At its core, gambling and lotteries are nothing more than government selling false hope.
By Lynn Woolley
AUSTIN, Texas (Texas Insider Report) — After the bust of the 1980's, Texas turned to gambling – selling the State Lottery as a way "to bring in money for education." Gov. Ann Richards bought the first ticket on May 29, 1992, and the GSD&M advertising agency was hired to promote the new games. Soon, people were lining up at convenience stores across Texas to get their tickets.
Texans were drawn in by the big jackpots – but some of them didn’t know when to stop. The Lottery was creating a class of addicts, some of whom required counseling. Still the TV ads were ebullient, showing jubilant winners dancing and celebrating.
What the ads didn’t show was that people were using their rent money to buy tickets. Or that they're wadding up their tickets after seeing the ping pong balls fall wrong for the umpteenth time.
At its core, gambling and lotteries are nothing more than government selling false hope.
The ads never explain that they are essentially voluntary taxes – or that your chances of getting struck by lightning are considerably higher. Of course, someone will win; the rules assure that. It just won’t be you. What the ads didn’t show was that people were using their rent money to buy tickets. Or that they're wadding up their tickets after seeing the ping pong balls fall wrong for the umpteenth time.
At its core, gambling and lotteries are nothing more than government selling false hope.- READ MORE: Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards proclaims March as “Problem Gambling Awareness Month,” in collaboration with the National Council on Problem Gambling.
- Now in its 20th year, "Problem Gambling Awareness Month" coincides with the NCAA's March Madness Basketball Tournament. For appointments to address a gambling problem or concern, contact the Louisiana Dept. of Health's nearest Office of Behavioral Health Office or call the Louisiana Problem Gamblers Helpline.
Even so, State Representative Jim Dunnam (D-Waco,) has called for a House committee to study gambling. Dunnam says he’d vote against expansion right now, and... both Gov. Rick Perry and his Democrat challenger Bill White say they’re against it. But with the budget shortfall looming, anything can happen. (This story originally ran 13 years, 1 month and 18 days ago on the Feb. 10th, 2010 Dallas Morning News Opinion Page.)
So why not go for it? After all, Texas might hold on to all that cash spent in adjoining states that already have casinos and riverboat gambling.
Best of all, with that new money coming in our elected officials could expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, give teachers big raises, and have enough cash left over to implement a state prescription drug program.
Or not!
Some of that extra cash would be used to help families devastated by the new addictions we’d be creating.
If we needed counseling centers for the Lottery, just wait until we get casinos.
Best of all, with that new money coming in our elected officials could expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, give teachers big raises, and have enough cash left over to implement a state prescription drug program.
Or not!
Some of that extra cash would be used to help families devastated by the new addictions we’d be creating.If we needed counseling centers for the Lottery, just wait until we get casinos.
Detroit’s experience is a case in point. The city was tired of losing dollars to the big casino across the river in Windsor.
It took billions of dollars – including millions from the (taxpayers) city government budget for land – but Detroit got its wish.
Soon after, a 38-year-old policeman named Solomon Bell lost up to $20,000 at the MGM Grand Detroit Casino.
After losing another $3,500 playing blackjack, he drew his service revolver and shot himself in the head.
And then there’s organized crime that seems to show up wherever there’s gambling.
Soon after, a 38-year-old policeman named Solomon Bell lost up to $20,000 at the MGM Grand Detroit Casino.
After losing another $3,500 playing blackjack, he drew his service revolver and shot himself in the head.
And then there’s organized crime that seems to show up wherever there’s gambling.
In 1996, 25 people were convicted in Louisiana in a scheme to skim video poker profits for the Marcello, Genovese and Gambino crime families. The good news (sic,) is that gambling profits can help fund more policemen and perhaps set up a special state agency to investigate gambling corruption.
However, there is no denying that casinos make hundreds of millions dollars for their states. USA TODAY reported that casinos helped the recovery in New Orleans following Katrina – but at a cost.
The director of the Louisiana Problem Gamblers Helpline told the paper that calls to the hotline were much more serious than before the hurricane, and that many people who received relief funding money from FEMA lost it gambling.
The director of the Louisiana Problem Gamblers Helpline told the paper that calls to the hotline were much more serious than before the hurricane, and that many people who received relief funding money from FEMA lost it gambling.
Yes, Texas just might make a pile of money from casinos. We’d also get what comes along with them:
- Suicides
- Devastated Families
- More Organized Crime
- A big new State Bureaucracy, and
- The Massive Cost of building them in the first place
Lynn Woolley (at right, far right,) is a Texas-based author, songwriter and Talk Radio Show co-host on Austin's Talk 1370am Cardle & Woolley Show. Email Lynn at lwoolley9189@gmail.com. This story originally ran on the Dallas Morning News Opinion Page on Friday, February 10th, 2010. 
