The topic of the week appears to be Riverboat Casinos.
We had a letter to the editor. Tom Henry commented via Indiana’s NewsCenter and Charly Butcher’s show. WANE-TV covered the Steuben County story. Pat White discussed it on yesterday’s program. Not to be outdone, the blogging community joined in here, here, here and here.
Good people are of different minds on the issue. Even my better half and I disagree (she’s the smart one). Proponents argue the economic benefits (reduced taxes, job creation) outweigh the costs. The other side seems concerned with gambling addiction, hurting the poor, damage to local businesses, and increased crime.
Some have compared riverboat casinos to strip clubs, suggesting morality is the issue. I believe casinos are more akin to bars and taverns; certainly some people overindulge but the majority handle themselves responsibly.
My primary concerns with bringing a casino to Fort Wayne:
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It’s not original. Many communities have integrated casino gambling. Must we continue to follow their example rather than lead with our own? I’ve stated on this blog that “we cannot look to Toledo or Dayton, Indianapolis or Providence for who or what we are supposed to be. We must embrace that which makes us unique.” The same goes for Michigan City and other casino-hosting cities.
- It’s not a cure-all for Fort Wayne’s economic woes. The City would probably enjoy an economic benefit. Yet, we must continue pursuing job creation, decreased spending, and attracting small business. If we don’t address root causes, down the road we’ll find ourselves in the same financial position we are now.
Would a riverboat casino be good for Fort Wayne? Is Fort Wayne “too good” for riverboat gambling?
What makes Fort Wayne unique?
We have “City of Churches” and the sarcastic response to that is “City of Strip Clubs”. We do have three rivers. It’s been known as the “City where America Works”. It’s known as a crossroads (the sarcastic response being “the middle of nowhere). It’s known for minor league sports. Pro sports leagues have some origins here. There have been some inventions made here. There is becoming a more diverse type of people in Fort Wayne (Burmese) etc… It’s in the largest county east of the Mississippi? There’s a well known zoo. There’s History, etc…
I guess based on what Fort Wayne is then maybe a possible casino would work best in a hideaway and/or underdeveloped area, even near Downtown. The idea of keeping gamblers at home to spend their money is a good idea. If some people consider it sinful, well, they don’t have far to go to be reminded to ask for forgiveness. Everyone will get over it.
The amount of public funds that would go to this seems like the one of most important factors. Did I miss any info put out about that? A casino would be a small piece of the puzzle, and shouldn’t be given any more due than that…
[...] Plenty of local people have discussed a Fort Wayne casino — WOWO’s Pat White never tires of trotting it out — and everyone interested is lining up on either the pro or con side. Of course, it’s actually illegal right now, but everyone seems to treat that fact as something of almost no consequence. [...]
[...] we really need one in Fort Wayne? Certainly not. As stated in a previous post, my primary concerns with bringing a casino here are 1) it’s not an original idea [...]