THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 21, 1995 TAG: 9501200028
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 32 lines
The claims of the pro-gambling people are misleading at best. They claim Virginia will make $123 million a year from casino/riverboat gambling. To do this Virginians must lose $615 million.
They claim the average loss is $65; the average loser is 35. For this to be true, Virginia would have to have about 9 million 35-year-olds in a population of 12 million people.
Should Virginians lose $615 million, this is money that will never be spent on consumer goods and services. The casino/riverboat operation is self-contained. This means it operates its own restaurants and gift shops. Our present independent business people will be in direct competition. When discretionary funds are lost, they cannot be spent on consumer goods and services. A dollar can be spent only once. The money lost is money that will be taken directly out of our economy.
When Florida did an independent study on the cost of casino gambling, it decided the state could not afford the losses.
Virginia needs an independent study before anything of this impact is considered.
NANCY LEE
Virginia Beach, Jan. 18, 1995 by CNB