Jackpot
Next 
week the Massachusetts House will vote on a bill to allow slot machines to be operated in each of the state's four race tracks.
Proponents of the bill argue that slots will be a boon to the Massachusetts economy. But yesterday, House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi spoke against the bill, claiming that the economic benefit of gaming would be minimal, and that it comes at a high "social cost" as well.
DiMasi is wrong on both counts. For years, Massachusetts residents have been traveling to the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos in nearby Connecticut. And last I checked, that state hasn't fallen into the sea or suffered Biblical floods or plagues of locusts. But gaming money from Massachusetts has certainly been flooding into Connecticut.
But the issue isn't economics. It's simply another case of government sticking it's long nose where it doesn't belong. Gaming should be regulated, not banned. It isn't government's place to tell adults what they can and cannot do for their own personal pleasure and amusement. That's especially true of the State of Massachusetts, whose highly successful state lottery grossed $4.2 billion in FY 2003.
Mind your own business, Massachusetts. Let the people play.
