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Old 05-13-2012, 10:54 PM
 
16,393 posts, read 30,267,578 times
Reputation: 25501
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cleverfield View Post
Cleveland, and several other Ohio cities are opening casinos very soon (Cleveland's is opening on Monday). On the one hand, these casinos create jobs, bring in tourists, and generate tax revenue for the city and state. But on the other hand, they draw money away from people that live in the city, giving them nothing but a few hours of entertainment in return. Many of the people gambling at the casinos will undoubtedly be poor, and some will be addicts. So I don't know if I think casinos are really good for cities in the end or not. What do you all, especially those who live in cities that already have casinos, think.

Here are my reasons for NOT supporting legalized gambling. For the record, I have no moral qualms about gaming in general.

First, MANY of the casino employees that I have encountered in Midwest casinos come from other gaming venues rather than the local labor pool.

Second, what experience do the Ohio regulators have in managing a casino? There is no Nevada Gaming Commission with years of regulatory experience.

Third, I would strongly recommend that you look at the relationships between the casino interests and the local politicians. Look at the Missouri and Illinois situations for all the corruption.

Fourth, if you are expecting a "increase in tourism", it is illusionary. All activity occurs at the casino. If you own a restaurant down the street, you will see people heading to the casino BUT they generally will NOT leave the casino.

Fifth, you will see increased activity at places like the welfare office, credit counseling and the other social service agencies. You will see more families at the various food banks in the city.

Finally, you will see the already meager savings of many wiped out. A family member is dealing with that currently. His MIL turned 65 and had a completely paid for home. She started borrowing a lot of money for trips to the riverboats and not has more debt than equity.
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Old 05-14-2012, 08:02 AM
 
Location: Cincinnati
4,479 posts, read 6,232,680 times
Reputation: 1331
If someone is a gambling addict they will gamble whether or not it's legalized.
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Old 05-14-2012, 08:30 AM
 
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
16,544 posts, read 19,679,952 times
Reputation: 13326
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cleverfield View Post
Many people don't understand how casinos work, and believe that they can easily get rich. Those are the same people who don't have a good education, or good jobs, and can least afford to lose the money.
Seriously?
I don't know any one that thinks "O man, I am totally getting rich when this opens"... and I know a lot of "poor dumb people"...
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Old 05-14-2012, 08:42 AM
 
Location: Akron, soon to be CLE again!
20 posts, read 53,434 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by jlawrence01 View Post
Here are my reasons for NOT supporting legalized gambling. For the record, I have no moral qualms about gaming in general.

First, MANY of the casino employees that I have encountered in Midwest casinos come from other gaming venues rather than the local labor pool.

Second, what experience do the Ohio regulators have in managing a casino? There is no Nevada Gaming Commission with years of regulatory experience.

Third, I would strongly recommend that you look at the relationships between the casino interests and the local politicians. Look at the Missouri and Illinois situations for all the corruption.

Fourth, if you are expecting a "increase in tourism", it is illusionary. All activity occurs at the casino. If you own a restaurant down the street, you will see people heading to the casino BUT they generally will NOT leave the casino.

Fifth, you will see increased activity at places like the welfare office, credit counseling and the other social service agencies. You will see more families at the various food banks in the city.

Finally, you will see the already meager savings of many wiped out. A family member is dealing with that currently. His MIL turned 65 and had a completely paid for home. She started borrowing a lot of money for trips to the riverboats and not has more debt than equity.
To me it doesnt sound like you are local to Cleveland. Id like to try and counter your points here from my point of view.

First, the overwhelming majority of the 1600 Cleveland casino employees are local.
Quote:
More than 90 percent of the workers are from Northeast Ohio, in keeping with a vow by Dan Gilbert and his joint venture, Rock Ohio Caesars, to hire local. Horseshoe Casino Cleveland brings 1,600 employees to Public Square | cleveland.com
Second, what experience did the Nevada Gaming Commission have when they were first set up? And this ties into your first point, and youre saying it yourself that out of state workers were not brought in for this, as they would have experience, so this must all be made up of locals!

Third, the casino owner, Dan Gilbert, has huge ties to this city. And I would love to see those ties grown and expand and deepen. We need many many many more of him. He has been investing more hope and money into this city than anyone else. Not only with the casino, but bringing hundreds of financial jobs and pouring money into current and new sports teams and the arena. Our politicians need to have stronger connections with him imo, as they could certainly learn alot from him.

Fourth, I go back to my point three. Gilbert knows the importance of a strong downtown, and has made the connectivity of the casino to the city fabric the number one point. Many entrances/exits directly to the city streets and the existing Tower City Mall, floor to ceiling windows, etc. Theres no new hotel, so as to not cannibalize off of existing dt hotels. Same with on site entertainment, as we already have the second largest theater district, and a great music scene. The only restaurants added into the casino are styles that do not currently exist downtown.

Fifth and "finally", I currently work with a lot of the people referred to as "poor and uneducated" (not your words but those of other posters ive seen). Yes, alot of them are very excited about the new casino here and plan to go regularly. But, this is just going to substitute their already regular trips to Detroit and PA and WV. Its no new "loss" of income or savings. Regular gamblers know its a form of entertainment, and have set aside the money they use for that just the same as other people budget for other forms of entertainment
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Old 05-14-2012, 10:16 AM
 
Location: Cleveland
3,413 posts, read 5,122,775 times
Reputation: 3088
Countdown to Cleveland's Horseshoe Casino is on. Watch this video, and pay attention to the woman in purple.
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Old 05-14-2012, 10:58 AM
 
Location: Akron, soon to be CLE again!
20 posts, read 53,434 times
Reputation: 15
Yeah, she says shes "gonna get rich" but she also talks about the people already going and gambling in Detroit. Its nothing new, instead of money on entertainment being spent out of state, the moneys going to be spent right here in downtown Cleveland
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Old 05-14-2012, 02:47 PM
 
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
16,544 posts, read 19,679,952 times
Reputation: 13326
She could be referring to Cleveland, too, because that was what she was talking about. If she was referring to Clevelanders, I am sure she was just being giddy about having a casino here and does not seriously expect to "get rich!"
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Old 05-14-2012, 02:50 PM
 
4,361 posts, read 7,173,361 times
Reputation: 4866
Gotta love anecdotal evidence. If you can find one instance in 50,000 then it must be true for everyone.

I also agree that the context of the statement isn't abundantly clear.
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Old 05-14-2012, 04:14 PM
 
306 posts, read 821,002 times
Reputation: 169
Quote:
Originally Posted by TomJones123 View Post
If someone is a gambling addict they will gamble whether or not it's legalized.
I'm about as Pro-gaming as you can get but that's a silly comment. I saw multiple family members who became addicts once casinos came to my home state. They don't gamble anywhere else and didn't prior. If the casinos hadn't been built, they would not be addicts today.

To answer the OP, I've lived in multiple places that added gaming while I lived there. The key is to keep expectations to a minimum. It's not a silver bullet and shouldn't be looked at as a cash cow for governments. Relying on casinos for budgets and economic growth isn't very smart.
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Old 05-14-2012, 04:55 PM
 
Location: Chicago(Northside)
3,678 posts, read 7,212,554 times
Reputation: 1697
Quote:
Originally Posted by Natural510 View Post
I know they expect a boom from them in Ohio's cities, and in a way have helped redevelop struggling cities such as Detroit, but I have to agree it's not exactly the healthiest vice to build around. I know locals were tired of seeing their money leave the state for those who like to gamble in Indiana and on riverboats, but I think it will just make a bad problem worse for much of the state's working-class.
I didnt know detroit was in Ohio
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