I think reservation gaming would be a compromise. It wouldn't throw gaming in the face of those who oppose it for moral or social reasons (major cities or tourist locations) and it would allow those who would like to gamble an opportunity to do so without leaving the state.
The difference is that stocks are bought so that the company selling can raise capital to invest in projects that will make money on that money. So, the general trend is up and wealth is created and investors, on the margin, win. In gambling, the house is not raising money for any wealth-creating venture. They invest the money they earn, but those earnings are not passed on to the gamblers. The risk that the gamblers take is not correlated to the money they earn and they, in the long run, lose. There is a world of difference between the two. I'm sorry about your grandmother, but I don't think it invalidates anything I've said at all. Maybe I missed an important detail, but she could have lost all her money in Vegas as easily as she did in an illegal gambling operation. And, since she could gamble away that money legally, I think it would be good for people like her to limit the accessibility of gambling so that it happens to fewer people. People can find ways to gamble, but making it illegal makes the product less enticing and the sticker price higher. Legalization will increase the number of people ruined by gambling.
Ah...another of the "save them from themselves" crowd. What an unbearably arrogant argument. Are you somehow so enlightened that you know what temptations the poor sheeple can and cannot withstand?
Good lord!!! Where did I say is was one of my grandmothers?? They passed away long ago and were as anti-gambling as you could hope for (you, not me). I was talking about an older cousin, a contemporary of my parents. If you read my earlier posts, I talked about them going to Galveston and Vegas decades ago. My grandmothers were dear, sweet ladies, who I never saw take a drink, much less gamble. "Maybe I missed an important detail, but she could have lost all her money in Vegas as easily as she did in an illegal gambling operation. And, since she could gamble away that money legally, I think it would be good for people like her to limit the accessibility of gambling so that it happens to fewer people." As I said in a previous post, going to a lot of trouble to do so, (I am an incredibly slow typist), she didn't lose a lot of money gambling in casinos. She didn't lose a lot of money making regular trips to Vegas for decades. She lost a hell of a lot of money to some card sharps (IMO) who took advantage of her. Her problem wasn't from casinos, but from unregulated gambling. That is my understanding of it, at any rate. Geez. I can't believe I'm spending this much energy promoting and defending something I don't even do, casino gambling. I want to save Galveston. Casino gambling is a good step forward towards doing that. Have you been to Galveston lately? If not, you should. Drive around. You will be stunned. The taxes collected would help the local economy and the state. That's a lot better than having the money disappear into the underground economy.
Your probably opposed to gay marriage and adoption too. There are so many logical flaws in our argument i don't know where to begin.
This is so true. Refgal lives 25 miles from Galveston. About a month ago, we made our first trip to Galveston since the hurricane. It was awful. That place was obliterated. Before the hurricane, it was thought that something like casino gambling would be the only thing that would make Galveston economically viable over the long term. After the hurricane, it is an absolute certainty. The island as it is...is dying.
I agree with you, that particular argument doesn't make any since.There are going to be a few people that ruin there lives but there will also be more people gambling and having fun, so duh. I have been to the casios a few times mostly to hang out and have a good time. I know hundreds of people who enjoy casinos and I never recalled having a conversation about casions destroying anyone of their lives.I know it happens, but come on now let's be real here.
That's correct, but as you have stated (and I'm only using your logic for the purposes of my point as I don't agree with anything you've said), there is no cure for addiction. Thus, as the person is an addict, in what way do you suppose his/her addiction will manifest itself? p*rn? Drugs? Alcohol? Prostitution? You said it yourself, there is no cure for addiction. The addict will always search for a "fix". I wonder if any of them might be more harmful than playing slots? I'd like to encourage you right now to not pursue the whole "I'm going to save the world from itself" argument, as it's clearly defeated before it even starts. Put some more thought into what you're actually saying here and compare it to the situation. You are talking about addiction and mental illness (for lack of a better description). This has nothing to do with the issue of casinos in Texas or anywhere else. You said it yourself, you are a gambler. Are you an addict? No? Do you think the world is beneath you and too stupid to manage as well as you? Gimme a break, like I said, don't even begin this path here. Think on this some more. Seriously.
Should gambling be legalized in Texas? Yes. Why? People are already gambling here, alot. Some people are so blind, it boggles my mind. For the blind, a little info..... There is widespread gambling already here in Texas. I know of 4 underground card rooms within 20 minutes from my house. Are there crooked dealers working those games? Yes. Is the state benefiting? NO. For the people afraid of slot machines in gas stations- There are some kind of slot machines in about 75% of the gas stations I go to. Sometimes they are in a backroom, sometimes they are right in the open. If you ask about them and they have never met you before, they will tell you that you might be able to win a prize or drawing....yeah right Casinos bring crime? I've been to 3 casinos in my lifetime. Those places have more security than a freakin airport. Anyone reading this probably thinks I'm a big time gambler, well yes I am, but suprisingly, I'm not really pro legalization of gambling because it's already available to me and the only real benefits I will get is free drinks, some kickbacks, and I would feel safer. What I am pro is the creation of revenue for the state and jobs. By the way, just for the real blind, there are probably around 100 brothels in the Houston area.
I believe that the vast majority of people will either refrain completely or gamble responsibly, as is currently the case with most other things Ilike alcohol). There will certainly be problem gamblers, but IMO the function of government is to tax the vices at a rate that will allow us to mitigate the harms that can be caused by the problem cases. IOW, it is the role of government to recover the costs that gambling will have in the form of tax revenues.
Fair enough, I will be happy to refrain from the threadjack. In return, I would ask that the next time you see a drug thread that you participate. I would love the opportunity to show you that issue the way I see it.
They are about as hard to find for gamblers as drugs are for drug users. IOW, not hard at all. I don't even gamble and I could find an unregulated poker room literally in minutes.
They do worry about it. That is the reason you see Louisiana lobbyists doing everything they can to keep gambling illegal in Texas.
I worked on the island for seven years until a few months before Ike and the family and I went down there to have Thanksgiving dinner at the San Luis hotel. It was still devastated in many places and will take a long time to come back even with gambling allowed. I am not one who generally advocates for anything that will make Tillman Fertitta any richer, having worked for him, but gambling is the only way Galveston will recover.
Certainly agree regarding Fertitta. He's a b*stard that's destroyed much that was wonderful about Galveston and the communities around the bay. Busy trying to make a "Disneyworld" out of what made those areas special. All Fertitta cares about is making a buck. If he destroys a community, he just doesn't care. Having said that, Galveston needs a couple of casinos, and if Fertitta can build one, then give the b*stard a chance. Just insure that it is heavily regulated and historical Galveston, what is left of it, is preserved.
