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Tuesday, October 20, 2015

End Oregon's addiction to lottery revenue (OPINION)




End Oregon's addiction to lottery revenue (OPINION)



lotto.JPG
The Oregon Lottery logo.



By Guest Columnist 
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on October 20, 2015

By Kent Craford
It always was an odd place for a school bus stop. A cigar store parking lot. Perhaps better than the alternatives down the street — Hooters or the liquor store. But soon central Hayden Island's school bus stop will get a lot more interesting. The cigar store is gone. It's being replaced by "Green Oasis." Yep, our school bus stop will be outside a recreational marijuana dispensary.

Here's where you'll probably expect a rant about how the heck "they" — Portland Public Schools, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, etc. — could possibly allow a recreational pot shop to open 50 feet from an elementary school bus stop.
Nope.

I'm not that concerned about the hippies, yuppies, retirees (including several of my neighbors), slackers and otherwise normal people likely to patronize Green Oasis. Heck, I might even stop in for a look-see myself.

What does concern me is the real threat to my children's safety, and general livability on Hayden Island: the casino across the street. The hive of slot machine dens known as "Lottery Row" — 11 video gambling "delis" clustered in one spot, all brought to you by the state of Oregon, kids. Hayden Island's Lottery Row is the final manifestation of Oregon's failed experiment with gambling. What started out so innocently with scratch-off tickets has mutated into a self-perpetuating, billion-dollar gambling industry with more incentive to keep its clients hooked than the Medellin Cartel.

And good luck wresting the lottery needle away from the junkies in Salem. No, I'm not just talking about the majority party. This is a bipartisan addiction. And we're so hooked that even a billion dollars in annual revenue isn't enough. The legislature routinely mortgages gambling proceeds by taking on more debt in the form of lottery-backed bonds. Why? So they can dole out ever more pork across the state. These lottery "investments," along with generous political contributions from gambling retailers, keep the surgical tubing tight around the arm of otherwise small-government-advocating Republican legislators, and big-spending-liberal Democrats alike.

Where does all the money go? Well, a quick visit to www.oregonlottery.com presents a vision of wholesomeness: lighthouses, waterfalls, even school kids! Look where your gambling losses go, Oregonians! "It Does Great Things!", right? Wrong.

My kids have grown up witnessing the real dividends of Oregon Lottery slot machines and the clientele they prey on. They've seen them stagger down the sidewalk. Police cars all the time. They've heard the shouting. They've smelled the vomit. The Oregon Lottery is a parasite on vulnerable Oregonians and a social cancer on our neighborhood. I'll say one thing: 
My kids are more street-smart for it.

Without Oregon Lottery slot machines, we'll still have waterfalls. What we won't have is a school bus stop outside a state-sponsored gambling casino. We'd just have a pot dispensary. I can live with that.

If ever there were a time for common sense gambling reforms in Oregon, it's now. Tax revenue is up; we can afford to curb our gambling addiction. Close the absurd loophole that lets mini-casinos masquerade as "restaurants." Limit the concentration of gambling retailers in a given location. And restrict their proximity to schools — and school bus stops. The political opportunity exists. Hayden Island's state representative, Tina Kotek, is the speaker of the House, for Pete's sake. Will she and her colleagues have the courage to wean themselves from their gambling habit next session and stand up to the powerful pushers who profit from it? I hope so.

I'll leave the fretting over recreational marijuana to others. And once the smoke clears, it's time for Oregon legislators to rein in the greater evil, Oregon's self-induced cancer — state-sponsored gambling run amok.


Kent Craford lives on Hayden Island. You can find out more about lottery row by visiting www.itdoesbadthings.org.




Thursday, October 15, 2015

There are Too Many Casinos in Massachusetts!



After listening to casino mogul Neil Bluhm pressure the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to change its rules, you might have expected him to abandon his Brockton casino adventure when the commissioners refused.
But no. In the world of casino gambling, the promises and threats of big operators are subject to immediate and head-spinning change.
Instead of dropping the Brockton plan when the Commission rejected his plea to move ahead on his application without consideration of the rival casino bid from the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian tribe in Taunton, Bluhm’s Mass Gaming & Entertainment quickly filed a final application for the casino license in Region C.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission announces the acceptance of Mass Gaming & Entertainment’s final application in a two-phase application process toward the award of a resort-casino license in Region C (Southeastern Mass). The MGC has also now released public portions of the Phase 2 application. Le…
MASSGAMING.COM


There are Too Many Casinos in

Massachusetts!
Currently, there are SEVEN casinos planned for Massachusetts in the cities of Boston, Springfield, Plainville, Taunton, Brockton, Martha’s Vineyard and East Boston!
Recently, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved a casino license for Wynn Resorts in the Boston area, a casino license for MGM Resorts International in Springfield and a slots facility license for Penn National in Plainville. In addition, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe just received federal approval to build a casino in Taunton. Because the Wampanoags do not need state approval, this would be the third casino in Massachusetts.
Moreover, Mass Gaming & Entertainment has filed for a casino license in Brockton, the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe is seeking to build a casino on Martha’s Vineyard and a statewide ballot initiative has been filed for a casino in East Boston.
Therefore, we need your help to prevent too many casinos in Massachusetts!




http://toomanycasinos.com/