LETTERS: NO ON GAMBLING

To the editor:

Riverboat gambling: sounds historical with big steamboats cruising the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and bringing back the heyday of western expansion and legalized gambling -- but with a difference: none of the negative aspects associated with gambling of the past. For example: people and machines on the up and up with no cheating, a $500 loss limit so our citizens or those from surrounding states would not be tempted to bet the farm and lose everything, state police as neutral agents keeping the peace, a limited number of boat licenses to control oversaturation of gambling boats, cruising riverboats providing both gambling and tourism, a neutral gaming commission to oversee the gambling business, background checks on owners and investors to stop any involvement with organized crime or illegal payoffs to government officials, gambling revenue to be set aside for education.

Do these selling points sound familiar? All these and more were the promises made by the gambling companies and their pro-gambling public relations. There was not question about it. The gambling companies were eager to come to our state and more than willing to follow our rules and keep their promises.

Since then, the riverboat gambling companies have either broken or fought to change many of the safeguards and their promises they so eagerly agreed to.

Our supposedly neutral gambling commission overstepped its legal authority. Yet the problem the gambling boats are facing only pertain to the companies which either chose to change the rules or didn't even bother to follow them. The boats which followed the rules continue with business as usual.

I believe the rules set up by our state were fair and practical. We have seen that when these rules were not followed that the negative aspects of gambling were the result.

Next Tuesday, let's vote to rein in our anything-goes riverboat gambling renegades and say once and for all: Follow the rules.

BRUCE COLLIER

Cape Girardeau