Posted on 09/04/2009 7:35:52 AM PDT by GOP_Lady
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- U.S. Sen. George Voinovich used biblical verse Thursday to blast gambling proponents, including Ohio Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who is an ordained minister.
Voinovich, the former Republican governor, joined forces with the Ohio Roundtable and Methodist churches to announce a lawsuit they filed Thursday at the Ohio Supreme Court against Strickland's plan to place slots-like video lottery terminals at Ohio racetracks.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Voinovich, who has been an active opponent of expanded gambling for decades, quoted the Lord's Prayer - "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" - at a news conference announcing the suit.
Notice where my entertainment dollars go.
Shut up Voinobitch. What a repulsive RINO who cares what you think as you’ve squandered a governorship and a senate seat just for the chance to be labeled a RINO.
Dammit, can we have a few things without some government ass telling us where it “am at” to us? If a guy wants to drop a few bucks in the slots, what is the freaking problem? The only danger is when the old lady sits down after you’ve been pumping dollars into a machine for a half hour and hits seventy thousand bucks on her third try (as happened to me).
As an Ohioan, I am a little torn on this issue. When I go to Wheeling Downs or Mountaineer (which is rarely), the people I see playing slots are senior citizens, poor, or both. The money from gambling is supposed to go to social programs, but those on social programs gamble.
Vegas is different. I go to Vegas every year, but not to gamble. Vegas is a poor example because it is a tourist destination.
Ohio, PING!
Ohio has voted 4 times on gambling in past years. Each time gambling was turned away.
I live in Ohio too and we’ve had several casinos trying to set up in different locations. All have been defeated by voters.
The reason I found from doing marketing surveys is that people feel the gambling places are within close drive of any place in Ohio and the fact that the money never goes to the schools. Most of these places breed corruption and crime.
While I’m all for free choice of what and where people can spend their money, I, too, oppose these things. I’ve seen people buy hundreds and hundreds of scratch off tickets and lose most of it. That’s money that could be spent better elsewhere, such as if they wanted it to go to schools, then just make a donation.
This was the lie they sold Ohio when they voted for the lottery in this state. It would fund education, and yet every school district is in the red every year and begging for more.
Voinovich is just reflecting the views of his constituents. Ohioans do not want slots. We keep voting them down.
They never claimed that the lottery would fully or even mostly fund education, just that all the profits from the lottery would go to education. Education is expensive as shown by my two thousand dollar property tax bill that probably goes about 3/4 to the schools. I (or most sane people) wouldn't buy the $70/week of lottery tickets necessary to create the $1500 net lottery revenue for schools. I'll spend a few bucks when the lotto gets big (because who wants to waste their time with a mere $50 million in winnings) and I'm part of a $2/week pool.
The other problem is that money is fungible, so if the state originally allocates $1 million to a school district which then gets $100,000 of lottery allocated to that school, the state can still claim that all the lottery money went to the school even if they cut the money from the general fund to $900,000. So the school "gets" the lottery money, but some other program gets the $100,000 boost in its budget.
Also, even if the school had enough money for everything including solid gold toilets, they would claim poverty because they can't meet their budget need for platinum toilets. "Poverty" in a government program doesn't necessarily mean that they don't have enough money, just that they want more.
What a jackass . . . the same marooon who cried big tears when Bolton’s name was suggested for United Nations Ambassador. Can’t wait to get this fool out of Washington . . . yeah, I know, and replaced with another buffoon.
I live in Ohio. Last weekend we went to the newly opened Hollywood Casino across the border in Lawerenceburg, Indiana. We like to visit the casinos once or twice a year. The parking garage was packed full cars with OHIO license plates!
As the saying goes: “There’s no fool like an old fool”
Voinovich is an old fool.
Having season tickets to the Bengals or Browns is probably a bigger waste of money than an occasional trip to the casino. Everyone chooses their own form of fun and entertainment and where they want to waste their money.
I sure would like to see the "marketing surveys' that shows these places breed corruption and crime. Have you actually driven to Lawrenceburg, Indiania and seen all the new hotels, restaurants, roads and schools? If you ever go, count the Ohio license plates.
That’s okay George.
Detroit needs the money.
Gamblers from Ohio will just continue coming here.
Many of the same pols who oppose casinos which bring in revenue without taxation are the same ones supporting sweetheart deals for new sports arenas, which cost the taxpayers billions.
I wonder how much of the funding for the Ohio anti-casino movement is coming from casino owners in Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky.
Obviously, this isn't the problem. The problem is with people who spend their rent payments or grocery money on slot machines, and then become a burden for the rest of society.
Allowing more casinos to be built enables this behavior and, perhaps more importantly, attracts the types of people to the area that are undesireable for rebuilding cities.
Don't kid yourself. It's a tax on the perpetually stupid and obsessed.
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