Capitol Hill Blue Forums Misc. Topics Member Submitted Links Who totes the note at Dothan AL Country Crossing

Thanks for the spoon.

I am a registered Republican, but really don't trust any party lines.

I can remember when we used to dial 1191 to get a neighbor, too.

Those were the days.

So where do you stand on gambling in general? For the record, I have never dropped a quarter in a slot machine nor bought a lottery ticket. I think gambling, in general, is a stupendous waste of money and the people most attracted to it are the ones who can least afford to waste money.
I find gambling the very least attractive when a third party is involved like a casino or a state lotto. Slot, Poker, and Bingo machines are designed not to be fair. The house will always take the biggest cut.
The Bingo angle is interesting in that it attracts otherwise staid, conservative, people who don't at all consider themselves "gamblers" and who would likely faint at the thought of Poker or slot machines.

Maybe a separate thread on the merits of state run gambling? IMO- if the proceeds or at least part of the proceeds go to finance worthy projects, then why not? At the risk of being presumptuous, I believe that Panamaed is addressing some of the elements involved whose motive may not be the public interest, and not gambling itself. If you want to really gamble, invest in the stock market.

Where organized gambling exists there will almost always be corruption of some sort. Church sponsored Bingo being the possible exception.
This thread topic implies that it is about nothing more than who financed the Country Crossing project. The original poster has expanded it to include the state laws of Alabama, the politicians on both sides of the issue, and possibly a Federal Government Monopoly on gambling as a means to raise taxes and eliminate the IRS. Florida's lotto promised the moon and stars to the education system, whether it has delivered is unclear. The bulk of the money appears to go towards administration of the gigantic state operated numbers racket.

So what do you suggest to correct your perceive moral/societal/legal problem?

I make no suggestions whatever, just an observation.
I don't see a point in making gambling illegal. It's a valid form of entertainment/recreation just like drugs. Nor do I see it as something government should operate. Better to tax it than to spend money trying to stop it.
Alabama is sinking a lot of money into preventing something that should be a source of revenue and creating "corruption" and the waste of more taxpayer dollars as a byproduct. I'm all in favor of user taxes on things I don't use.

Thank you, SkyHawk.

I suggest we examine everything for ourselves.

You can't trust hardly anyone else.

Don't know about you, Pan, but I just don't have time to examine everything and have to read reports by those who do examine the bits and pieces that strike my fancy. That's what forums like this are for, so we can examine things together and consider them from several different angles.
For the most part people are, in fact, trustworthy. Some I'd trust with my life but not my money, some with my money but not my life.