04-10-2007, 03:25 PM
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 | DodgeBoard Senior VP | | Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Dodge City
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| Today's Globe letter to the Editor
A casino could bring tourism back to Dodge Quote:
This letter to the editor is in response to the letter by Mike Boettcher published on 4/6/07. In that letter, he states all the evils of gambling and refers to the problems of Atlantic City, N.J.
If a person would do a little research into Atlantic City, like I did, they would find that Atlantic City became plagued with poverty, crime and disinvestment by the middle class in the mid- to late 20th century. The automobile became available to many Americans after the war. Atlantic City had initially relied upon visitors coming by train and staying for a couple of weeks. By the late sixties, the typical Atlantic City tourist was invariably poor, black, elderly or all three. Many of the resort's great hotels, which were suffering from embarrassing vacancy rates, were either closed, converted to cheap apartments or converted to nursing home facilities. So, it would appear that many of the problems associated with Atlantic City were there long before gambling ever came there.
On a positive note, from 2005 to 2006 Atlantic City had the highest percentage increase (25.9 percent) in average home value in the United States, according to a CNN/Money article dated Feb. 15, 2007.
Another town that could be used to show the benefits of gambling would be Cripple Creek, Colo. With many empty storefronts and picturesque homes, Cripple Creek once drew interest as a ghost town. At one point the population dropped to a few hundred, although Cripple Creek was never entirely deserted. In the 1970s and 1980s, travelers on photo safari might find themselves in a beautiful, decaying historic town. A few restaurants and bars catered to tourists who could drive by weathered, empty homes with lace curtains still hanging in broken windows.
Colorado voters allowed Cripple Creek to establish legalized gambling in the early 1990s, and today the population is around 1,500 permanent residents and is today more popular as a gambling and tourist town than a ghost town. Cripple Creek also enjoys new schools, a new sewer system and new curb and guttering. All projects that were possible due to gambling in the town. The town also has many bed-and-breakfast establishments made from old schools and hospitals.
A destination casino in Dodge City would be a huge shot in the arm that is greatly needed to bring back tourism to our once-great historic city. If it would work closely with Boot Hill and the special events center, they could bus tourists in from out of the area to spend a day in Dodge City to tour Boot Hill, spend a little time at the casino and see a concert at the special events center. It could even be marketed to the retired RV crowd once the HorseThief Reservoir is completed. They could park their RV at the reservoir and spend a day sightseeing and gambling in Historic Dodge City before they move on down the road to their next destination.
Dodge City already has crime and gambling problems in the city. We might as well reap some of the rewards and tax dollars from making a destination casino a reality in the area. Instead of being pessimistic and looking at the down side of the situation, let's be optimistic and look at all the good things that can come from it.
Kelvin Chalkley
Dodge City
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