ordered closed on March 17 to try to contain the spread of the potentially deadly contagion, which is known to have infected more than 3,500 people in the state and killed more than 140.

The order is in place through April 30, and Sisolak has not indicated whether that would change. In a news conference last Tuesday night,

he said he will rely on doctors to advise him about the pandemic while considering factors such as rates of infection and deaths, the impacts on hospitals and input from business.

President Trump, meanwhile, facing what promises to be a difficult re-election bid in November, is anxious to reopen the battered national economy though the virus continues to spread and the U.S. death toll, the highest in the world at more than 36,000, continues to mount. Medical experts have been harshly critical of the reopening guidelines the administration released last week, and Sisolak appeared to address that in Tuesday’s media gathering.

“This is not going to be a political decision as far as when to open,” he said. “We’re going to take it slow and steady and listen to the doctors.”

In response to Trump’s push to reopening, several states have banded together to frame their own plans, including seven in the Northeast, the region hardest hit by the contagion, and California, Oregon and Washington. Sisolak didn’t say whether Nevada was asked to join the Western coalition, though he said he shares its goals and is in communication with California Governor Gavin Newsom.

He’s mainly engaged in trying to address the humanitarian crisis, he said. With an estimated one in three Nevada workers employed in the gaming and tourism industries, the state’s unemployment could end up the highest in the country. It’s estimated that 320,000 jobs are at risk, twice the number affected by the 2008-09 recession.

The state’s unemployment office has been swamped with filings for benefits, which have hit 10,000 a day, and has begun staggering phone and online claims by assigning different days by alphabetical order of claimants’ names. Sisolak said the state is adding staff to help with the crunch and that claimants who are unable to get through to the system initially will be paid retroactively.

The casino industry, the state’s largest employer, generated more than $12 billion from gambling alone last year, and analysts say if it remains closed for longer than a month, it could take a year or more to recover that money. Losses could exceed $30 billion over that time

The industry also is the state’s largest single taxpayer, and estimates put the state’s potential revenue loss from a protracted shutdown at upwards of $40 billion.