ToCasino.net Online Casino

To launch its new All Points feature for Monday's Opinion page, the Editorial Board asked Star-Telegram readers to step back from the usual arguments about casino gambling and send their thoughts on why Texas still doesn't allow it.

Here are some of their comments:Texas is in the gambling business. The lottery generates millions in taxes. Horse and greyhound racetracks have a billion-dollar annual economic impact in terms of jobs, goods and services, and state and local taxes. Bingo and charitable gambling revenues far exceed what most people would think.Those are just the legal gambling entities in Texas. There is illegal Internet sports betting, and thousands of eight-liner slot machines are spread throughout the state.We should allow Texans to vote on whether or not they want casino gambling at racetracks as in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Louisiana.The 10th Commandment says, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house ... wife ... servant ... livestock ... or anything that belongs to your neighbor."That is the only place in the Bible that can be construed as prohibiting gambling.-- Dan Fick, GranburyI would like my own state to have casinos just like our neighboring states.I would like to have the privilege of driving a few miles rather than having to drive three hours or more just to have a little enjoyment. We are not sitters for those who choose to be addicted to gambling.The states that have legal gambling welcome Texans with open arms so we will stay and they can take our money. If a person can't stay in control, that's their problem, and our leaders should not watch over them.Texas could have so much more, for the betterment of everyone, with the revenue casino gambling would bring.-- Audrey Blackmon, MansfieldIf we legalize gambling in Texas, making it readily accessible to all people, wonder how many people would be tempted to take their paycheck to the casino thinking they will hit "the big one" but instead lose it all?They go home with no money, and their family reaps the consequences.Satan puts temptation in our path every day. Let's not make it easy for him.Gambling is addictive and destructive, just like overeating and excessive alcohol.-- Delores Jan Faulkner, CrowleyThe reason we are stuck on "gambling," like legalization of drugs, is that our representatives are trying to tell the rest of us how to live.It is an idea based on religion with no practical basis in fact or logic.We scream about our freedoms and our rights to keep assault rifles, but we let the legislatures lead us around by our noses like the Taliban treats their people in Afghanistan. One opponent of gambling in Texas is probably the gambling industries in Louisiana or Oklahoma, which are happy to take our money and build their tax base.-- Sherwin Rubin, ArlingtonTexas has gambling now with bingo, lottery, etc., so what's the big deal?I'm all for it if it can be controlled. History shows that the biggest gamblers today are those who can least afford it -- those on some form of welfare, etc., looking for the big win.There should be some way to control who gambles, maybe some form of picture ID issued by the state saying the cardholder is certified to be a gambler who can afford to play and is not using welfare, unemployment money, etc.My dad taught me that they did not build Las Vegas by a bunch of winners coming to town. He said if you gamble with scared money, which you can't afford to lose, you can't afford to gamble.Gambling is a form of entertainment and should be treated that way, for entertainment only.-- Con Shuck, GranburyMany in the state are going to gamble in some form. It is primarily entertainment and can be good for the brain in a skill game such as poker. Anything can be a vice if abused.There are hundreds if not thousands of private poker games in Dallas-Fort Worth.The state allows lottery gambling (which is strictly luck) and horse racing, but the state governmental powers don't want casinos. It is absurd. Tens of thousands will continue to make the trek to WinStar and Choctaw. These are very lucrative operations.Many seniors who are physically impaired love the casinos. It is something fun for them that does not require physical skill. I have sat at many a poker table with an oxygen user.It is an interesting oxymoron that a state that believes so much in personal freedom continues to live in the Dark Ages on this.-- Paula Scoggin, BenbrookGambling a game of chance? Hardly.The house always wins, always. The only question is how much you will ultimately lose.Why would the state encourage a "business" that produces nothing tangible? The industry claims it is in the entertainment business. Then why does it provide a hotline to call if you have a gambling problem? It's not an entertainment problem, it is a gambling sickness.Ethically and morally, Texas does not need the dirty money provided by the gambling industry. And the taxes collected will come right out of our own pockets at the casinos. They never lose!Let's not induce the citizens of this state to hope that when they will spend their children's meal money they will strike it rich. Let's feed the kids first.-- Michael S. Tomasic, BurlesonThe majority of Texans do not believe that gambling is a vice but rather a form of relaxation with potential returns.This is why if our lawmakers let gambling go to a public vote, it would easily pass.There will be some Texans using religion as their rationale to oppose gambling.And for the opponents who say the state will not realize expected returns, take a trip to Thackerville, Okla., or Shreveport, La. The economic and urban transformation there is quite remarkable.It is high time the gambling question is put to a vote. Let all Texans decide, not just a few slanted lawmakers.-- Jim Nelson, Fort WorthThe only unmitigated vice is tobacco, with only ill effects, no positives.Wagering, like drinking and other recreational drugs, sex, Facebooking and other social networking, eating, exercising, etc., can be done responsibly or irresponsibly, in moderation or to excess.Texans don't have a problem with gambling. Certain religions do. For this reason alone I believe responsible gambling legislation should be passed and put to the voters, for well-known employment and revenue benefits.These are the people's potential jobs and revenues that are being foregone for religious reasons, which is clearly unconstitutional. Government is a temporal secular activity and should be executed on temporal secular principles.Ministers are welcome to do whatever they like to dissuade behavior they find objectionable among their congregations, but they need to leave the rest of us alone.-- Mark Greene, Fort WorthCasinos, slot machines and other forms of gambling should never be used to raise revenue, especially for a governmental body.Gambling, like taxes, places money into the hands of a few by taking it from the paychecks of many. Gambling harms all, but especially the poor and working middle class. Like alcohol, it's addictive and destroys families and individuals.-- Jack O. Lewis, Haltom CityGambling is a vice -- weakness, foible, indulgence -- but it's not a sin and should not be a crime.The opposition comes from hypocritical politicians who enjoy all forms of vice personally but publicly wish to wrap themselves in the Bible and appear socially conservative and "family friendly."-- George Michael Sherry, Fort WorthWhy don't we have casino gambling in Texas? One, it attracts organized crime, which we don't have in Texas and don't want. Our crime is unorganized, and we intend to keep it that way.Two: It encourages poor people to waste their meager resources. Our poor people are responsible citizens, but if tempted to gamble, well, all bets are off, so to speak.Three: Just because 37 other states do it doesn't make it right. If California jumped off a cliff, would Texas do it, too?-- John Donald Middleton, HurstNext to the oldest profession in the world, I believe gambling is second. The oldest is totally immoral and wrong. The second, gambling, is wrong if done excessively with losses affecting family, home and other life aspects.We shall never stop the oldest or the second oldest! So, should we accept the second oldest and cash in like other states?-- George J. Anthony, Fort WorthMany people are unable to resist gambling.The question is, where does the state's authority end? New York City has banned all soft drinks over 16 ounces to protect people from themselves. Is that really the job of government?We really settled this question when we passed the state lottery. The state should protect us by making sure the games are fair and that organized crime isn't allowed in. The rest is up to the people. I won't be going, but that is my choice -- as it should be.-- Bill Reedy, Denton

Looking for comments?