Sunday, April 10, 2005

 

I'm All In!

Well, the world is certainly crazed with poker, and gambling in general for that matter. The number of 'charity' hold'em tournaments is astounding, let alone the number of private home games. I can tell you that I myself am a sucker for the 'flop, turn and river'.

(Image from Enquirer)

While I don't know if I am excited about the idea of a Newport Riverboat (didn't Newport just revive itself from the 'seedy days'?), nor am I excited about another of the propsed locations (the yet to be started riverfront Banks project in Cincinnati).

That being said, I don't think it makes much sense to keep sending tax dollars to Indiana. Perhaps the compromise is that you allow Riverboat gambling, but it has to be at least 10 miles from a city center. Keep it out of the urban core, as casinos are certainly a 'destination' and not something that would revitalize our city. As someone who enjoys the casino every now and then I can tell you when I am there, I'm not interested in heading out to visit a restaurant for dinner. At best I'm grabbing a sandwich and heading back to the craps table.

I'd love to hear what people think. The enquirer has about a dozen articles in the Sunday paper, and this is just 'Day 1' of the series. Good idea? Bad idea? If legalized should it be riverboat? Land-based? Should it be in a downtown area? What do you all think?

Comments:
I say keep it in the city center because sticking it ten miles out just exacerbates our problem of being one of the most sprawling regions in the nation. While you're correct that a casino is largely a destination and that patrons of such a business wouldn't be as likely to venture out to patronize other businesses as, say, users of the CAC, but simply improving the condition of a city block by building new or revitalizing an old structure is important. A business that isn't a vacant lot or broken storefront helps change the perception that the city is dead. It cleans up a section of the city and reduces crime in that area which gives other potential business entrepreneurs the courage to jump in. Plus, it's property tax and parking revenue that Cincinnati could use.
 
Need to part company on this one. I travel extensively and see a lot of places that have gone to casino's. Most are pretty bad when you get a few blocks away. All said the revenue would make a lot of difference and if it has, it is certainly not evident. Also, just on moral grounds, I hate to see the city or state dependent on gambling because too many are hurt. However, I also realize that even the churchs are into gambling to raise funds. I did a quick check and the numbers of poor souls in gamblers anonomous goes up pretty dramatically when these places go into an area. My vote on this would be no.
 
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