The House Always Wins
Spend a little time in Vegas and you will learn one thing: The house always wins.
No one is surprised by this fact, I've even heard a lot of good excuses and justifications for the loss of money. "Consider it a donation," one man said to me as the dealer raked my chips away. Then of course others just view it as a cost of fun, like buying a movie ticket or running up a tab at a bar.
That even makes a little bit of sense to me... In Vegas. I imagine that's why Vegas exists in the middle of a desert and not on Fountain Square. You can find a bargain flight and an overpriced hotel with a cheesy theme, and when you get home it is all over and forgotten. Unless you gambled away the keys to your car or caught something from a Nevada bordello.
Every few years it seems Ohio considers opening Pandora's Box and planting a casino in our backyard. This looks to be one of those years, and the fight appears to be coming right to our doorstep.
As Cincinnati gets more desperate with empty store fronts, failing businesses,and general loss; like gambling addicts, people become more receptive to the idea of risk. Charlie Luken spoke about casinos in Cincinnati as the fix-all solution while the door was hitting his backside on his way out of office. I imagine many people share the same sentiment.
Gambling proponents have gotten extra clever this time around, tying the issue to the funding of college. How appropriate, Ohio has some of the highest tuition costs of any state in the union. Certainly the idea is quite appealing to me as I have college bills and loans on my mind almost daily. It was enough to make me question my own thoughts on the issue as I read the Enquirer's article.
But then I remember the only lesson from Vegas, the thing that keeps me away from the craps tables and poker games: the house always wins. Casino proponents can make all the promises they want, but the only people who win are the rich owners of the casinos and the politicians that help them make it all possible. I am sure they will get repaid nicely when they look for contributions for the next election.
Casinos are nothing but rich people making money and people who can't afford to lose money losing it. Casinos whisper promises economic development and oddly enough even scholarships, when they really are just a vehicle for poverty to reach new heights. Another way, and possibly the most worthless way, for people to lose money they just can't afford to lose.
Cincinnati can do without that.
No one is surprised by this fact, I've even heard a lot of good excuses and justifications for the loss of money. "Consider it a donation," one man said to me as the dealer raked my chips away. Then of course others just view it as a cost of fun, like buying a movie ticket or running up a tab at a bar.
That even makes a little bit of sense to me... In Vegas. I imagine that's why Vegas exists in the middle of a desert and not on Fountain Square. You can find a bargain flight and an overpriced hotel with a cheesy theme, and when you get home it is all over and forgotten. Unless you gambled away the keys to your car or caught something from a Nevada bordello.
Every few years it seems Ohio considers opening Pandora's Box and planting a casino in our backyard. This looks to be one of those years, and the fight appears to be coming right to our doorstep.
As Cincinnati gets more desperate with empty store fronts, failing businesses,and general loss; like gambling addicts, people become more receptive to the idea of risk. Charlie Luken spoke about casinos in Cincinnati as the fix-all solution while the door was hitting his backside on his way out of office. I imagine many people share the same sentiment.
Gambling proponents have gotten extra clever this time around, tying the issue to the funding of college. How appropriate, Ohio has some of the highest tuition costs of any state in the union. Certainly the idea is quite appealing to me as I have college bills and loans on my mind almost daily. It was enough to make me question my own thoughts on the issue as I read the Enquirer's article.
But then I remember the only lesson from Vegas, the thing that keeps me away from the craps tables and poker games: the house always wins. Casino proponents can make all the promises they want, but the only people who win are the rich owners of the casinos and the politicians that help them make it all possible. I am sure they will get repaid nicely when they look for contributions for the next election.
Casinos are nothing but rich people making money and people who can't afford to lose money losing it. Casinos whisper promises economic development and oddly enough even scholarships, when they really are just a vehicle for poverty to reach new heights. Another way, and possibly the most worthless way, for people to lose money they just can't afford to lose.
Cincinnati can do without that.
