Speaker addresses down side of gambling
BROWNSVILLE – The controversy over whether gambling should be brought to the community resulted in yet another evening of conflicting opinions. The Rev. Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, met with area residents Sunday night to tell them why he believes gambling will not benefit Brownsville and would most likely harm the area.
When the Rev. Stanley Burdock of Christ Episcopal Church in Brownsville introduced Rev. Grey to the audience, he made it clear that Rev. Grey’s opinions should hold a lot of weight because of his wealth of experience and research about the issue.
“Our concern is not really with gambling,” said Rev. Burdock. “We are concerned with the impact that a riverboat casino has on a community. Our reason for having Rev. Grey here is to have an open forum so that we can become more informed about the issue.”
Rev. Grey explained to the audience that he has been involved in the anti-gambling movement for 11 years.
He said his involvement began in 1992 when a riverboat casino came to his county in Rockford, Ill. He said he wanted to tell the people of Brownsville what happened to his community after that casino came, as well as talk about what commonly happens in other places where casinos are located.
“This is an illegal product, but with the government giving it a stamp of approval, we can make legal something that is not,” Rev. Grey said. “When this product was brought to our community, they didn’t call it gambling. They called it gaming. They associated it with economic development by promising that it would bring jobs and saying that it was a painless revenue stream because only those who were willing would do it.”
He went on to say that contrary to common belief, gambling is bad for the economy.
“It’s bad economics because it takes disposable money out of people’s pockets, which could have been spent on other things in the community,” Rev. Grey said.
He expanded on his theory by citing examples of how other cities that have casinos do not have economic development throughout the entire area.
“In Atlantic City, the casino wiped out the area,” Rev. Grey said. “You have whatever is on the strip, and outside of that, there is nothing but a dangerous city. The casino does not develop the surrounding area. It only develops itself.”
Rev. Grey said that although some might think the statistic of five out of every 100 people having a gambling problem was rather low, it is still too high a price to pay for something that has not proved to help develop any community.
“What kind of a government sacrifices 5 percent of its people?” asked Rev. Grey. “The future of Brownsville should rest in bringing families here because it is a good place to live. Or would you rather become a destination off of Route 40 where people can have everything to do with gambling, booze and women?”
Rev. Grey told the people that gambling will not only fail to bring economic development, but it will also have several negative effects. He said his research showed that in counties that have casinos, the bankruptcy rate is about 14 percent higher. Statistics also show that the crime rate in places with casinos is 8 percent higher than those without. He said the reason for that is that “people who are addicted to something will do anything to feed their habit.”
Rev. Grey pointed out that people addicted to gambling will embezzle and rob when they have run out of their own money. He said that when this happens, it is the community who pays for it.
“The casino is not going to pay for an embezzler’s trial,” said Rev. Grey. “The taxpayers will be the ones who pay for it. I hear you have a new prison coming to the area, and you better pay to add another wing, because when the embezzlers are found guilty, they will go to jail, and your tax dollars will support them there as well. It must be great to have a business where you can take all of someone’s money and then dump their bodies on the taxpayers.”
While there were local residents attending who seemed to embrace Rev. Grey’s views on the issue, others said they still believed that gambling in the area could have benefits.
Local residents Trinette and Adam Cunningham said their research showed the opposite of some of Rev. Grey’s statistics.
Trinette Cunningham said that according to www.bothpa.org , the Web site for Bring our Taxes Home, there was no connection with higher bankruptcy rates in states that have casinos. She said that she had numbers that contradicted most of what Rev. Grey had said.
“I just feel that it is important to hear both sides of the issue so that the community develop an educated opinion about it,” said Trinette Cunningham. She said she had hoped they would discuss only slot machines and the money that could generate. “We don’t advocate casinos, but we think slot machines could be beneficial, and we don’t believe that it will go beyond that here because it hasn’t in Delaware.”
Adam Cunningham said he felt that people should trust the government to work for the good of the community.
“The problem is that people don’t trust politicians, and since some of them are advocating gambling here, they automatically think it’s going to be a bad thing,” Adam Cunningham said.
Rev. Grey responded to their comments by saying that studies sometimes show different results, and it is difficult to tell which ones are accurate.
“It’s easy to look at the benefits, but it’s hard to look at the costs,” said the Rev. Grey. “Bankruptcy and crime are hard to track, and more research needs to be done.
He showed newspapers from areas in Illinois and Connecticut that have casinos, revealing headlines on nearly every page that reported devastating incidents that occurred as a result of gambling problems. These were stories of retired people spending most of their money on gambling, suicides that were committed because of gambling addictions, and robberies and embezzlements that happened because the perpetrators needed money for gambling.
“Gambling is like a cancer,” said Rev. Grey. “When it comes, it will spread. And once it is here it is hard to get rid of.”
Rev. Burdock said that while there were so many reasons to not support gambling in the area, it would probably seem beneficial to some.
“It would be foolish to say that there is not a positive side,” said Rev. Burdock. “Because if you have no job and no hope at all, anything will look good.”
In compliance with those who also wanted to hear the positive side, Rev. Grey cited the American Gaming Association Web site, www.aga.org, as a reference. But he also added that his research said there is a 65-percent turnover rate for jobs at casinos, and if they were good jobs, that would not be the case. He pointed out that the owners of casinos will make all the money, but other employees will only have jobs that offer no opportunity for advancement.
“It’s usually about other entertainment the casino will offer,” said Rev. Grey. “People think about the restaurants, parks, and concert halls that will be offered there. I say take the casino out of it and look into brining those other businesses here.”
Rev. Grey told the people that whatever their view, the outcome will depend on the community.
“If you support it, you’ll probably try to help bring it here,” Rev. Grey said. “But if you are against it, then talk to your senators and do something to keep it from coming here. Don’t allow someone else to make the decision for you.”
Rev. Grey said that by no means did anyone have to accept the research he presented, however, people should continue to examine the issue.
“If this is to be a pros and cons debate, we at least must agree that it is not being debated, but it is being pushed forth by Gov. Rendell. At best, let’s say that there is a question, and we shouldn’t vote on this until we have looked further into it.”
Rev. Burdock urged anyone in the community who would like to sign up to help oppose gambling to contact the Christ Church at 724-785-7958.