The house always wins

Opposition to casino gambling cannot be dismissed as simply the emotional moralizing of religious zealots. In spite of the extravagant promises of gambling company executives, study after study has shown that casino gambling is a net economic loser for states and local communities.

Jack Van Der Slik said it best in his article titled "Legalized gambling: predatory policy," that state-sponsored gambling "produces no product, no new wealth, and so makes no genuine contribution to economic development." In 1994 the U.S. Congressional Committee on Small Business concluded that the use of gambling as an economic development tool didn't make sense. That same year, Florida conducted a comprehensive statewide analysis on the impact of legalized gambling and concurred with the findings of the House committee. Two studies of riverboat casinos in Illinois concluded that for every one job created by the riverboats, most of the surrounding communities probably lost one or more jobs from pre-existing businesses. These studies make common sense. Local restaurants and businesses won't benefit from a casino in downtown Cape Girardeau. The majority of casino patrons will go to the casino, dine in the casino restaurant, lose their money, and then depart for home without stopping at local establishments.

When gambling activities are promoted as acceptable entertainment and become accessible to a larger percentage of the population, the numbers of pathological gamblers increase. In 1976 the U.S. Commission on Gambling estimated that 0.77 percent of U.S. citizens were pathological gamblers. In states that legalized gambling, this number grew to 1.5 to 5 percent. According to the Maryland Department of Health, each newly created pathological gambler costs society between $13,200 to $52,000 per year.

Crime increases as problem gamblers find it necessary to commit illegal acts to support their habit. In "Cutting the Cards and Craps: Right Thinking About Gambling Economics," Earl L. Grinols notes the other costs to society include higher business and employment overhead, in part due to rising job absenteeism, an expanded need for government regulation, growing social service expenses such as unemployment insurance, welfare payments, etc. and, finally, the human costs associated with an increase in mental illnesses and family disruption among pathological gamblers.

Casinos are like parasites. They create no new capital, but, instead, suck the blood (money and resources) out of the host (community). Remember, the odds are stacked in favor of the house. The casino always wins in the end and at the expense of the public. Our mayor and city council have, I'm afraid, been enticed by what, on the surface, looks like "easy money." But there are sound economic arguments to be made for keeping Cape Girardeau casino-free.

Dr. Mike Wulfers is a Cape Girardeau physician.