gambling or a contribution?

Whenever I buy a lottery ticket I have little expectation of winning because of the stacked deck the system offers....but I do it anyway because some of the money goes to education and I like to dream of large sums of money. Would not it be more rational for all of us who spend at least $5 a week to just pay an additional tax for education and have a more realistic prospect of winning by having a statewide casino system whereby everyone has better odds for their bucks?

Gov. Charles Crist has a plan to give the Seminole Indians a statewide monopoly of casino gambling for $100 million annually income to the state. That closes the door on competition and gives a small contingent of people a lock on the gambling industry. You may have seen tv ads placed by the Seminoles backing the governor's plan. Their position comes as no surprise. If approved, the plan would bring millions of dollars to the tribe and open the way for widespread corruption of officials who would regulate the enterprise.

In our so called free enterprise system, this plan negates our rights to engage in competition for the gambling dollar. It seems that a more equitable system would be to open casino gambling to all responsible parties throughout the state. The governor could appoint a state gambling commission to oversee all participants with strict licensing requirements, such as enjoyed in Las Vegas. This would provide greater income to the state and give Florida residents the opportunity to gamble at locations closer to home. This idea may be opposed by church advocates but it seems more fair than the plan envisioned by the governor.

Open casino gambling throughout the state would be a beacon to tourists and provide the hotel and entertainment industry with an economic boost. The income provided by the lottery would be reduced to a mere trickle compared to the massive amounts of money coming into the state from visitors who want to gamble. The lottery would no doubt experience a drop, but perhaps it deserves to be relegated to obscurity because the payouts to winners are so infrequent that gamblers need to experience something more they are now getting. In fact, the lottery is not a gamble, but simply a contribution to the state. I would rather pay a slightly higher tax and get a bang for my bucks at the gambling tables.