Gambling is all about temptation. There's a lot of money to be made - for some. Others will just as surely go home losers.
What holds true for individual gamblers applies to governments as well. States such as Massachusetts and New Hampshire that are considering loosening restrictions on gambling must recognize that the big boost to revenues they're seeking comes at a cost.
New Hampshire's legislature wouldn't gamble on slot machines to save Salem's Rockingham Park. Their Bay State counterparts had previously turned a deaf ear to similar pleas by the owners of Suffolk Downs in East Boston.
But perhaps those legislators will spin the wheels as a means of financing education or transportation improvements. At least that's the hope of those who have long supported video gambling at the struggling horse tracks.
Past attempts to bring the gambling machines to the Rockingham Park failed. As a result, the Salem, N.H. track can no longer afford to offer thoroughbred racing, but now offers harness racing, simulcast racing and, new this year, poker tournaments and bingo games to benefit local charities.
But the focus wasn't on saving the racing industry at a hearing in Concord last week. It was on how much revenue video gambling might raise for New Hampshire - money that could solve the education funding crisis in the state.
The estimate: $400 million in the first year of operation, according to a study by Millennium Group, which has an option to buy the racetrack if a gambling bill passes. That's enough money to get the Legislature to take another look at the issue - particularly with the pressure coming from Massachusetts. The Wampanoag tribe recently received local approval for a casino in Middleborough, and all are now waiting to see what Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and state legislators have to say.
It's clear there's some Cold War-style brinkmanship going on between the Bay State and the Granite State over gambling.
"From my perspective, I see a perfect storm developing," state Rep. Roger Wells, R-Hampstead, told Eagle-Tribune reporter James A. Kimble last week. "We're dealing with education funding. Property taxes are destroying homes. We need some new form of revenue."
The same could be said for Massachusetts.
We don't have any moral objection to expanding gambling in either state. We simply want people to take account of the negatives as surely as they tout the positives.
What holds true for individual gamblers applies to governments as well. States such as Massachusetts and New Hampshire that are considering loosening restrictions on gambling must recognize that the big boost to revenues they're seeking comes at a cost.
New Hampshire's legislature wouldn't gamble on slot machines to save Salem's Rockingham Park. Their Bay State counterparts had previously turned a deaf ear to similar pleas by the owners of Suffolk Downs in East Boston.
But perhaps those legislators will spin the wheels as a means of financing education or transportation improvements. At least that's the hope of those who have long supported video gambling at the struggling horse tracks.
Past attempts to bring the gambling machines to the Rockingham Park failed. As a result, the Salem, N.H. track can no longer afford to offer thoroughbred racing, but now offers harness racing, simulcast racing and, new this year, poker tournaments and bingo games to benefit local charities.
But the focus wasn't on saving the racing industry at a hearing in Concord last week. It was on how much revenue video gambling might raise for New Hampshire - money that could solve the education funding crisis in the state.
The estimate: $400 million in the first year of operation, according to a study by Millennium Group, which has an option to buy the racetrack if a gambling bill passes. That's enough money to get the Legislature to take another look at the issue - particularly with the pressure coming from Massachusetts. The Wampanoag tribe recently received local approval for a casino in Middleborough, and all are now waiting to see what Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and state legislators have to say.
It's clear there's some Cold War-style brinkmanship going on between the Bay State and the Granite State over gambling.
"From my perspective, I see a perfect storm developing," state Rep. Roger Wells, R-Hampstead, told Eagle-Tribune reporter James A. Kimble last week. "We're dealing with education funding. Property taxes are destroying homes. We need some new form of revenue."
The same could be said for Massachusetts.
We don't have any moral objection to expanding gambling in either state. We simply want people to take account of the negatives as surely as they tout the positives.
Supporters of video gambling must recognize the need for two crucial components in any deal - local control and strict regulation. Salem, N.H. residents should have the final say on any plans for a video gambling facility at Rockingham. Neighbors of the proposed Middleborough casino should similarly have input into the planning for that facility which will affect the entire region.
And any operation needs rigid state oversight.
Even with those two elements there will be costs.
Traffic congestion is a legitimate concern for anyone living near a casino. In Southern New Hampshire, for instance, Interstate 93 already turns into a parking lot every day as commuters head home from work. What will happen with the added traffic from gamblers heading to Rockingham?
What about increased crime, both petty and serious? What about those who gambling addictions get the best of them? What of their families?
Every legal yet risky activity exacts a price from society. Some people enjoy a drink now and then. Others become alcoholics or get behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated.
Those who would have expanded gambling come to New Hampshire or Massachusetts must wipe the stars from their eyes so that they can see the problems clearly, too.
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