| In 1994, Donald Trump, owner of the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, was quoted as saying, “People will spend a tremendous amount of money in casinos, money that they would normally spend on buying a refrigerator or a new car. Local businesses suffer because they’ll lose customer dollars to the casino.”
It's estimated that our fellow citizens -- statistically our poorest neighbors -- will have to wager and lose more than $900 million each year for the State of Kansas to get its $200 million payoff.
The following facts apply to the For & Anti casino proponents, the gamblers & non-gamblers alike:
(1) A fool and his/her money are soon parted.
(2) Make no mistake, the house (meaning casino) always wins; it’s a given.
(3) Gambling (or gaming, take your pick) results in economic depravity, not development.
We are going to lose millions of dollars that are now spent at local businesses. State revenues will go down and social impact costs will go up. It will hurt all the entertainment industry, and it will hurt retail.  |