Comments on: Despite a sure bet, aldermen delay vote on video gambling http://rockrivertimes.com/2010/01/20/despite-a-sure-bet-aldermen-delay-vote-on-video-gambling/ The Rock River Times - THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1993 Thu, 23 May 2013 21:13:53 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: J Michael Solberg http://rockrivertimes.com/2010/01/20/despite-a-sure-bet-aldermen-delay-vote-on-video-gambling/comment-page-1/#comment-555 J Michael Solberg Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:40:29 +0000 http://rockrivertimes.com/?p=22354#comment-555 It really is offensive how Mr. Dal Santo says "I, too, have a family of addiction," and goes on to talk about people needing jobs to feed their families. Needing a job to feed your family is not an addiction. Addictions, including gambling addictions, are serious matters that destroy lives, and carry costs for all of society. We all need food on our tables, and jobs to buy the food. Food can become an addiction (as with extreme obesity, or anorexia), but our food does not destroy our lives otherwise. Mr. Dal Santo dismisses the suffering of those who have real addictions. It really is offensive how Mr. Dal Santo says “I, too, have a family of addiction,” and goes on to talk about people needing jobs to feed their families. Needing a job to feed your family is not an addiction. Addictions, including gambling addictions, are serious matters that destroy lives, and carry costs for all of society. We all need food on our tables, and jobs to buy the food. Food can become an addiction (as with extreme obesity, or anorexia), but our food does not destroy our lives otherwise. Mr. Dal Santo dismisses the suffering of those who have real addictions.

]]> By: antigambler http://rockrivertimes.com/2010/01/20/despite-a-sure-bet-aldermen-delay-vote-on-video-gambling/comment-page-1/#comment-550 antigambler Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:26:28 +0000 http://rockrivertimes.com/?p=22354#comment-550 In order for Rockford to receive "an estimated $3.6 million in direct revenue" from gambling machines, gamblers would need to lose 72 MILLION DOLLARS (per year?) that could have been spent in other Rockford businesses. 72 MILLION DOLLARS in losses would come from 720 MILLION DOLLARS dropped in the slots (per year?), based on figures from the Illinois Coin Machine Operators Association. Can other Rockford businesses afford to lose those revenues? Many of the bars that want video gambling to be legal offer it illegally already. This could turn into an O'Henry story. If video gambling is allowed, the competing bars that never had video gambling before will be able to have it legally, while the bars now offering it illegally will still be breaking the law and subject to prosecution, unlike their new video gambling competitors. Chairman Jaffe of the Illinois Gambling Board has already stated that establishments that are breaking the law now will NOT BE ELIGIBLE for a license for the new video gambling machines. Machines that are being used to pay out illegally now have no minimum pay-out percentage, as the new video gambling machines will. Besides that, the new machines would have 30% of the profits deducted for taxes, while nothing is deducted for taxes from neighborhood gambling machine profits now. Maybe the bars that are paying out on their machines now should be careful what they wish for. They may be better off now. In order for Rockford to receive “an estimated $3.6 million in direct revenue” from gambling machines, gamblers would need to lose 72 MILLION DOLLARS (per year?) that could have been spent in other Rockford businesses. 72 MILLION DOLLARS in losses would come from 720 MILLION DOLLARS dropped in the slots (per year?), based on figures from the Illinois Coin Machine Operators Association. Can other Rockford businesses afford to lose those revenues?

Many of the bars that want video gambling to be legal offer it illegally already. This could turn into an O’Henry story. If video gambling is allowed, the competing bars that never had video gambling before will be able to have it legally, while the bars now offering it illegally will still be breaking the law and subject to prosecution, unlike their new video gambling competitors.

Chairman Jaffe of the Illinois Gambling Board has already stated that establishments that are breaking the law now will NOT BE ELIGIBLE for a license for the new video gambling machines.

Machines that are being used to pay out illegally now have no minimum pay-out percentage, as the new video gambling machines will.

Besides that, the new machines would have 30% of the profits deducted for taxes, while nothing is deducted for taxes from neighborhood gambling machine profits now. Maybe the bars that are paying out on their machines now should be careful what they wish for. They may be better off now.

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