I’m ready to weigh in on this casino business.
The controversy reminds me of a community I heard about that was
facing the installation of an enormous corporate-owned hog
feedlot.
I’m ready to weigh in on this casino business.
The controversy reminds me of a community I heard about that was facing the installation of an enormous corporate-owned hog feedlot.
The promoters of the feed lot wooed the community with promises of jobs, a brighter economic future, business that would be brought into the area, and so forth.
One long-time resident summed up her opinion when she said “When they told us we wouldn’t even notice the smell, we decided to just pack up and leave, ’cause we knew they were gonna lie to us again.”
Now I’m not saying anybody on either side of the casino debate has lied, but let’s get real here.
A successful casino in this area would overwhelm just about everything else we’ve got going.
In a county where there are already too many cars for the tiny arteries going in and out, adding hundreds of eager gamblers to our roads every day doesn’t make sense. After they’ve had their fun, and their lemonade and cookies, I can just see them, a bunch of sedate Toyota Prius drivers, climbing back into their vehicles and driving 55 all the way out of the county.
The casino promoters promise jobs, of course. Lots of wonderful jobs. Waitress, busboy, croupier, bouncer. I’m sure the tips will be great, and after a shift that gets out at 3:00 a.m., your recent high-school grad can join all his or her fellow employees for more lemonade and cookies.
I know gambling is popular. Lots of people like to go to Reno or Tahoe or Chuckchansi for a weekend at the slot machines or blackjack tables. Las Vegas is a lot of peoples’ dream vacation.
I don’t get it, but what other people do for fun is their business. What is all of our business is whether we want to plop this kind of temptation right down in the middle of an area that already has economic and social problems.
I don’t.
We have enough trouble with high unemployment and bored teenagers already.
Just because somebody’s unemployed doesn’t mean they wouldn’t gamble, hoping to turn their fortunes around with one lucky spin.
Oops, there went the rent money.
Our bored teenagers, who already manage to find ways to drink and drive tragically often, will have a glittering, glamorous example of livin’ large right here at home. It’ll make those bad adolescent ideas seem too good to resist.
I’m not saying the casino would serve alcohol to minors or in any deliberate way contribute to their delinquency.
But I do say it’s not a good example. I know it and you know it.
Last month, the Board of Supervisors approved a resolution opposing the casino. The Hollister City Council wants to hear more from the casino’s sponsors. In theory, they could negotiate a sweet ongoing revenue deal for the city and county in exchange for a go-ahead on the casino. I hope if they decide to consider the proposal further, they will do that.
But then let the rest of us vote on it.
I am not sure there is an amount of money large enough to make me think it is a good idea.
Elizabeth Gage’s column runs weekly in the Free Lance.
