Profit and gain

Dear sir:
I am writing this letter to the editor in response to your opinion in the Times on April 14 regarding “Too high a cost.”
First of all, I must disagree with you on your headline of that article. Yes, it’s true that some of us can—and will—become addicted to gambling (like anything else that we humans really enjoy). We here in Fort Frances already have addicted gamblers. Some of them go to Bingo every night, and sometimes more than once every night.
Others play pull tabs every day, and traipse from establishment to establishment on a regular basis to try their luck at the big win.
As well, I know of countless (more than one would imagine) of our residents who go south, west, or east (and even north) of our town to (shall I say it) gamble on a regular basis.
These are the type of people that keep casinos and large Bingo halls rolling with all of the prosperity that is brought to the dozens of towns that comes with “gambling.”
And then there are the jobs that come with that ‘G’ word.
Would it be a major disaster if a casino came to this town and brought with it jobs, just plain jobs, like more waitress jobs, and more gas station attendants, and to see an enrolment increase in the schools, which would mean more teaching positions, and construction jobs, and motel clerk jobs, and the few addiction counselling jobs that might come along with a casino.
The gambling addicts are already here, we will not give birth to a gazillion more addicts if we encourage more gambling to occur in our town. Most of the gamblers who will frequent a casino in Fort Frances will be from out of town—just like the out-of-towners in every other casino I have been in.
Where in the great scheme of order did you come up with the idea that gambling promotes or creates spin-off benefits such as alcohol/drug addiction, domestic violence, and other crimes, especially theft? That statement is so far off the mark, I find it a ridiculous one made by someone who should know better, or be better informed.
Other than Las Vegas, I have never been in a casino that allows consumption of alcohol in the presence of gaming (gambling). If drugs were even whispered in the presence of a gaming official in a casino, that person surely would be tossed from said establishment.
When my wife and I go out of town shopping, we try to stay in a casino or a casino town, simply for the benefit of regularly-patrolled parking areas. The price of the rooms usually is less expensive than other places and much more lavish than we would otherwise afford ourselves.
The low costs must be because of all of those thieving gambling addicts that can’t afford higher prices.
As for domestic violence stemming from gambling, I hear it all the time in casinos. “Honey, do we have to go now?” and “Can’t we just stay one more hour?” We probably get more of an earful when we get in several hours late for supper after a full day of addictive fishing, or after two full weekend days of watching sports on TV.
How about this one? Why don’t you get your soap opera-addicted mind and body off of the couch and make me some supper. These are some of the other addictions that spin off domestic violence.
Yes, gambling has its problems and we are dealing with the problems now, but few of us are realizing any real profit or gain from it in Fort Frances. Casino gambling in Fort Frances would be as damaging socially as the sale of alcohol in Steinbach. It didn’t create any more alcoholics or encourage heavier drinking, it simply made it more economical for those who were buying alcohol to do just that.
There are no pubs in Devlin at the present time, but I am sure that if one opened tomorrow, the town would not be overrun with alcoholics. At the same time, though, jobs would be created, spin-offs good and bad would happen, and the tax base would broaden.
Sounds like gloom and doom to me.
When I was growing up in Thunder Bay, the word “Bingo” was not allowed to be said on the radio or advertised on TV. However, that did not stop the Catholic church to announce there was “entertainment” in the church basement every Wednesday night.
And somewhat later, there was charity “monster entertainment” at the coliseum several times a year.
How convenient now that the church no longer has the sole “right” to that sort of entertainment that they can condemn it as to “causing the break up of families.” How hypocritical, give it a rest!
At a time in this town when we are faced with a deficit and a tax increase never before seen in Fort Frances, I find it appalling that the elected town leaders would not consider a broader tax base from a sure thing—more jobs, more taxpayers, no raping of our depleting natural resources, a business that doesn’t pollute the air, water, and soil from the “git go”—instead of treating it with sarcasm.
Think about it, seriously, “The U.S. makes the profits and we take the debt.” The good outweighs the bad. Remember the Wal-Mart debate. Should we or shouldn’t we?
Signed,
Ken Perry