KOMU Coverage of The C.S.I. Campaign Kick-Off

MSNBC: Dealing with a gambling addiction

News Tribune (3/9/08)
Your Opinion
Casino takes money from community

Dear Editor: A recent news article in your newspaper featured the benefits a casino brings to the City of Boonville. The Isle of Capri Casino does not send a fleet of Brink's trucks full of cash to Boonville every week.

Quite the contrary, they ship money out of Boonville every day.

Yes, Boonville got $4 million last year. But, that money was not free. When Boonville got $4 million, someone else lost $4 million. The casino actually took about $65-70 million out of the Mid-Missouri area. The state got something over 20 percent of that. The money was not casino money, it was money from the people of Mid-Missouri who gambled and lost. According to Missouri Gaming Commission data, the average player at Boonville loses an average of $70.

So, Mid-Missourians lost around $65-70 million, the casino made about $35 million clear, and Boonville got $4 million. And they did it based on an activity that 20 years ago would have been a felony, but which state and local governments now embrace to get a cut. Is it really the proper role of government to partner with gambling promoters to take massive amounts of money from the people?

The headline, “Nearly $4 million has been pumped into city coffers” should really have read, “Nearly $70 million sucked out of Mid-Missouri area.”

The claim we hear is that if our city got a casino, Jefferson City would make the same, or more. Not true. A study released in January by the Missouri Gaming Commission shows the “gaming market” in Mid-Missouri is limited. It shows that if a casino opened in Jefferson City, Boonville's gaming revenues would drop by more than 40 percent and the Jefferson City casino would get only a fraction of what Boonville currently gets.

John A. Tandy
Jefferson City

News Tribune (3/23/08)
Your Opinion
Casino gambling ballot issue

Dear Editor: I want to note at the outset that this is not written as a criticism of my fellow councilmen or other community leaders who support repeal of the prohibition on gambling casinos in Jefferson City.

Undeniably there are moral dimensions to this issue, but I don't believe any of them want to undermine the values we all share. They understand, perhaps better than many of their detractors, that the City of Jefferson faces significant financial challenges. They hope that gambling revenues might ease the crunch. I respectfully disagree. Not only would a gambling casino fail to bring in significant dollars for Jefferson City, it would actually drag down efforts to bring good jobs and increased prosperity to our community.

Ron Medin, Fifth Ward councilman
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News Tribune (3/23/08)
Your Opinion
Casino gambling ballot issue

Dear Editor: I am writing in response to the recent article covering the community forum on a gambling boat for Jefferson City.

I was a speaker in opposition. It was stated that I want Jefferson City to remain the sweet little town it has always been. I would like to clarify that I had said I would like to protect the sweet culture of Jefferson City, as that is what drew us to raise our children here. While I am not in favor of the gambling boat, I am very much in favor of economic development, just the right kind. While I expressed concerns about the problems that would come with gambling, and Mr. Penfold spoke of the economic impact reality on residents, I also mentioned there are other ways to bring about the needed economic development.

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News Tribune (3/23/08)
Your Opinion
Casino gambling ballot issue

Dear Editor: I am opposed to gambling here in Jefferson City. I am opposed to it because of the cost.

Many have spoken out about the cost in lost revenue for local businesses here, the cost to families who have a compulsive gambler living with them. But, I am most concerned about the cost of having to take care of those who lose. 

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News Tribune (3/23/08)
Your Opinion
Casino gambling ballot issue

Dear Editor: In a News Tribune article, Fifth Ward Councilman Dan Klindt said, “I don't gamble. I don't enjoy it. ...But if someone wants to throw their money away, we ought to be there to catch it.”

Who's he talking about? People from Kansas City losing money? People from St. Louis? No, he's talking about you.

For the city to gain $30,000, you will have to lose $1 million.

Where's that money coming from?

Casino owner Donald Trump said, “People will spend a tremendous amount of money in casinos, money that they would normally spend on buying a refrigerator or new car. Local businesses will suffer...”

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News Tribune (3/26/08)
Your Opinion
Casino gambling issue

Dear Editor: I am writing in fierce opposition to the riverboat casino propositions that will appear before voters on
April 8.

Not only does the casino affect the capital's citizens directly, but also indirectly as the government agencies that govern public life become involved with the casinos. “Because gambling requires public regulation, those who want favors for licensing or operating conditions must obtain them from government, which creates and enticement to public corruption.” (Michigan attorney general, 1995.)

When government officials are corrupted, the citizens they govern bear the weight of the consequences of that corruption.

The tragic affects of the casino are a reality. Do Jefferson City citizens want those realities to become their own?

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News Tribune (3/26/08)
Your Opinion
Casino gambling issue

Dear Editor: Some questions occur to me that are critical to my decision about the casino gambling issue next month. If there has been extensive discussion about these issues and I have not been paying attention, I beg your forgiveness.

Where do proponents think would be an acceptable place for a casino? It's an important question for members of our City Council, whether they are campaigning or not, and for others who are seeking City Council seats. You may count me among those unalterably opposed to locating a casino in any locations that would detract from the importance and symbolism of the Capitol. The Capitol says so much more about us than any casino ever can that its presence and its image should never be infringed upon.

I despise the thought that the garish lights of a casino would rob our riverfront of its dignity.

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News Tribune (3/30/08)
Your Opinion
Gambling issue

Dear Editor: As did our country's forefathers, let us forever ascribe to the one who gave us this country. Let us maintain the freedoms we enjoy to give us our strength and moral courage to vote “no” two times on April 8.

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News Tribune (3/30/08)
Your Opinion
Gambling issue

Dear Editor: Recently, I rode past the casino in St. Charles and took a good look at it. I cannot imagine why the good people of Jefferson City would want such a garish, Vegas-looking complex on our lovely stretch of the Missouri River. It really is awful.

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News Tribune (3/30/08)
Your Opinion
Gambling issue

Dear Editor: Gambling can lead to lying, frustration, abuse, stealing, causing explosions of rage, hopelessness and depression. These are situations though not labeled as criminal, are harmful to the well being of a family. It has the potential of turning into domestic violence.

My concern is gambling may lead to more crimes in the home. Crimes like this often go unreported due to fear and shame. How many unreported crimes are going to happen as a result of gambling? Do we want to create these harmful issues within families and among our citizens?

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News Tribune (3/30/08)
Your Opinion
Gambling issue

Dear Editor: The National Institute of Health (NIH) describes pathological gambling as “an inability to resist impulses to gamble, which can lead to severe personal or social consequences.”

The NIH also says that “pathological gambling usually begins in early adolescence in men and between ages 20-40 in women. It is more common in adults living within 50 miles of a casino ... In people who develop pathological gambling, occasional gambling leads to a gambling habit.”

As many as 10 percent of people are genetically predisposed to problem gambling.

Why did the City Council invite a known danger into our community? How does this improve our life in the capital city?

I plan to vote “no” on April 8.

William R. Kimlinger, MD, FAAFP
Jefferson City

News Tribune (4/1/08)
Your Opinion
Casino gambling issue

Dear Editor: Picture a city of pastoral beauty, rolling hills, meandering roads and lush woods, all within its perimeters; a town bounded on the north by a mighty river.

Picture a city, its proud past reflected in the architecture, ranging from grand mansions to modest bungalows and humble shotgun cottages. Add the elderly, distinguished public buildings and the downtown district, all erected long ago by true craftsmen.

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News Tribune (4/1/08)
Your Opinion
Casino gambling issue

Dear Editor: I have been following both sides of the debate on the riverboat gambling issue for some time now and there is one item that continues to puzzle me.

The proponents ad in support of the casino continues to claim that the Boonville casino has had an increase in business every year since it started business.

Checking the Missouri Gaming Commission Report for the Isle of Capri, I find that admissions have gone down every year but one since the casino's first year of operation, and so far this year admissions are down 10 percent over the same time last year. So how can proponents claim that business is up?

Oh I see now, despite admissions going down, individual losses are up.

So success in the gambling business is not measured in getting more people to visit your “entertainment business,” it's getting them to lose more money individually.

Never mind. Their concern for their customers speaks volumes.

Floyd Gilzow, Jefferson City

News Tribune (4/2/08)
Your Opinion
Casino gambling issue

Dear Editor: Atlantic City, N.J., is known as the town the Donald built and the home of the Miss America pageant. The board game Monopoly is based on it also. Sounds glamorous, doesn't it?

While the area is home to large casinos, fancy hotels and fine dining as well as “The Boardwalk,” just a couple of blocks away is a very different picture.

Welcome to the other Atlantic City, the one the tourist industry and the casinos and Chamber of Commerce don't want you to know about.

The towns infrastructure has crumbled and the city government is full of corruption. It was once a Mafia stronghold. You think we have crime rate? Invite the casinos in and watch out. It may not happen overnight, but it can happen and has happened.

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