Did anyone just watch Ed Rendel on 60 Minutes right now pitching a fit

[Skidmore]

when asked about the negative aspects of state gambling? He was absolutely livid when Leslie Stahl asked him about its impact on lower income people and the diversion of revenues from other businesses into state gambling coffers. I really don't like state run casinos. I think they are predatory.

[northoftheborder]

1. Yes, and yes, I don't support state sponsored gambling.

[gatorboy]

2. State run lotteries are just as bad.

Arkansas voted them in on the promise that the money would go towards college tuition. It's been less than a year and now they're considering cutting a portion of the scolarship money from the program even though ARK is No. 5 in the country in lottery ticket sales.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. It's a bait-and-switch.

Bait: The mandated portion of the lottery goes to schools.

Switch: The original funds for education are removed, having been supplanted by the lottery funds.

Result: Education funding gains nothing and a nice new regressive tax is put in place.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Just like lotteries.

If you're poor and know you're not going anywhere, the lottery offers a hope, no matter how slim. And for a lot of people, a slim hope is better than none. They're buying dreams with their money.

[napi21]

4. I don't see any problem with State run lotteries or gambling.

I gew up in Pa. and everyone I knew played the numbers with bookies. It's no less adictive if someone is going to be adicted, and at least it keeps the $$ out of the hands of the mob (who ran the books in Pa).

I play the lottery once i a while when it strikes me, and once in a while I win a few bucks. I went to the casino in NC once, but was very disappointed in it. It doesn't hold a candle to Vegas! I loved Vegas the 3 times we visited there. I set aside a specific amount I would spend gambling. If I won...GREAT. If I lost, I considered it the price I was going to pay for my vacation. I actually was lucky. One of the trips I made $100 more than I spent on plane fare, hotel & food, the 2nd I broke even, and the 3rd I lost $50. Like everything else, you have to set your limits.

[HERVEPA]

6. The odds with the bookies were much, much better

[lfairban]

8. No problem with State run casinos.

I don't like the government going overboard. Consumer protection rules and seatbelt laws are OK, but I think people can decide for themselves whether they want to enter a casino.

Besides, I play poker which is a legitimate test of skill. I don't really find slot machines and craps tables amusing. Other people may.

[90-percent]

5. well then

where the hell's the state run Mustang Ranch?

I don't like gambling, but that doesn't mean I have no vices!

Get laid and send a kid to college at the same time. I can't draw much of a moral distinction between state sponsored gambling and state sponsored prostitution.

I'm sure some other of us can.

-90% Jimmy