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Gambling is too great a risk

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It does not take anyone with superior intelligence to understand when money is dangled in front of people, most of the time, they will take the bait. With the outcome of the vote on the Republican ballot about expanding gambling, there are people who are pushing harder to open a casino.

According to the Secretary of State’s web site 31.34% of the registered voters or 1,636,371 people voted in the Primary last week. Out of that number 955, 857 voted on question number one on the Republican ballot. That question, you will remember, asked if we had more gambling with money going to education, would we approve such a move. 480,313 voted yes and 475,544 voted no. The difference in the vote was 4,769. 50.25% voted yes and 49.75% voted no. With one half of one percent voting in favor over those who opposed the question, the gambling crowd was ready to crow about the overwhelming victory. The willing media is quick to find church folks who applaud the idea that we will soon have a casino in our state. The gambling crowd has been working hard during this election cycle trying to convince legislators, media, and the public, that all we need to hit the jackpot and move on to easy street is to allow them to install more gambling outlets in our state.

In these tough economic times, revenue streams are hard to find for the elected folks, so they are beginning to listen to the continual talk from those who want to see our state be thrust into the depths of gambling to think that maybe the time is right for such a move. The promise is always the same; jobs, more money for education, and taxes will be lowered because of the sudden windfall profit of great piles of money that will be available to be deposited into the state treasury. The same week we were facing the vote in this non binding straw poll, a former governor in Alabama was being sent back to prison because of the crimes of which he was convicted related to the gambling crowd having made such grandiose promises to which he was a victim. Greed will do interesting things to people’s minds. Greed, or the promise of getting something for nothing or for a little risk, can play interesting games with us when we allow them to take over our normal common sense.

The number of commercials inviting people to have fun at the casinos out of state has increased. The numbers of people who admit to taking gambling junkets into other states are becoming more public. Why would any person be opposed to people having fun? Why would any person be opposed to adults making their own choices to throw away their money with a promise of hitting a big jackpot?
Reality is for the casino to stay open there must be more losers than winners. From studies conducted by government and other agencies, we know that 95% of what is made in profit at a casino is made at the slot machines. We are told that the casino planned for Jimmy Carter Blvd and Interstate 85 will have 7,500 video slot machines running at the same time. Currently in other states, lawsuits are being conducted against people who have won too much money at casinos. Other states are discovering that the promise of the great piles of money that were to fill their treasury somehow did not add up to what was promised. It is always the same wherever and whenever gambling is expanded with great promise of success, seems only to be fulfilled for the casino owner and not the public. The cost to service the higher crime rate, the number of people loosing everything they own, falls to the government (tax payers) to support them, and on the story goes into the negatives which are never presented on the front end of these ventures.

There are people who think I am trying to keep them from having fun, or doing with their money as they choose. That is incorrect. Have fun, enjoy throwing your money away, but just do not turn to the government, (tax-paying citizens) to bail you out when you loose more than you win. We need to learn from other states that gambling is not worth the risk.

Ray Newman, Executive Director Georgia Citizen Action Project, Inc.
2nd VP Georgia Baptist Convention


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