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Lawmakers should resist siren song of
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South Carolina's budget woes are bad, but they're not so bad that lawmakers should consider for a single moment bringing back video poker. Sometimes, it's simply better to walk away. Lawmakers should resist siren song of gambling Published Wednesday, December 3, 2008 South Carolina's budget woes are bad, but they're not so bad that lawmakers should consider for a single moment bringing back video poker. The state banned that scourge in 2000 after many years of debate and legal wrangling that included the federal courts. But Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, has called again for legalized gambling beyond the state's lottery. He says doing so could bring in $700 million. Sure, the state could bring in more money that way, but that hardly means it should. There are many ways to make money in this world, and some should just be avoided. At its height, video poker was in 37,000 establishments in South Carolina and did nearly $3 billion a year in business, bringing $60 million into the state treasury. But it came at a price that included addiction, crime, lost work time, bankruptcies, financial hardships and death. One infant died as a result of being left in a sun-baked car in Jasper County while its mother played video poker inside a video poker casino. In 2005, five years after the video poker ban went into effect, we looked at some of the changes the ban had brought. Some communities experienced a dramatic drop in crime, especially robberies. York County, which borders North Carolina where video poker already was illegal, saw robberies, burglaries and larcenies drop by 59.4 percent, from 9,756 cases to 5,799. Across South Carolina, the number of active Gamblers Anonymous groups dropped by 50 percent in the five-year span. Video poker, like most vices, is hard to resist. Newberry County this summer considered holding a referendum on whether to allow video poker in that county and use any money raised to reduce property taxes. The reality of state law finally sunk in and the County Council voted down the idea. Ford says South Carolina is leaving money on the table by not legalizing more forms of gambling and taxing it. Sometimes, it's simply better to walk away. http://www.islandpacket.com/opinion/story/686586.html |
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