All gambling – or none at all
It’s time to take off our hats of hypocrisy
We sponsor state lottery games but oppose slot machines. We rake in $225 million a year from the Maine Lottery and wring our hands in worry that gambling preys on the poor. We progress from $1 instant games to games that cost $10, $20 and more and shut down a $5 cribbage game by WW II vets at the VFW hall. We require Hollywood Slots in Bangor to return at least 89 percent of wagers to patrons, while returning only 63 percent of Maine Lottery wagers to the players.
What’s the story? Is gambling bad or isn’t it? Is it good when the state sponsors it but bad when it’s offered in the halls of veterans or Indians?
Gambling is one vice that – here comes the realist – we can’t stop it. Better to have it, in all its insidious forms, than continue to wear our hats of hypocrisy -Â wasting our time and money in this fight.
George Smith -Â [email protected]