Cincinnati Casino Construction Site Is Pit Of Sin—Finished Product Will Be Den Of Sin
This pit of sin is the casino under construction on the outskirts of Downtown Cincinnati. I took this picture earlier this week.
This will be the first casino in Cincinnati.
This casino is a perfect addition to Cincinnati in a time when the only growth industries in our nation appear to be copper theft and selling stolen goods on online auction sites.
I’m sorry that voters authorized this casino. It seems to me to signify a sense of hopelessness that jobs can be no longer be created in Ohio and the nation from any worthwhile form of commerce.
Right now this is a pit of sin. After it is constructed, I will take another picture on one of my Cincinnati visits and refer to it as a den of sin.
(Photo copyright 2011 Neil Aquino.)
Quit While You Are Ahead
The picture you see is of River Downs racetrack in Cincinnati, Ohio.
No races are being run at River Downs today.
However, in the clubhouse you can watch and bet on races taking place at other tracks across the U.S.
I made some bets this afternoon. One bet, a boxed trifecta on a race run at Gulfstream Park in Miami, was a winner. It paid $51.
This put me $20 ahead for the afternoon. I left the track at that point becuase all cliches are correct.
The cliche I followed today says “Quit while you are ahead.”
This is what I did.
Now, I can spend that $20 on booze, chili dogs, and lottery tickets.
Fetching Pin-Up Says Roll The Dice & Vote Your Hopes In Houston—Despite Locke, Green & Lovell
I promise—This is my last pre-election post about Houston City Elections.
Thank you to regular readers from outside of Houston for sticking with me as I write about his stuff.
I’ve got somewhat of a voice around here—Maybe— so I guess I should use that voice.
Runoff Election Day is Saturday, December 12.
Despite tax-dodger Green, gay-basher Locke and vindictive crud Lovell—All Democrats—We can still vote on Election Day and try to retain some hope about the future of Houston.
Without hope,what do we have?
Here are my endorsements for Election Day.
The theme of my endorsements post is gambling.
What is a bigger gamble than democracy?
If Legalized Gambling Will Cure Our Ills, Why Is Unemployment In Nevada 13.2%?
If legalized gambling is the cure to all our ills, why does Nevada have an unemployment rate of 13.2%?
(Above—Nevada’s Cathedral Gorge State Park.)
The national unemployment rate is 9.7%. Nevada is second in the nation in unemployment after Michigan.
There has to be some other solution as to how we will find work in the so-called new economy. We can’t just have working people losing money gambling, and casino and other gambling employees relying on the fleecing of fellow working people.
Here is information about unemployment rates around the nation from the Labor Department.
Ohio Putting Slots In Racetracks Is A Lousy Idea
Trying to hit the trifecta on the first race at Suffolk Downs was a mistake. I made this foolish wager watching Suffolk on simulcast from Cincinnati’s River Downs.
Gambling hardly ever works out. Despite this fact, the State of Ohio is trying to add 24 hour slot machines to Ohio racetracks. The state hopes this move will gain revenue.
More likely what will happen is that any revenues gained by slots played by poor folks will be offset, by a failure to enact progressive tax policies that would mandate the wealthy to pay a fair share.
Casino Gambling—The Opportunistic Infection
Not surprisingly, with Galveston, Texas a long way from recovery after Hurricane Ike, casino gambling is on the table for the island.
Many business owners in Galveston are hoping that casino gambling is part of the future.
For this gambling to be allowed in Galveston, it would have to be allowed in Texas in the first place.
Above you see staphylococcus aureus. It is the most common cause of staph infections. About 20% of people carry this bacteria. It does not kill in most cases. Though it can kill. For the most part, it causes a variety of troubles for the victim that can range anywhere on the scale from major to minor.
Staphylococcus aureus will do it’s damage when you give it a chance. It takes advantage of wounds and disease. It’s the cause of opportunistic infection.
Casino gambling is the same way. It moves in when there is no more hope of an economy producing anything of real value. Or when local or state governments cannot or will not raise enough tax money to provide basic services. It sees its opportunities and it takes them. It is always waiting for its chance.
In the case of Galveston, casino gambling finds opportunity in the wake of a hurricane, and as the island’s largest employer, the U. of Texas Medical Branch, slashes thousands of jobs.
In honesty, because I don’t see another option, I’d favor at least considering this gambling in Galveston. I don’t have another solution to help people in Galveston find work. Nobody is going to help them. The liars who comprise the U. of Texas Board of Regents are doing everything possible to hurt the island for who knows what reason.
I have moral objections to casino gambling—Yep! I sure did get married at a casino—and moral views have every place in politics and policy. (More public policy questions than we realize are moral questions. How much tax money we raise and how we spend that money are moral questions in many respects.)
Yet though I think casino gambling preys on those least able to afford it, and that it is a lousy way to fill the public coffers, it seems at this point the people of Texas and Galveston should vote on the issue. Galveston will no doubt talk about regulating the casinos, but when they move in the people will lose control of their city government. Though since this little city of 50,000 has no control over hurricanes, of course, or over UTMB, what does it really matter?
Maybe I’m being pragmatic here. Or maybe I’m just fatigued trying to think about what will serve as a solution to help what I view as the most interesting and enjoyable place to visit in all Texas. If somebody has a better idea I’d like to hear it.
I’m certain the people of Galveston are very fatigued right now. I’m certain fatigue makes one more vulnerable to the type of opportunistic infection that casino gambling represents in any community that has run out of better and more hopeful choices.
(Below—Galveston is vulnerable in many respects.)
Global Financial Panic Be Damned—I’m Big Time
Cutting back due to the global financial panic makes you a sucker. Take it from me, a player, you can live big time all the time.
Just last night I had a $16 glass of scotch and took a $10 spin of a roulette wheel.
Here in Cincinnati, on my Thanksgiving blogging break, I was with my friend, who I’ll call “Kate” (That is her real name.), and we took a ride.
First, we went to the famous Palm Court room in the Downtown Hilton. (Photo above.)
I decided I’d like to order the second glass of scotch I’ve ever had. The waiter made a suggestion I followed ( I’m clever that way.) When we got the check, we saw I had enjoyed a $15.75 glass of scotch. Just think how much it would have been if they had charged me for all the ice in that glass. The scotch was a 12 year old Macallans. (If that’s lousy stuff ,please don’t tell me.)
I’ve never had a $15.75 glass of anything. However, having nothing to fear but fear itself, I had this luxury last night even as the world collapses around us.
It’s all okay. My father had gave me $20 right before I went out last night. Just because you’re 41 doesn’t mean you can’t take a handout from your father. A player never passes up the big score.
Next up Kate and I got in my rented Ford Focus–I may own a Japanese car but I pledge to always rent American–and we drove on down River Road.
I had planned to take Kate to see (photo above) William Henry Harrison’s tomb. ( A player knows American history like the back of his or her hand.) But it was dark and I guess I drove past it. Before we knew it we had crossed over into Indiana. (Your best friends are the people who will follow you to even William Henry Harrison’s tomb at 10:30 PM on a 35 degree night. If you have a friend like that, be sure to treat them well.)
Lawrenceburg, Indiana (photo below) , just over the Ohio-Indiana line, has a casino. It’s on a so-called boat that goes nowhere. The boat is on the Ohio River. I thought maybe I could go to the casino and win back my dad’s $20. Having spent the money on scotch the first time, I thought I could win the cash back and possibly take up smoking with it the second time around.
I told Kate I wanted to go in and try the roulette wheel. We went in and saw that the wheel cost a minimum of $10 to play. (You can tell my wife I was with Kate, but please don’t tell her about the $10 roulette wheel.)
I made my $10 bet on the number 22. The number 2 was the winner. A player knows when to quit. Kate and I left.
On the way back, Kate and I talked about just how many people were at that casino at 11 PM on a Tuesday night. The casino was, as casinos can be, depressing.
No matter. A player doesn’t let other people’s troubles get him down. I’m going to hit up dad for the $10 I lost on the roulette wheel and go buy some lottery tickets.
Photo Essay In Favor Of Voting
Hugo Chavez does it ( Regardless of if he is sincere or not) —
People have been doing it for a long time–
And, yes, sometimes it is meaningless—
Yet often the right to vote has come at a high cost ( Blacks voting in New Orleans after the Civil War.) —
So if you live in a primary state why not take a spin of the wheel tomorrow—
And cast a ballot.