Jobs are nice, but racinos aren't worth the cost

Jobs are nice, but racinos aren't worth the cost
Saturday June 16, 2012

A monster was turned loose on the hapless people of Franklin County at 2 p.m. on June 1 at the Scioto Downs Racino. I'm not a gambler, but around 3 p.m., I said to my 65-year-old son, Dave, “Let's drop over, out of curiosity, and see this thing, which has come to pass, after many tumultuous years of labor pains.”

We were shocked when we arrived at the huge parking lot south of Columbus. It was packed, and workers were creating another large area; we found a spot far from the entrance gates. Fortunately, or unfortunately, there was a shuttle that hurried us to our demise, where we were crowded into utter turmoil.

We were overwhelmed by the loud, gaudily arrayed, giant room packed with lighted, electronic “one-arm bandits” and frustrated people. Why frustrated? We immediately noticed that some 75 percent of the seats by the machines were unoccupied. Then, we knew why. We heard one male employee say that only one computer, which controlled the operation of the devices, was working; most of the machines were dead.

Two thousand angry people were frantically looking for a place to lose their hard-earned money. After about a half-hour, we found one machine that worked. I had warned my son that he should take only the amount of money he could afford to lose, so all we had was a $20 bill. That was more than I really could afford.

It took exactly five minutes to lose that in a dollar machine, and I said, “Let’s get out of here.” What a relief to hit the cool air.

I'll never go back, but it is unique for Columbus, and everyone should see it at least once. Just remember what I said about the money.

The bandit, which steals from the poor, is open forever. That is 8,760 hours a year. We lost $20 in five minutes. Imagine the loss in a year, with around 2,000 machines spinning away? Gamblers can't win. If they could, the racino would close its doors. It is an expensive pastime for the ignorant poor.
Of course, a few will strike it lucky, but experience shows that they eventually will lose back the winnings.

The upside: I am happy for the thousands who have found employment in building this creature and all of its electrical phenomena.

RICHARD JOHNSTON
Grove City