In Gov. Steve Beshears State of the Commonwealth address Jan. 4, he called for the state legislators to introduce and approve a bill to allow voters to decide if they want casino type gambling in this state. I say to you, Expanding gambling is not the answer to Kentuckys financial problems.

In an article by Chuck Stinnett this past Sunday, he reported how the Spectrum Gaming Group has estimated that a casino at Ellis Park would bring the equivalent of jobs for 552 full-time employees and 192 construction workers jobs.

Gaming is just a more politically acceptable word for gambling. I have no way of checking it out, but I hesitate to trust the figures set forth in a study done by the gambling industry. Those kinds of studies done by the gambling industry on the economic impact of expanded gambling often manipulate the numbers for their purposes in a kind of math in fantasyland fashion.

The gaming industry is quick to give figures regarding the positive economic impact of gambling, but neglects to mention the negative side. With increased gambling additional law enforcement is needed because crime increases in the area. State and county agencies that deal with welfare needs are impacted because the families of gamblers have less money for rent, groceries and utilities. Also, churches and faith-based groups are affected because they have to take up more slack to help families because a family member has gambled away some money.

I personally knew a man grieving from his wifes death who started going to the boat in Evansville to gamble. His losses caused him to lose his house and most every other thing he had. He robbed a bank. After being caught he spent the rest of his life in prison at a huge cost to our state.

Gambling is a business issue. It doesnt create any additional money. While gambling makes money for casinos and race tracks, which pay taxes and give a small cut to the state, local businesses are losers because the money spent gambling is money thats not available to be spent in restaurants, groceries or local stores.

Gambling is a moral issue. Many Kentucky residents will have to lose a lot of money for the government to get additional revenue from gambling. For the most part gambling takes money out of the pockets of those who can least afford it. Its a bigger temptation to certain social economic groups who are struggling financially and are willing to put money in slot machines and to bet on horses in order to hit it big.

Its bad public policy for a government to make its own citizens losers for it to gain. Shouldnt our state government be protecting and alerting its citizens of the grave potential dangers of losing their hard-earned money rather than encouraging them to gamble when the odds are stacked against them to lose? When people lose their money gambling, marriages are affected adversely, children do without school supplies and clothes, and individuals are depressed.

This past Sunday I spoke to a man at church whom Id been missing. He explained he has been going to Louisville to help take care of his 80-year-old uncle whos in assisted living. He said the uncles son has been going to the boat and has gambled away $100,000 of the mans money. Now, the family is concerned if there is enough money for the uncle to be properly cared for. Gambling hurts a lot of people.

Gambling is a religious issue. The Bible doesnt encourage gambling, and God doesnt bless it. Gods plan for making money is called Work. Gambling urges people to lust for more money. Greed and covetousness are sins (Ten Commandments – Ex. 20). God wants you to use your money wisely for his glory and to help others. The Bible warns, Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income (Eccles. 5:10).

Dont feel sorry for the racetrack owners. Mr. Geary, the owner of Ellis Park, stated, Last year (2010) saw a 22-percent increase in on-track attendance, averaging about 3,700 … and a nearly 17-percent increase in on-track wagering (June 30, 2010 front page article in The Gleaner).

I urge you to join the fight against expanding gambling in the Bluegrass. Increased gambling in our state is simply bad public policy. Call or email your state elected officials and ask them to do everything possible to turn back the tide on expanded gambling in Kentucky. You can contact your legislators via the legislative message line at 1-800-372-7181 or via the Legislative Research Commission website at www.lrc.ky.gov.

You can be assured the gambling industry is going all out to lobby your legislators, so its imperative you speak clearly to them about this issue. They work for you!

The writer is a Sebree resident.

Minnesota Mulls Gambling Expansion Options

Written by Renee K | Sunday, November 27th, 2011

With pressure on the Minnesota government mounting to construct a one billion dollar Vikings football stadium, it seems more likely that there will be more support for the expansion of gambling in the state to fund the massive project, if the only other option is a tax hike.

A stadium funding bill is set to be unveiled next month and it has been confirmed that gambling proposals are the main options being considered. Some of these options include allowing bars and restaurants in Minnesota to upgrade pull tab games to electronic versions. Another option could be to allow two horse racing tracks in Twin Cities to install up to two thousand video slot machines each, while a third being touted is the construction of a casino complex in downtown Minneapolis.

Whichever option is chosen – if it comes to that – the government will be getting a healthy chunk of the revenues from taxation as well as licensing fees. It is hoped that the money will be enough to pay the $650 million currently being asked by the Vikings to replace the Metrodome – with experts saying that the price tag could easily reach $1 billion by the end of the construction.

As with all attempts to expand gambling at a state level, there is already growing opposition to the idea. Native American tribes are rejecting the expansion of gambling as they are worried about the competition to their own casinos, while social advocacy groups are decrying the potential damage. “It encourages indebtedness, family problems,” said the president of the Minnesota Family Council, Tom Prichard. “You’re really targeting a narrow range of people who do a significant amount of gambling.”

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In May 1996, Horace Balmer, the NBAs vice president for security, had two speakers flown to Norfolk, Va., whose messages were very disturbing. The two speakers were Michael Franzese, a former mob boss who fixed professional and college games for organized crime, and Arnie Wexler, who for 23 years was a compulsive gambler. Franzere said, I talked to the NBA rookies earlier this season and its amazing how many confided to me that they have gambling habits. Im not going to mention their names, but if I did, you would know them I personally got involved in compromising games with players, and it all came through their gambling habits. (THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT – May 11, 1996)

Twelve years ago, as a compulsive gamblers counselor, I was asked to fly to New York to the NBA office in Manhattan to meet with league officials, players, and union officials concerned about players gambling. I was told, We have a problem, and were trying to find out how bad the problem is. Officials asked me to keep my calendar open for the spring of the following year and told me they wanted me to address every team and player in the league. They then flew my wife in, and we had a second meeting. They asked us to develop questions that were going to be given to the players to answer. We need to know how big the gambling problem is in the NBA, they said.

When I hadnt heard from the NBA, I called and asked, When do we start? The talks were cancelled, and the response I got was this: They said that the higher-ups didnt want the media to find out.

Some years ago, I was on a TV show with Howard Cossell (ABC Sports Beat). The topic was: Does the Media Encourage the Public to Gamble? NBA commissioner David Stern said: We dont want the weeks grocery money to be bet on the outcome of a particular sporting event. Yet on Dec. 11, 2009, commissioner David Stern told SI.com (the website for Sports Illustrated) that legalized gambling on the NBA may be a huge opportunity. I wonder how many addicted gamblers placed the first bet they ever made on an NBA game? The National Gambling Study Commission said that there are 5 million compulsive gamblers and 15 million at risk in the US Forty-eight percent of the people who gamble bet on sports.

Get the real scoop: Talk to me, Arnie Wexler, one of the nations leading experts on the subject of compulsive gambling and a recovering compulsive gambler. I placed my last bet on April 10, 1968, and have been involved in helping compulsive gamblers ever since for the last 40 years. Through the years, I have spoken to more compulsive gamblers than anyone else in America and have been fighting the injustice of how sports, society and the judicial system deal with compulsive gamblers.

Athletes may be more vulnerable than the general population when you look at the soft signs of compulsive gambling: high levels of energy, unreasonable expectations of winning, very competitive personalities, distorted optimism, and bright with high IQs. It is time for college and professional sports to outline and execute a real program to help players who might have a gambling problem. Yet college and professional sports still do not want to deal with this. They do not want the media and public to think there is a problem.

  The River Cree Resort and Casino on the Enoch Reserve near Edmonton.Photograph by: Chris Schwarz, Edmonton Journal

CALGARY — A group of Alberta chiefs is calling for a review of the province’s multi-million-dollar First Nations gaming policy — a program one researcher called “neo-colonial” in its approach to divvying up casino funds.

According to Treaty 8 Grand Chief Richard Kappo, the Assembly of Treaty Chiefs voted in a fall meeting to re-examine the breakdown of gaming funds — including roughly $76 million each year that goes to the province’s own lottery fund initiatives.

“(We) want to go back and re-examine the process and how it’s done,” said Kappo, chief of the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation in northern Alberta.

In the five years since the first reserve casino opened in Alberta, First Nations charitable gambling revenue has climbed dramatically.

In 2009-10, the five on reserve casinos raked in roughly $262 million, according to a recent report commissioned by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission.

At issue is how slot machine cash, which makes up almost three-quarters of total revenue, is split.

Under the First Nations gaming policy, 40 per cent from the slots goes to a First Nations development fund crafted specially for reserve gaming proceeds. It’s then divided so the five reserves that host casinos can access 30 per cent of the cash for community projects.

The remaining 10 per cent is parsed between the other 39 eligible tribes.

The province, meanwhile, swallows 30 per cent of First Nations casino slot revenue into its $1.4 billion Alberta Lottery Fund, which is then doled out to various government departments to fund community programs.

University of Lethbridge native studies Prof. Yale Belanger questioned why the Alberta government would take almost a third of slot revenue when the policy it crafted was intended to help First Nations people.

“What we’re seeing is First Nations resources … are actually being utilized to fuel Alberta’s development,” Belanger said.

“It’s nothing more than a very neo-colonial approach during a time when the Canadian government has been promoting reconciliation and improving our relationships with First Nations.”

Belanger co-authored a major report commissioned by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission to examine the province’s gambling industry.

The report, released in the spring, also recommended substantial changes to the existing First Nations Development Fund.

“In the last four years alone, First Nations casinos have channelled 89.3 times more money to the ALF (Alberta Lottery Fund) than First Nations and Metis organizations drew from it in the past decade,” the report states.

The findings were presented in April to the commission and to the former aboriginal affairs department (now part of the Intergovernmental, International and Aboriginal Relations portfolio).

In an interview, the minister in charge of the portfolio said the government is “well aware” of the recommendations contained in Belanger’s report, but has no plans for a formal review.

Cal Dallas said Alberta’s First Nations gaming policy has already led to a great deal of social improvements among various bands since the first reserve casino opened in 2006.

“I think it’s been highly successful in terms of creating a fund that has provided First Nations with numerous opportunities to fund a variety of projects,” said Dallas, minister of intergovernmental, international and aboriginal relations.

“Since the inception of the agreement, what that’s meant is over $100 million has gone to those other First Nations other than the hosts (bands that operate casinos).”

When the gaming policy was drafted, both the Alberta government and First Nations agreed on appropriate allocations, Dallas said.

The minister said he’s open to discussions about “whether we got this right five years ago and whether it’s still the type of formula and still is achieving the means we set out to.”

The 2001 First Nations gaming policy was supported by 77 per cent of Alberta bands when it was drafted.

Today, five First Nations casinos are operated in Alberta, including the highly profitable Grey Eagle Casino at Tsuu T’ina and the River Cree Resort and Casino run by Enoch Cree Nation.

Under the First Nations development fund grant program, Alberta tribes can apply for funding for social, economic and community development projects.

Since its inception, millions of dollars have been infused into reserve development across the province, for projects such as the Kainai Peacemaking Centre planned for the Blood Tribe and the Piikani Nation Buffalo Skull Lodge.

The 2010-11 budget projection for the development fund grant program is $118 million — which means all First Nations are eligible for at least $370,000, according to the Alberta gaming commission’s figures.

Alberta gambling researcher Harold Wynne, who helped draft the University of Alberta portion of the gaming study released in the spring, said there are some meaty questions about whether the bands without casinos are getting a fair shake under the policy.

Perhaps a more equitable breakdown would see the tribes that operate the casinos, who can apply for 30 per cent of slot machine revenue under the development fund grant, allocate a larger share to non-host tribes, suggested Wynne. The tribes that operate casinos receive a further 15 per cent outside the First Nations development fund for their own charity.

The share that goes into the Alberta Lottery Fund doesn’t seem out of line, considering many of the gamblers aren’t from reserves, he said.

“Not all of the revenues garnered from First Nations casinos come from First Nations communities,” he said.

“Could you not argue that some of the revenues from the slots should be invested back in the communities they came from?”

Belanger doesn’t think so.

Rather, Alberta’s cut should be chopped, so that the province merely recoups costs for regulating First Nation’s casinos, Belanger contended. The remaining cash should be poured back into the development fund for reserves who don’t have casinos, he said.

“Basically they (the Alberta government) are getting $76 million a year all for the exercise of saying to First Nations, ‘Go invest your money, hopefully the casino works. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t hurt us. If you do very well, we’re going to take 30 per cent from you.’

“That strikes a very paternalistic attitude it’s frustrating to see in this day and age.”

Kappo said the development fund has been a boon to Alberta’s reserves.

Remote tribes, in particular, who couldn’t support a casino of their own, have benefited from tapping into the gambling revenue, he said.

“It’s a big help in our economic development and social and community development projects. We can afford to do thing we couldn’t do before,” said Kappo.

However, the chiefs would like to take a closer look at the 2001 policy, particular the cash that doesn’t go toward aboriginal initiatives.

An Intergovernmental, International and Aboriginal Relations Department spokesman confirmed the Assembly of Treaty Chiefs informed the government it would like to conduct a review. The discussions are “ongoing,” according to Mike Deising.

Calgary Herald

CHONGQING – When my friends heard that I was about to report on a mahjong competition from a five-star cruise on the Three Gorges, they said it sounded like covering a summit of gambler kings on the high seas.

My wife, who thought Id become invulnerable after a reporting trip to war-torn Afghanistan, anxiously warned me: Dont gamble! Dont borrow money to gamble.

But the Fifth China Mahjong Forum and Championship was just the opposite of what you see in movies about high-stakes gambling: no x-ray glasses, no invisible earphones to pick up signals helping you to cheat, and no loan sharks to finance your risk-taking.

Yet the legal and friendly game, which ran from Nov 20 to 22, was certainly challenging for 124 players from Japan, Europe and most parts of China. And it was inspirational to me.

Initially, I was amazed to hear foreigners using mahjong lingo like the Chinese, and I was impressed at how fast they could calculate the scores.

Then, I became impressed by the players professionalism in keeping the mind game quiet, friendly and gentle.

No one smoked or complained about bad hands. And the first thing that people around the 31 tables did after each game was to put the tiles neatly back into the boxes.

The three-day game consisting of eight sessions ended with a retired bookkeeper claiming the individual championship and four Beijing college students taking the team prize.

No money was awarded. Instead, the winners got seals and bronze cups bearing auspicious Chinese characters.

The losers congratulated the winners and they all took pictures together.

A Japanese participant told me how social the game is.

Three Europeans met me on check-in day saying they had three people and needed one more to play. Though we dont speak the same language, we played happily around a table for a pre-match, said Kimito Kugimiya.

What really inspired me was the players and organizers drive to reverse the negative image of mahjong as a gambling tool and promote the underlying culture.

The game has been evolving since the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), said Rui Quanbao, the president of the Mahjong Association of Northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The symbols engraved on the tiles contain the Chinese understanding of the universe and humans relations with nature. The rules, terminology and craftsmanship have cultural and traditional values to explore.

The organizing committee of the game is also a member of the World Mahjong Organization, which is preparing to apply for the inclusion of mahjong on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations intangible cultural heritage list.

China Daily

New England -3 at Philadelphia O/U 50.5

Philadelphias offensive injuries have been hogging the headlines but flying under the radar is a banged up secondary. Cornerbacks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (ankle) and Nnamdi Asomugha(knee) are currently listed as questionable. Not a favorablesituation if those two cant go against New Englands passing attack.

In the spring of 1978, federal agents were keeping close watch on an oceanfront estate near Bar Harbor, Maine, suspicious of its rental to a suspected drug smuggler. After confiscating nine tons of marijuana on a sailboat offshore, agents descended on the property. Among those arrested were two brothers from Massachusetts: Daniel Eremian, 28, and Robert Eremian, 25, who said he was at the estate for a tennis vacation.

Now, 33 years later, the brothers are again facing federal charges. Daniel Eremian is on trial for his alleged role in an illegal Antigua-based gambling venture, Sports Offshore, which raked in millions of dollars between 1998 and 2006. Robert is a fugitive on related racketeering charges. Closing arguments are expected this week.

Police Regional Office-6 Director, Chief Supt. Cepriano Querol, said Friday he hopes to put an end to illegal gambling in the region, particularly in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental, next year and has ordered an all-out-war against it.

Querol, however, said their efforts will not be successful without the cooperation of the people.

I have directed the different field commanders to get the cooperation of the different sectors, so we can say that our campaign against illegal gambling is successful in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental, he said.

The problem of illegal gambling in Bacolod and Negros is only about 30 percent, compared to other areas in the region, he added.

Querol said he has ordered the all-out-war particularly against jai-alai and stressed that he does not want a moro-moro type of operation.

He said he is confident they could solve the problem in Bacolod and Negros Occidental unlike other areas where illegal gambling is rampant and unabated, and it only needs the support of the local government units, the church, the media and other stakeholders, he added.

Querol also said he is thinking that sometime after their campaign, he will ask for a certification signed by the LGU, police chief, parish priest and a representative from the media that in a certain area, there is no illegal gambling.

This way, they can gauge their success in their campaign, he said.

Querol said the community is the important component in their crusade against illegal gambling. The problem is that it is being patronized by the poor sector of society who have made it their livelihood to ease their financial difficulty, he said.

If no one will patronize illegal gambling, it will not continue, he said.*CGS

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A new opportunity is coming to UCF that will not only create jobs for students but also give them a fun, risk-free way to compete with fellow classmates.

YourCollegePokerClub.com is a subscription-based online poker site designed by college students for college students. By paying a monthly fee of $19.95, students can gamble by using virtual dollars that they could turn into actual winnings or possibly a spot in the World Series of Poker.

Chandler Bator, a junior finance major at Arizona State University, was initially inspired to create this site when he witnessed a close friend lose $10,000 playing illegal online poker his freshman year.

After that, his parents pulled him out of college and I never saw him again, Bator said. I then noticed that a lot of my friends gambled online and more of them lost than won. I did some research and saw that crime rates were up on campus, from white-collar crime to theft to robbery to suicide. I realized there has to be a safer way to do this for them to have the excitement of winning with no risk.

Bator shared his idea with Barbara Bucca, a friends mother who had experience in creating subscription-based websites with her business called Charity Stakes that raises money for charities through online gaming.

Bucca was willing to help Bator launch his idea when she saw how he demonstrated compassion and conviction for his idea and fellow classmates.

I thought [Bators] discussion had tremendous conviction for trying to help his fellow students to have the ability to enjoy the games that they love, yet having them play in a safe environment in itself was a brilliant idea, Bucca said. But when he brought up his idea to offer employment to his fellow students, it added the cherry on top.

Currently, the website which only hires students has created around 300 jobs at 160 universities and plans to create a minimum of 4,000.

Students are hired as campus marketers and are paid $5 per member they recruit to sign up per month plus a base pay that is still being negotiated.

College students are the basis of Bators website. With graduation coming up soon, he realizes that there arent a lot of jobs out there and that isnt likely to change unless students start creating their own.

I want to be an example to every college kid out here with an idea, know thats its possible, Bator said. If you dont do it, shame on you because it can be done.

The reactions that Bator has seen from his own college have been both positive and negative, seeing as how his fellow classmates have played a big part in deciding what goes on the website.

Students at UCF have so far displayed positive reactions.

Freshman advertising/public relations major Samantha Whitman saw the website as something for students to look forward to.

I think they will react positively and be excited to compete with students from the same school, she said.

Despite the positive outlook from some students, online gambling has been drawing negative attention for quite some time.

According to report done by the Connecticut General Assembly, the Department of Justice has claimed online gambling to be illegal on the basis of the 1961 Wire Act and the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Act.

Online gambling became virtually nonexistent when, on April 15, the Department of Justice indicted 11 owners of the biggest online poker sites, including PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, and shut down their sites.

Having nowhere else to play, students then turned to illegal offshore gambling sites.

Thats what Bator is hoping to beat, feeling that these online sites are just ripping students off.

Though there has been talk in Congress recently about legalizing online gambling in order to create more jobs, Bator still feels like that would be a devastating blow for America.

From the research Ive done and from seeing the effects of when it was not really legal but still going on, I think it would be another downward slide for America, Bator said. We want to give online gambling and casinos a run for their money.

To register for UCFs poker site, visit knightpokerclub.com or to apply for a position as campus marketer visit YourCollegePokerClub.com.

TALLAHASSEE — Its been seven years since Florida voters opened the door a little farther to casino gambling in what supporters back then said was a measured, highly controlled entry into an industry that at the time was under the monopolistic control of American Indian tribes.

By the slimmest of margins, Florida voters in 2004 gave their Miami-Dade and Broward County counterparts the nod to decide whether gambling was right for them. The South Florida restriction was needed because the allure of casino revenues faded precipitously as one traveled north in the culturally diverse state. Previous statewide referenda had been soundly defeated.

South Florida, rich in Latin American and northeastern US influences, was more amendable to allowing slots and other games of chance. Traveling up the peninsula, the mood changed quickly as more socially conservative voters in Central Florida mingled with liberal anti-gambling factions wary of the underside of casinos revenue boosts.

The limited amendment also was needed because times were good. With Florida feeding at the table of incredible (and unsustainable) growth, neither lawmakers nor taxpayers were too concerned about gambling revenues.

The feast is over, at least for now, and gambling backers have returned with another proposal that will likely be among the most contested issues of the 2012 legislative session.

This week, political players from around the state will convene in Fort Lauderdale to take a look at the latest attempt to expand gambling in the state as the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce hosts a debate on efforts to bring destination resort gambling to the Land of the Mouse.

The forum will include Orlando attorney John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council, which opposes efforts to expand gaming in the state. Other panelists include Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, the sponsor of the casino bill; Dan Adkins, president of the Mardi Gras Casino; Bob Wyre, general manager of Isle Casino and Racing; and Nick Iarossi, lobbyist for Las Vegas Sands, one of a handful of investors interested in building a resort gambling development in South Florida.

Backers of such efforts say the economic rewards are immense and only marginally related to gambling itself. Multi-billion developments (current legislation calls for a minimum $2 billion investment) with hotels, shops, golf courses and yes, slots and blackjack tables, will bring with them construction jobs followed by tourism-related employment.

Critics are wary of the revenue projections and say the economic impact of such resorts will be localized and highly selective. Compared to the social costs associated with gambling, the proposition is not the jackpot that backers extol.

On Friday, the revenue estimating conference, a group of financial analysts from the Legislature and the governors office, is scheduled to meet to divine the states take if proposed legislation is enacted to allow casinos in South Florida or, theoretically, in counties where voters say its OK.

The forecast will be complicated by a number of factors, including the fate of the current gambling compact with the Seminole tribe, which finally struck a deal with the state in 2010 to pay the state for exclusive gaming rights. The compact makes the deal null and void if the tribes exclusivity is breached.

Expect a high-stakes effort from all sides in the months ahead as so many interest groups from anti-gambling interests to existing pari-mutuels have skin in this game.