Let's Bring Casinos to Texas

Texas Monthly devoted most of its most recent issue to the 89th session of the Texas Legislature. It was, as usual, a well-researched effort to shed light on the outrages perpetrated against us citizens.

One of the most disheartening reports was the demise of efforts to bring Casinos to Texas. It was a story all too familiar to Texans: a popular proposal that would have brought jobs and revenue to the State was defeated by special interests.

The main arguments used to defeat casino gambling seemed particularly weak.

Supposedly impoverished Texans will become addicted to casino gambling and stop feeding their children.

I have bought more than my fair share of lottery tickets. I certainly understand that government involvement in any form of organized gambling is essentially a tax on people who can't do math.

Casino gambling seems fairly benign compared to scratch-offs and any of the various drawings. Not only are the odds better, but it's more entertaining to see quarters emerge from nowhere, as opposed to discovering a winning symbol.

Of course, there is a history of sordid individuals being associated with casino gambling, most notably one Donald J. Trump. He seems to have graduated to even bigger, fraudulent schemes. Frankly, we are not going to escape the corrupting influence of the con man in chief, as long as Kent Paxton is in the state.

Musical entertainment often accompanies casino gambling, and that means tourists!

All told, Texas should join the rest of the country and allow us to enjoy casinos and casino gambling.