Casino promoters, clever accountants and smooth talking public relations experts, deliver the great news of untold benefits to the community: economic revival, reconstruction of a downtown area, and slashed unemployment rates. These are just a few of the enticements promised to local governments by the Gambling industry when it sets its sights on a location for new development. Casino proponents and politicians eager to pad their tax base emphasize the multiplier effect: new jobs that inject money into the local economy, and new money means new businesses that will spur further economic growth. Has the community asked why would a gaming company invest upwards of 300 million dollars in this town? There are definite answers to these questions.

One negative impact a casino has on a local economy is the use of free alcohol and meals to promote gambling and then allowed to write-off these so-called business expenses against profits. This business expense is a plain and simple tax loophole. Last year alone, casinos spent millions of dollars on promotional meals and alcoholic beverages. Why would people gamble and leave for a meal when the casino will provide wine and food for free? Most people frequenting a casino do not leave for food.

Social costs are another negative impact brought on by the lure of easy money. The possibility of "striking it rich" is more than some people in society can bear. A study conducted by the University of Michigan concluded that 5% of the adult population is either potential or probable compulsive gamblers (Goodman 62). Another study conducted by the University of Illinois in 1990 estimated the costs of each pathological (compulsive) gambler to be $52,000 a year. That figure includes $23,000 in lost productivity (gamblers' habits affect their work), and $29,000 in "abused dollars"--money obtained legally and illegally to pay debts instead of basic needs. Numerous studies indicate the majority of gamblers reside within a 40-mile radius of the casino, so it stands to reason the majority of the problems associated with the compulsive gambler remain in the community.

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Approximate Word count = 1378
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)