JACKPOT? NO WAY

Letters to the editor 

November 24, 2013

JACKPOT? NO WAY

 

“That’s How We Rolled” (November 10) appeared to me to be an irresponsible sales pitch for destination resort casinos. Dress ’em up any way you want, but a casino is a casino. At their heart is the slot machine, a product of our computer age, designed to be highly addictive.

Many, many lives are ruined by slot machines. Just read Why Casinos Matter, an online report by the Institute for American Values. What is truly diabolical is that state governments have been partnering with these addiction factories to “boost” our economy and raise revenues. There isn’t a town out there that’s hurting financially that wouldn’t mind a nice high-end resort to help its tax base. The reality is that for these destination resort casinos, the spas, the world-class restaurants, the concert venues, even the hiking trails are funded by slot machines. Much of the purpose of this window dressing is to attract folks there to gamble. Because a casino can charge less for concerts, hotel rooms, and restaurants, and because they can even give them out for free along with alcoholic beverages as coupons for gambling, casinos undercut other businesses and leave a trail of empty storefronts. The only reason casinos are popping up like mushrooms is because our government has failed us at the local, state, and national level in promoting real, sane, decent economic development.

 

Charlotte Burns

Co-President

 

Quaboag Valley Against Casinos

http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2013/11/24/readers-respond-stories-casinos-menino-fenway-more/4LXDaKdmFUX3S1BvSxqmgI/story.html