RottenApple wrote:fickman wrote:- Attempt to bring casinos to Texas / add slot machines to race tracks
I'm not much of a gambling man myself, but I really don't see what the problem is with this one. I'd rather we have some well regulated casinos here in Texas than letting all that revenue go across the border into Oklahoma.
It's a few things. . . he tried to push it about two weeks after receiving $100,000 from the horse track associations (cite: radio years ago) after never having been (publicly at least) a proponent of it himself. (Which is also the accusation around the Garadasil debate. . . he had just recently received a major contribution from Pharma Lobbyists when he signed that into law. I'll accept his explanation that he only did it to make it available for Medicaid subsidies.)
I'm not against gaming per se, but I'm probably a "Not in my backyard" guy. It just attracts a bad element, and leads so many in desperate situations to worsen their situation. For all of the glitz and glitter, a casino around 4:00 am can be one of the saddest places you've ever seen. . . with joyless drones just pumping away money. Petty theft, robbery, addiction, prostitution, and a host of other ailments seem to always follow them.
I'm also skeptical of the claim that gambling establishments (outside of Vegas and Atlantic City) get outside money to pour into the local economy. I think they're typically more parasitic of the local pool of money and glean their revenues from opportunity cost of other local entertainment venues.
I was hardline against them until I went to Singapore last year. They have an ingenious solution that I know Americans would never tolerate. If you're a local, it costs $100 to enter the casino. Foreigners get in for free. Why?
1. If you can't afford the $100, you probably can't afford to be gambling there.
2. They built the casino to boost the economy, which means they want external money coming in to the area, not just a shuffling of local money.
Like I said, Americans would revolt against this thought, even though it makes great sense, and say, "You're going to build a casino in my neighborhood AND tell me I'm not allowed in?"
Oh well. . . to each his own. I just don't think Texas would ever be enough of a gambling destination spot to overcome the negatives. We'd probably look more like New Orleans, Shreveport, or Jackson than Vegas.
Plus, it'd just make a new category of businesses that ban CHLers from carrying.
