The poor promise of gambling profits

Advocates of video slots at tracks not only have to contend with the fact that their proposal is unconstitutional but with the fact that their claims that millions of dollars would be produced for the state and the horse industry simply don't comport with the real world.

Here is Celeste Hadrick at Newsday on the fall in gambling revenues:

"Just as people cut back their spending during the current recession, gamblers have cut back on the dollars they bet.

... New York's drop in horse-race wagering mirrors a general decline in gambling overall throughout the country.

... Atlantic City's 11 casinos reported a 19.4 percent decrease in gambling revenue in March alone, the largest year-over-year decline in the resort's 31- year gambling history, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported last month.

Even in glitzy Las Vegas, revenue is off 20 percent because of the global recession, news services reported last week."

Read the rest here.