Response to divecorps.net Post
I can’t post a comment on your blog, so I’m going to post it here on mine and send you a trackback.
A local developer, Benny Westphal, has sold 10 acres of his 75 acre riverfront property to the Keetowah Indians so that he can legally put a casino in downtown Fort Smith. … His name certainly should be closely attached to such a terrible endevour so that no one can doubt in 15 years who brought the destruction of Fort Smith, Arkansas.
This argument is the same argument people make against lotteries. The fact of the matter is, whether you legalize gambling or not, people will find a way to throw away their money. There are plenty of endeavours in which can relieve poor people of the little money they have. If there’s a casino in Pocola and a casino in Roland, how is having one 7 miles closer going to make a difference? However, what it will do is bring a thousand jobs to the area, sponsor the critical Riverfront development all the citizens of Fort Smith have been crying for for the last 15 years, and above all that provide an entertaining place to go. My only hope is that Arkansas adjusts it’s gambling laws to allow poker rooms in Casinos.
On the same note, I’m excited to find someone talking about this on their blog. It’s about time! Local politics matter, no matter what side of the subject you happen to be on. I’d like to see more postings like this from you. What I’d like more is to see you join the group I’m trying to get together, a Fort Smith Bloggers group. We’ve got a Yahoo Group started at http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/fsbloggers, and we’re trying to get enough people interested to have a meetup. I hope to see you there!