The Daily Advertiser (La.)

Casinos have positive effect on communities

It's unfortunate someone who has covered the gaming industry for so long would produce an article with so little balance (Alan Sayre, "Changing tide: Casinos are finding gambling is a harder sell"), so I'd like to provide it here.

It is clearly Sayre's opinion that gaming hasn't lived up to expectations. We somehow doubt that the 18,000 casino employees in Louisiana who earned $666.15 million in wages last year would agree.

Additionally, the quote he uses about the benefits casinos have brought to Detroit is not our opinion, but a paraphrase of an article written in an independent publication. Writing for Successful Meetings magazine, Marc Boisclair said: "The city's moribund downtown, long a place to avoid rather than visit, is reawakening with shops, restaurants, hotels, a waterfront entertainment district, and an increasingly busy convention center. Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, is how commercial gaming is helping feed the renewal."

Detroit's story is a familiar one to casino communities nationwide, a fact supported by testimonials from the elected officials, business leaders and citizens who have seen casinos' positive impacts first-hand. It's a pity Sayre chose not to include these perspectives in his piece.

Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.
Washington, DC