AMTRAK CASINOS? IS THIS REALLY WHAT MISSOURIANS WANT?

It isn't likely to get too far, but there is an idea floating around in the Missouri House that would expand the state's casino gambling. Instead of being limited to the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, slot machines and blackjack would be permitted on Amtrak trains as a way of raising revenue to subsidize threatened train service.

A House committee last Wednesday sent the measure to the full House for debate. With the end of the legislative session drawing near, it isn't certain the casinos-for-Amtrak bill will be taken up. If it is, representatives should act swiftly to put an end to the idea.

There are two issues that are being mingled by the bill. One is casino gambling, which is still in its infancy on Missouri's rivers. The Missouri Gaming Commission is taking a deliberate approach -- some would say stalling -- to granting licenses for riverboat casinos. Missouri voters first approved the riverboat concept and later allowed slot machines after a court decision said the one-armed bandits weren't authorized in the first go-round. The other issue is Amtrak subsidies, which currently cost the state $2.1 million a year. Amtrak says it is going to have to eliminate service because the Missouri routes don't have enough passengers.

Both the Missouri Gaming Commission and Amtrak are willing to consider the casino-subsidy idea, and the House Ways and Means Committee is going along for now.

The basis for the proposal is the need to raise another $3.6 million to keep passenger trains rolling in Missouri. Estimated gambling revenue from casinos on trains would more than pay for the shortfall. In addition, it is anticipated that having casinos on trains would increase ridership by about a third. Currently Amtrak attracts about 200,000 passengers a year in the state. The figure with gambling on board is put at 300,000 passengers.

And, say tourism supporters, the casino trains would give visitors to the Show Me State another reason to come and spend money.

All of these points are interesting, and the notion of having a roulette wheel in the club car of a train speeding across the state is novel. But the basic issue is getting lost: Do Missourians want or need passenger rail service? And if they do, are they willing to pay enough to make it financially possible?

The idea of gambling on trains is sure to get attention. Who knows, if Missouri does it the idea will probably be copied by other states as well. But this turns the debate into a gambling discussion rather than a common-sense assessment of rail service.

Amtrak has struggled since it was created. People stopped riding trains for good reasons. Superhighways, comfortable automobiles and low-cost fuel made it easy to travel all across the nation without sticking to timetables. In addition, motorists can go to any hamlet without regard for whether there are train tracks. For long-distance travel, airlines have become the transportation mode of choice.

Railroad travel either needs to offer services that people want and will pay for, or it should give up the ghost. Spending millions of dollars in federal and state subsidies for 200,000 train riders a year seems like an expensive proposition for Missouri taxpayers.

As for the expansion of gambling in the state, why do legislators continue to play games? If casinos are such a great source or revenue, why not allow them to operate anywhere without the artificial concoctions on rivers or railroad tracks?

Based on the gambling commission's revenue estimates for riverboats and railroad casinos, it looks like having as many gambling joints as convenience stores would be the way to go. The legislature might even be able to eliminate the state income tax. How far are lawmakers willing to go?