Home town girl say NO to Casino.

[vinnielowden]

Dear Dodge City Residents:

Although I no longer reside there, I still call Dodge City home. I grew up there, graduated from DCHS, and still visit on a regular basis. Knowing that you are considering a casino, I felt that it was important to share my experiences with the gaming industry. For over seven years, we lived in Las Vegas and experienced, first-hand, the casinos' empty promises, corrupt politics, and community abuse. Beware the words, "economic development" for our experience has taught us that these powerful organizations only care about their own economic development.

Even though Las Vegas has one of the largest revenues in the world, the public schools there are still over-crowded, understaffed, and unsafe (as they were when we lived there.) Hospitals and public services are woefully inadequate. Even 911 couldn't be depended on and lead to a tragic outcome for a friend of ours. These multi-billion-dollar casinos grow at everyone's expense, especially small businesses, like those struggling to survive in Dodge City. There is also little regard for the environment, especially when it comes to water, our farmers' most precious resource. For example, while working on a large project at one casino, a family member of ours was told to go ahead and release hundreds of thousands of gallons of precious water every day to make the project more convenient. After all, what's a $5000 a day fine to a casino? If you, as a community member, are forced to sue for a casino's negligence, you will not win. They are too powerful. An acquaintence of ours was one of a staff of nine lawyers who were hired by one casino to do nothing but find tax loopholes. So much for tax revenue.

Pouring money into a slot machine may seem like entertainment, but police report that gambling addiction often creates more problems with embezzlement and robbery than drugs in many communities. Instead of an honest wage, the money deposited into a slot machine goes right into the hands of large, international organization that could care less about your community. We live in the New England area, where the casinos are primarily Indian operated. There are numerous organizations in our area that have been formed to fight the same problems here that we experienced in Las Vegas--problems brought on by the greedy casinos.(For more information, go to CasinosNo) Don't let them sell you with fancy slogans and empty promises Once you give your community away, you will never get it back. They are simply too powerful.

Thank you for allowing me to voice my concerns.

[TigerEyes]

Thanks for sharing.

Can anyone close to the existing Kansas casinos add anything? How have your communities changed since they came to town?

[wordsmythe]

The positives far outweigh the precieved negatives of having a casino. And lets facae it, not much more can be done to drag Dodge down and further.

[TigerEyes]

Refresh my memory - which positives are you alluding to?

[TexKan]

First welcome to DB - hope you are as passionate about all kinds of topics. I think this has been discussed at length but I think anyone's opinion is worth reading.

I just came from an Indian casino and where there isn't miles of gambling operations competeing it seems the small businesses thrive just fine. That's just what I see in Kinder La. It used to be just a spot in the road now it's a 4 lane road with all kinds of mom and pop businesses around. Lots of new hotels and lots of jobs. Not every casino is a horror story but it does bring horror with it. The outcome I think is worth the risk to most in Dodge. There is some that agree with you but I don't think - put to a vote that they would win out.

It is good tho that people view everyside and you have helped them do that - good post!!!

[Detector]

Beware the words, "economic development" for our experience has taught us that these powerful organizations only care about their own economic development.

Hum... sounds familiar. Packinghouses?

Welcome vinnielowden. I too used to live in Las Vegas and got completely the opposite impression. I've lived in Denver CO, Colorado Springs CO, San Antonio TX, Columbus GA, Sidney NA and Gillette WY and would easily choose Las Vegas as the best place to live.

Again, had we not already been screwed by 2 packinghouses I might agree. In our case I truly believe a casino is the cure.

[sunny beach]

The people that will embezzle will embezzle with or without a casino. I seem to recall the demise of Lynch Feedyard near Howell was due to embezzlement. This is fairly recent, and without a casino to blame it on. The people that will be addicted to gambling are already addicted to something....be it bingo, scratch tickets or uncontrolled credit card spending.

[lBugsy]

Besides we are talking about ONE casino....not gambling in every business and restroom like Vegas.

[TexKan]

That right there is one reason it will pass with little discussion.......... economics is the other - ya know what ya got now............ how could it get worse???............. the only way is up in my mind - I think Dodge has taken the road south as far as it can - the demise of dodge is viewable given a status quo approach. I think folks want and deserve more than what they have right now. Dodge is still home for many and they want Dodge to always be home for future generations - a new direction could ensure that - long after the packing houses leave town.

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by sunny beach

The people that will embezzle will embezzle with or without a casino. I seem to recall the demise of Lynch Feedyard near Howell was due to embezzlement. This is fairly recent, and without a casino to blame it on. The people that will be addicted to gambling are already addicted to something....be it bingo, scratch tickets or uncontrolled credit card spending.

I agree sb, and one of the most important issues is that a casino in Dodge City will be Owned and Operated by the Kansas Lottery. A company very experienced in casino management will contract with Lottery and be under strict operating controls and balancing. In fact, every time a dollar is bet in a slot machine, it will record on a computer in Topeka too. Comparison to Las Vegas is incorrect in almost every way.