Disclosure

Before my wife and I get into any further discussion of Kentucky politics, I wish to make a disclosure.

We gamble. Not only do we visit the riverboats in Indiana, we have visited casinos in Canada and Florida. We also own a small amount of stock (less than $300) in Dover Downs, a casino/race track combo in Delaware.

We do not belong to KEEP, and we made no donations to Beshear with gambling in mind. My wife and I volunteered for Beshear because we thought he would make a better governor than Ernie Fletcher.

We also believe that gambling will not solve all of Kentucky’s problems. However, we would be as happy losing our money at Kentucky slots as we are losing it in Indiana ones. It would also help make up some of the deficit in the state budget. Raising taxes on tobacco would help, too, but that’s a sacred cow in this state.

I am making this disclosure for two reasons:

1) Expanded gambling is probably going to come up in future political discussions, and anti-gambling folks should not waste their time in trying to recruit us; and

2) We do not want to be accused of having a secret bias. Up front: we like gambling. It’s fun, and the ratio of lost money/time playing is certainly no worse than trying to buy tickets to a movie and the equivalent amount of soda (our favorite casinos offer free soft drinks) in the theater. Then again, we play penny slots.

Just an FYI,

Sarah G