Is Indiana addicted to gambling?

December 4, 2007
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Indiana relies heavily on gambling to fund state and local government. Nearly $1 billion is generated for government by riverboats, the lottery, and taxes on parimutuel wagering and charity gaming.

Just how long the state will be able to keep the dollars rolling in another question.

Illinois lawmakers are considering adding more casinos in the Chicago area. Kentucky governor-elect Steve Beshear campaigned on a platform that included calling on its legislature to legalize gambling and open its own casinos.

If neighboring states ratchet up the competition, will Indiana be forced to cut costs and raise taxes?
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  • FredDecember 4, 2007 12:54 PM
    Our state representatives should push to close these establishments on Sunday. It's God's law and it's timeless. Sunday should be spent going to church and spending time with family. People should not be spending their Sundays in a casino regardless of which state runs them. How can our representatives be so obsessed with prayer every day and then allow this to continue.
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  • JimDecember 4, 2007 1:05 PM
    Yes we are addicted.

    Yes Indiana has saturated our border towns with gambling to get out of state tourism and tax revenue.

    Yes Indiana has bailed out failing horse tracks by granting two new casino licenses in the states heartland targeted at hoosiers. (Bringing the total to 11)

    Yes State casino revenue has been used as a slush fund for political special interests and a solution for short term problems with no long term vision or investment for the day the golden goose quits laying eggs.
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  • HMPPeaceHouseDecember 4, 2007 2:30 PM
    Gambling is bad... all the way around. Religion has nothing to do with it. In fact, religion has already caused enough problems in this world, so keep your god/gods to yourself, thank you very much!

    I was never in favor of gambling being legalized in the state period! The lottery alone causes headaches at the quickie mart as it is. Being a non-gambler, it really annoys me that people decide to play right at the checkout, with no regard for those of us who choose not to pay stupidity tax!

    It is an addiction becoming worse than smoking and worse than alcoholism. If my tax dollars go to help a gambler quit, then it's money well-spent. Even better money spent would be to go towards things that gambling revenue now pays for and shut those casinos and lottery games down!

    If you want to gamble, try politics or Vegas!
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  • LizDecember 4, 2007 4:15 PM
    Mark:
    The blue laws are the only remaining thing holding the moral fabric of this country together. Indiana will never allow automobile and liquor sales on Sundays. And, Indiana will never allow a full fledged casino in the central Indiana area. Casinos should be banned from the state. They have always been a source of crime. Good old fashioned work and honest tax paying would solve all of our problems without fast money. Six days of work and a day of rest. Fast money is trouble money.
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  • MarkDecember 4, 2007 5:49 PM
    I noticed my comments were removed from this site.

    IBJ will get my cancellation notice tomorrow
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  • NormDecember 4, 2007 6:29 PM
    Mark, your comments were deleted because the name-calling and graphic profanity weren't consistent with the conversation IBJ wants to encourage with this blog.
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  • LarryDecember 4, 2007 6:47 PM
    Indiana is addicted to gambling. These new competitors are going to make a big dent in the revenue generated by casinos. There are too many river boats. We should raise taxes now to prevent a gap when they all go out of business,
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  • dellDecember 4, 2007 10:53 PM
    Indiana really needs to get ahead of the curve on this. We need land based casinos in Indy and soon!
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  • KevinDecember 5, 2007 9:59 AM
    Do any of you even know what you are talking about? Are these opinions based on facts that were available to you or are you just making wild thoughtless remarks based on personal preference and what you have heard some one else saying.

    Come on people get your head out of the sand you can remove the word casino and replace it with hundreds of other things that people do. As with everything in life moderation and responsibility are key.

    Stop blaming the game and place it where it should be, with the player.
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  • timDecember 6, 2007 1:56 PM
    What happens in Vegas, should stay in vagas. Casinos should stay in Vegas.
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  1. liek the rest of America

  2. These quaint,obsessed musings by the stalkers are certainly entertaining, but I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, all the yelping below has to do with Zak Brown.

  3. It's evident that Moffett was pushing the right buttons and corporate America is now trying to squash him. He just wanted to withdraw the free pilot services provided to the company by the pilots to try and put some pressure on a company that has not been interested in negotiating a contract in over 5 years. The company does not provide a contract because not having one has saved them a bundle of money. Shame on any Republic pilots not standing behind their union leader just because things are getting tough, can you not see such strategic moves by the company as putting the last union president in a corporate position and into THEIR pocket. Do you really believe the last union president is so appalled at the attempts by Moffett, do you not remember his oppositions to the company? We stood behind him. It has been proven over and over again for thousands of years without fail, a man cannot serve two masters. Anyone that believes people vote contrary to their paycheck and livelihood deserve to be taken advantage of, the recent statements by the former union president are laughable as he denounces the current union president from his new corporate position. Have you ever seen a drafted sports player score points for his previous team, it cannot be done, he is not on the pilots side anymore, he gets his money a different way now than you and I do, and he should not be allowed to remain on the seniority list. A drafted player brings strength, credibility, tactical knowledge, and a strategic advantage to his NEW team, he would not be drafted or paid were it otherwise. We are all forced to choose only one side to play for and support, not doing so has many references in life such as insider trading and shaving points, all illegal for good reason. This basic fact is why corporate moguls, scientist, and engineers all sign non-discloser agreements and non-compete clauses, as protection in case they are lured into switching sides as our former union president has done. No NFL coach ever drafted a player so that both teams could benefit and better understand each other, they are recruited to win the game against that former team, period. Likewise the company does not recruit the former union president by accident or mutual understanding, its strategy. Don't confuse playing the game with good sportsman-like conduct in support of common business and prosperity goals, with the requirement to only play for one side. Good men we all love and favor fall subject to this manipulation, often without their knowledge, and it is not a betrayal of their friendship to oppose them when they switch sides. If we did not love and trust them, they would not have been chosen and lured to the other side in the first place. The deception by the drafted player is not made at a conscious level, it's just human nature and it's all about money and power which corrupts our ability to be objective and loyal to two masters. This is why our court system created the defense attorney, and why our military created counter intelligence. Its strategy and its propaganda, and it works, and that's why the "powers to be" manipulate the chess pieces by sometimes changing their colors. Some players know they are being manipulated when their color is changed, but it brings them more money and power so they do not care. The rest have good intentions but do not even realize they are being manipulated. This tactic is also known by another name, Divide and Conquer. In battle sending an imperfect message with an imperfect team is obviously not ideal, but it's still being sent by YOUR team, your union leader, a leader that has common goals and common rewards with you, they are the best, because we have elected them to do a job for us. If you are not backing Moffett but believing the spin by those that have recently switched sides, you are taking food out of your own mouth. Showing unity and backing an imperfect situation still results in taking just as much ground, it's about unity and bargaining power. It's not necessary to wait around for that perfect attack because it will never come, the company will spin and attempt to destroy anyone that gets in their way. Ultimately it's not about any specific attack anyway, ASAP or whatever it makes no difference, it is and always has been only about power. If this company cared about safety it would not build pairings with 8 hour overnights, come on, are you that naive? Besides, do you really think Hoffa cares, no, he got a call from corporate America and was squeezed into denouncing Moffett. If he didn't they would spin the safety card against him and the Teamsters National with implication for truckers, future contracts, insurance rates etc...saying something like the Teamsters use safety as a bargaining chip, blah blah blah... Do you really think any pilot is going to do something unsafe for the contract, absolutely not, the only ones threatening safety here is the company with reduced rest, fatigue, and poverty. Do you not find it odd that Hoffa and the Teamsters are opposing a Teamster president publicly? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and work with one of their own? Why did they not sit down and help him strategize, correct any mistakes, and charge ahead? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and leverage a contract for all those pilots that have been paying Teamster dues, isn't that why we have all been paying Teamster dues in the first place? I sure haven't been paying dues so that the Teamsters National could come along and write this kind of an article undercutting our union leader and our unity. Whose side is the Teamsters National really on, it's obviously not the Republic pilots side.

  4. No matter what Moffatt does the company is going to spin it like he is the terrorist and brainwash people like you into believing it, wake up, back your players that are trying to change things for you and your livelihood. Where has Hoffa been for the last 6 years, except collecting our dues. Seriously, do you really think an FO going for upgrade, signed off by a checkairman ready for the upgrade, who then fails, is not even capable of returning as a First Officer.

  5. whoa!

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