[NW Admin]

Oh geeze... that's really what come's to mind after seeing this stupid commercial over and over for the last two days. It has a woman narrator talking about who supposedly profits from Issue 3 which would allow casinos in Ohio. It clearly was made by some religious over bearing group trying to scare god fearing people into voting no against issue 3. That is just ridiculous to me.

The commercial goes on to talk about the rich and well known people who will profit off of the Ohio casinos. First off, of course there is going to be some rich person somewhere that is going to profit off of it. I mean, do they think the average joe with mid range income is going to be able to start these casinos? Duh! Obviously someone with power and money would have to get the ball rolling. And of course they will profit. Why not? What the heck would be the point if they didn't profit? I also don't care who is profiting or what state they are in. America needs money right now no matter what state they are in. And the buck doesn't just stop at the big ballers. It flows on down to Ohio citizens who also need it.

Now this is what really kills me... the commercial shows images of how casinos supposedly destroy homes, encourage abuse, increase bankruptcy, and spawn prostitution and crime. Then they say "The devil is in the details" and show a cartoon of the devil. That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. It's not the casinos or the gambling that is the problem. It is the community and government responsibillity to enforce rules and maintain expected behavior. Places like Las Vegas that have high crime rates and prostitution are that way because of the laws (or lack there of) that they have in place and how they enforce them. Las Vegas legalized prostitution so of course they have it in the casino capital of the world. It was not because of the casino that there is prostitution. People everywhere partake in prostitution regardless of casinos being nearby. I would also like to know what scientific evidence they have to show that casinos cause all those terrible things and just how it supposedly happens. Honestly, it's not the casino that is the problem. It's the people of the community and government in that area that are the problem.

This whole issue really reminds me of how far tattoos have come over the centuries. The issues are very similar. In earlier days, tattoos were associated with criminals. So for the longest time, anyone with tattoos was considered a criminal or low life. There was a long transitional period where people realized, it's not the tattoos that make people bad... it's the people wearing the tattoos. Over time, tattoos have become more socially acceptable as an expression of art and self and seen as beautiful to many.

Casinos are much the same as tattoos. Because of everyone's closed minded views about how gambling is so terrible, in the earlier days, it was primarily low lifes and criminals who gambled and went into casinos. "Good people" just assumed you were bad if you went into a casino. And what do you know... over time... it started to become more socially acceptable. More and more people started to realize... it's just fun and games as long as you don't act like an idiot about it. Clearly there are still many people with the closed minded idea that the casinos are this evil thing that will ruin society, but that simply isn't true. There is no reason why responsible good people can't enjoy casinos and have fun playing games... and maybe winning some money at the same time. The only way the casinos will be full of losers is if we, as a community, allow it.

So the important thing here is to have rules in place to maintain peace and order in the casinos. Make sure they are not harboring undesirable individuals or allowing illegal activities to take place. Make it classy, not trashy. Maybe have some dress codes in place like many local clubs do. That helps to keep a lot of unwanted people out. I mean, if you have any sense about you, then it wouldn't be a problem to not show up with your pants sagging to the ground or body parts hanging out of your super skimpy clothing. Seriously, it's not that hard to make something good out of this.

The people running these commercials have hidden agendas. Either they do not want the money leaving their state or casino to come to Ohio, or they just have a warped sense of ridiculously old fashioned views and are living in the past. It's time for change. Time to move into the future and stop living off of ideals that do nothing but suppress our potential.