Ohio is finding itself in the all-too-familiar position of being yanked back and forth between moralists and secularists in the political arena. Now that the religious right has assured the people of the state that homosexuals can not get married, it has turned its Sauron-like eye to casino gambling.
Cleveland businessman Jeff Jacobs and his fellow investors are leading a PR campaign to sway public opinion about gaming with events such as charity poker tournaments. Also, the Eastern Shawnee tribe of Oklahoma has expressed its desire to open up its own casinos, though this has been blocked by state Attorney General Jim Petro and other governmental agencies. The tribe now is threatening a lawsuit to acquire lands in Trumbull County.
Ohio voters have rejected referendums on casino gambling before, but can they continue this archaic stance as the state continues to lose jobs and money? Most of Ohio's neighbors have casinos and have profited from Ohio residents traveling to waste money on their roulette tables, when they could have wasted their money on roulette tables in our state. Plus, casinos would create much-needed service-oriented jobs within establishment and commerce -hotels, restaurants, etc. -outside its walls.
It is a difficult sell, though. The laissez-faire Republicans economists used to count on to back these free-market opportunities have been ravaged by neo-conservatives and religious fanatics so that the party no longer supports the hands-off government once championed by their messiah, the late Ronald Reagan. Instead, they favor the rally cry of family values:
the new hallmark of modern conservatism.
It is understandable to dislike casino gambling and some of the elements it has been associated with in the past. I have attended a couple casinos in my day, and can attest to the fact that casinos are capitalism's lowest common denominator. Row after row of elderly people playing slots in a windowless chasm of sirens, lights, cries of victory, the frequent cries of defeat and, of course, the lousy five-piece '80s pop music played by 45-year-old guys with pony tails.
But this does not change the fact that Ohio is losing jobs and money right now. Modern-day gambling has become a prevalent force in the marketplace, and for the people of the state to simply ignore it is moralistic idealism. Like all questions of morality and the laws that enforce such ideals, it is best left to the individual to decide for himself if he wants to gamble away next week's rent.
In the end, I suspect the negative impact of legalizing these casinos would be minimal compared to the new-found vitality Ohio's economy desperately needs. When casinos finally are allowed to open up for business in Ohio, don't expect Fredo Corleone to walk up to your door with some cocktail waitresses wanting protection money. Just expect the state government finally to decide to send some money to higher education.
-Eric Dryden is a senior creative writing major. Send him an email at @ ed890402@ohiou.edu. 17
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Eric Dryden
