community impact

Casinos have been vital partners
In Response to “The Ills Casinos Bring”

If Derrick Jackson had bothered to talk with anyone actually living in a casino community for his recent article (“The ills casinos bring,” March 4, 2008), he would have seen that the casinos in Mississippi, New Jersey and Nevada are vital partners in these states’ economic redevelopment – a partnership mirrored in communities across the country.

Casinos’ Real Benefits

“The Slots Deception” [editorial, March 8], on the upcoming referendum in Maryland, exposed The Post’s bias and ignorance about casinos’ transformational impact on communities nationwide. The findings about crime cited in the editorial are 15 years old and based on data discredited by the federal National Gambling Impact Study Commission.

In “Numbers Game” (June 22), Laura Smitherman did an admirable job depicting the frustration that comes with trying to find the facts when faced with dueling ledger sheets promoted by opposing sides on the slots question.

Perhaps the title of the article says it best: Numbers can be “gamed.”

But there is a way the public can check this information - by listening to the elected officials, civic leaders and business men and women who live with gaming on a daily basis.

Adding casinos to mix has proved productive

While the American Gaming Association does not take a position on local gaming issues, we do find it necessary to respond to Donn Esmonde’s July 27 column, “Casino foes pay price of telling truth,” which contained a number of inaccurate statements about the casino gaming industry.

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.

Dear Editor,

Dear Editor:

Though the Casino Association of Indiana does not take a position on gambling expansion, your readers should know that Russ Pulliam’s opinion piece, “Resisting gambling’s lure” (April 17), makes a case built on bad information.

Dear Editor:

Dear Editor:

Though the American Gaming Association does not take a position on expanded gambling, we would like to respond to the baseless claims made in the June 8 editorial, “Too big a gamble for Pennsylvania.”

Dear Editor,

The possible addition of slot machines at Kentucky’s racetracks has sparked considerable debate throughout the state and in the pages of this newspaper. While the American Gaming Association does not take a position on expanded gambling, we would like to correct the misinformation included in the June 8 opinion piece, “Facts on gambling you haven’t heard.”