Are you voting yes or no on table games?

Reasons to VOTE NO!
-We may want to visit Atlantic City or Vegas, but do we want to live in that type of community?

-Businesses will thrive. Restaurants and hotels will be full - so we think. Think about "high rollers" coming in town who get their night's stay and meals comped because they wager high stakes. Those comped benefits will more than likely only only be offered to those who stay on site and eat at their restaurants. Who stands to gain....local business owners or Penn National?

-Will money go toward education? The surface answer is Yes, but regardless of what they say, the state will subsequently reduce funding by the amount of the gaming increase. Think about it – WV is not a rich state and they WILL NOT allow Jefferson County Schools to be subsidized while much poorer counties suffer. It wouldn’t be fair from a state perspective. The STATE stands to gain from VOTE YES, not the Jefferson County education system. The state will simply redistribute funding to keep things equal.

-Will there be more jobs? NO! There will be different jobs, but not more jobs. In fact, over time there may be fewer. Table gaming may add more than 500 new local jobs, but they will be entry level jobs in the food, beverage, and hotel industries- the lowest paying jobs available. The higher paying jobs (such as a dealer at about $45,000) will most likey be their own people brought in from outside the county. The current bill will also harm the horse industry. Penn National plans to cut the number of races per year and plan to bring in “Kentucky Derby Quality” horses. Fewer races and higher quality horses.... Our local horsemen cannot compete with these higher quality horses and will be driven out of business over the next few years which could seriously jeopardize local farms. So we will most likely be adding 500 minimum wage jobs and subtracting more than 3,000 better paying agricultural and horsemen jobs over the next few years.

Now, for the dirty stuff.......

-There have been too many underhanded tricks played by “Vote Yes” campaign. Jefferson County citizens who have strongly and vocally supported the “VOTE NO” effort the first go ‘round have actually been investigated by Penn National in an attempt to discredit them. I know it happened, but I’m not willing to discuss my source.

- People looking for information on the VOTE NO effort (www.votenotablegames.org) who mistakenly type in .com or .net have been deceitfully redirected to the official VOTE YES website. Try it for yourself. This is an underhanded attempt by the VOTE YES campaign and they're not fighting a fair fight!

Here are some facts about cities where table games are present. This information is all from the “VOTE NO” website listed above, which is organized by a long term county citizens – a grass roots effort you can trust. Face it, we are the ones who stand to lose.
- In the first 3 years after Atlantic City legalized gambling, it went from 50th to 1st in the nation in per-capita crime. Nevada has never dropped below 3rd.
- Crime in Atlantic City is approximately 3 times the national average, and the murder rate is twice the national average according to FBI.
- A U.S. News & World Report analysis found average crime rates in casino communities to be 84% higher than communities without casinos.

If you want more information visit the VOTE NO website - remember it's .org. You can also visit the VOTE NO headquarters located downtown on Washington Street beside Jumpin' Java. You don't even have to go in. Stats, facts, and figures are posted on the window.

Few people are voicing opposing views on this issue. Table games will more than likely be voted in. Penn National has spent a significant amount of money on advertising and putting just enough money in the community to protect their self interest. You can vote early or show up on Dec. 5th.

I also think that it is interesting that one of Penn National's more noteworthy reasons to vote yes is that they claim to have the endorsement of the Board of Education. Sounds impressive. But I believe the number of people on the Board is a grand total of 7.

I just found out from a friend who is a school teacher in this county that Penn National surveyed all teachers to see if they could take that endorsement even farther. The results of that survey were never shared, discussed or made public. I would guess that the majority of the teachers in Jefferson County are against the gaming tables, but you won't see a word of that in print.

ghoffmaster wrote:I also think that it is interesting that one of Penn National's more noteworthy reasons to vote yes is that they claim to have the endorsement of the Board of Education. Sounds impressive. But I believe the number of people on the Board is a grand total of 7.

Actually, the Board of Education consists of 5 members. The Board consists of the following people:
Pete Dougherty is the Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Interesting, since he will benefit from the table games and their reputation for increase of homeless people in areas after table games are introduced.

Gary Kable is one of the "infamous" Kables of this county. He is a former county commissioner, so he has his hands in the pockets of other government officials. His family could also benefit from the table games.

Scott Sudduth
Marilee Dunn
Alan Sturm

Also, keep in mind that these people may have political agendas by supporting the table games.

I'm voting yes.
Our experience should be far different than other casino towns, in that our gambling will be fairly contained. I don't think crime will increase. The police chief has consistenly said crime is a nonfactor now, and I don't understand the thinking that by changing players from slots to tables will result in an increase in crime.
Lastly, I hate slots. They're boring. I have no idea how to handicap horse races, so I don't do that. But I do know how to pick red or black, and I can count to twenty one, so I hope it does pass so I have another form of entertainment.