THE PUBLIC MIND: GAMBLING WILL BRING CRIME, NOT REVENUE

Dear Editor:

On Nov. 3, we will be asked to vote for or against riverboat gambling. I have heard stories about how this income would increase revenue for the state. However, the truth is that legalized gambling will cause Missouri more problems than it solves.

USA Today, April 2, 1992, states:

"Cities and states point to the jobs and revenue gambling brings. Glittering casinos have brought millions of people and dollars to Atlantic City. But they haven't produced enough in-city jobs or taxes to reverse the rot crumbling neighborhoods within an easy stroll of the gaming tables."

The introduction of legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City in 1978 was accompanied by an immediate and dramatic surge in street crime. But 1988, reported crimes in Atlantic City increased 380 percent in comparison with 1977.

Thomas E. Dittmeier, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, on May 6, 1990, wrote in the St. Louis Post Dispatch: "Casino gambling has been legal in Nevada since 1931. Until recent years, Las Vegas had the highest per capita crime rate in the country."

The conclusion appears inescapable that casino gambling is a magnet for street criminals. The advent of casino gambling had been accompanied by a disturbing increase of assault, rape, prostitution and drug dealing. I hope for these reasons you will vote NO for gambling in Missouri.

Linda Lawrence

Route 2 Jackson