Looking Down Ballot - Proposition A - No Loss Protection or Competition for Casinos

Vote No on Proposition A.

Kenny Hulshof and Jay Nixon agree that they do not want Proposition A to be law when one of them becomes Governor.

Proposition A is not about shiny apples and schools, no matter what its proponents try to portray. It is about money - huge amounts of money siphoned out of Missouri and into the pockets of out-of-state gambling interests. But jet-setting casino owners are a singularly unattractive lot, so they have dirtied our schools and children by drafting them into the battle as human shields for corporate greed.

Here is the language that will show up on your ballot two weeks from today:

Shall Missouri law be amended to:

repeal the current individual maximum loss limit for gambling;

prohibit any future loss limits;

require identification to enter the gambling area only if necessary to establish that an individual is at least 21 years old;

restrict the number of casinos to those already built or being built;

increase the casino gambling tax from 20% to 21%;

create a new specific education fund from gambling tax proceeds generated as a result of this measure called the “Schools First Elementary and Secondary Education Improvement Fund”; and

require annual audits of this new fund?

State governmental entities will receive an estimated $105.1 to $130.0 million annually for elementary and secondary education, and $5.0 to $7.0 million annually for higher education, early childhood development, veterans, and other programs. Local governmental entities receiving gambling boat tax and fee revenues will receive an
estimated $18.1 to $19.0 million annually.

In a nutshell, this provision would give existing casinos a license to sucker people to go "all in", protect them from competition (is this a great country or what?) and allow problem gamblers onto the floor all for a measly 1% tax increase.

Can Missourians be bought so cheaply? Even if Missourians are willing to whore themselves to the Las Vegas gambling interests, won't we salvage a shred of pride so that we're not cheap whores? At least not the cheapest in the neighborhood?

Does anybody else here remember when casinos were first sold to Missouri? Maybe old folks like me have begun to forget, but the discussion wasn't about casinos - we were all talking about "Riverboat Gambling". Nobody talked about garish neon monstrosities - we were promised old-fashioned steam ships cruising our scenic shores. Like many others, I voted in favor of the measure, with visions of playing a few games of poker while cruising up and down the river front. I'm a sucker for Mark Twain and sarsaparilla.

We were duped. Soon after the election, lo and behold, we learned that the riverboats wouldn't actually be riverboats, and that they would look like Times Square whorehouses instead of the Delta Queen. Suckers.

We were also told back then that our schools would benefit from massive infusions of money. Suckers.

We were told that the industry would not damage our communities. Suckers. Last year there were over 1600 crimes that were directly casino-related, not counting the sad crimes of desperation done by pathetic addicts hidden throughout out communities.

Finally, we were told that we would be protected by loss limits. Yes, that was a part of the campaign, and an earnest promise made by the same out-of-state gambling interests when they were trying to talk themselves into our state. Now, they want to free themselves of their obligations. They want to be free to encourage compulsive gamblers to go "all in' with their life savings, and their children's futures, and they want to be able to turn a blind eye when criminals invade the casino floors.

But they want to talk about shiny apples and schools.

How stupid do they think we are?

Vote No on Proposition A.