Of interest to all the people of pennsylvania (Republic, Atlantic: insurance, credit card)

[Latina7]

On tonight's 60 Minutes, it was depicted that there is a proliferation of gambling places in Pennsylvania, which is creating a multitude of gamblers. See for yourself:


Slot Machines: The Big Gamble - 60 Minutes - CBS News

[ki0eh]

As everywhere else we can't have honest taxes, so instead we tax the mathematically challenged.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Latina7

On tonight's 60 Minutes, it was depicted that there is a proliferation of gambling places in Pennsylvania, which is creating a multitude of gamblers. See for yourself:


Slot Machines: The Big Gamble - 60 Minutes - CBS News

Latina7,

A decade ago I drove truck to Florida. Then South Carolina permitted slot machines in their truck stops. I could stop for a break at 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning and see gamblers. Some of them had young children pulling at their sleeves for their parents to go home. I have been against gambling ever since. This is not an activity that helps our society.

South Carolina wised up and removed the slots from the truck stops. Someday maybe we will see the light? Gambling is about loosing and our state lost big when we allowed this evil. We were much better off when our gamblers had to travel to Atlantic City.

[Heidi60]

I know a man who has a good job but filed bankruptcy a year ago. He gambles, runs up his credit cards and works hard to draw others into his "addiction". A few weeks ago he had an accident and had to borrow a car just to get back and forth to work. He is really a great person but we just can't go down that path with him so we don't spend much time with him. It seems like the casinos are really exploiting people with those addictive behaviors without regard to the harm they cause. I feel for him and people like him but in the end, it is a predatory world and we are each responsible for our own behavior. So sad that this is being done by polititians while waving our American flag claiming it is good for the country/state. We really have enough on the American agenda with our loss of jobs, war, and health care issues.

[bnepler]

People are going to gamble if they want to. Before gambling in PA, people went to New Jersey for slots, etc. They went to West VA, Maryland, Delaware, etc for horse track betting, so why not have it here. Before they became legal, you bet the local numbers on the street or in the bars, clubs, churches,etc. I worked in the steel mills and guys stayed through the next shifts to gamble ( cards, dice, games). So what's the difference? I'm not a supporter or fan of the Gov but do agree with him on this topic. I'm not a gambler!!

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by bnepler

People are going to gamble if they want to. Before gambling in PA, people went to New Jersey for slots, etc. They went to West VA, Maryland, Delaware, etc for horse track betting, so why not have it here. Before they became legal, you bet the local numbers on the street or in the bars, clubs, churches,etc. I worked in the steel mills and guys stayed through the next shifts to gamble ( cards, dice, games). So what's the difference?

Agree. It's amazing how Republicans (for the record I am one) say that people are responsible for their own actions, UNLESS there's gambling involved, in which case gambling, and not people and their decisions, is the problem.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by bnepler

People are going to gamble if they want to. Before gambling in PA, people went to New Jersey for slots, etc. They went to West VA, Maryland, Delaware, etc for horse track betting, so why not have it here. Before they became legal, you bet the local numbers on the street or in the bars, clubs, churches,etc. I worked in the steel mills and guys stayed through the next shifts to gamble ( cards, dice, games). So what's the difference? I'm not a supporter or fan of the Gov but do agree with him on this topic. I'm not a gambler!!

The problem is that it is not just gamblers loosing money - it is their family and those that support them. We argue that all drivers have to wear seat belts because we all pay for insurance. It is basically the same argument - If somebody cannot take care of their own family; it is now the responsibility of the state (the taxpayer).

If you clicked on the link that Latina7 posted; you heard that legalized gambling, in PA, made the problem worse. I liked it better when people had to travel to Atlantic City. It was harder and people did not spend the time gambling like they do now. I wish that we had a law that all gamblers had to prove they were financially self sufficient before they are allowed to gamble - that will never happen.

I do not even like the way that this got shoved on us - we voted against it two times. I would be more accepting if the voters asked for this - but we did not.

[HappyRider]

So if you build gambling places you create gamblers?

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by HappyRider

So if you build gambling places you create gamblers?

HappyRider,

If you listened to the 60 Minutes report; there is evidence that it could be the case. You need a better study. However, the fact (if it is true) that calls to the gambler’s hot lines have tripled; point in that direction. Unlike our former Governor that got angry when questioned about this; I think that Lesley Stahl had some good questions.

[airwair]

Some bars create alcoholics. Some doctors create drug addicts. Some churches create loons.

And the list could continue.

What happened to "less government"? Oh, right. That only applies when they try to tell YOU how to do something that you don't want to.

If people want to gamble, let them. If it ruins their life in the process, so be it. We are responsible for our actions.