The following email popped into my inbox last night about how Libertarians favor allowing the slot machines that the Illinois General Assembly (including State Senator Pam Althoff, plus State Reps. Mike Tryon and Mark Beaubien) voted for and Governor Pat Quinn signed.
I thought you might be interested. A resolution will be considered today at 9:30 in the county’s administrative building–north of the courthouse and jail–by the Liquor and License Committee.
Video Poker and McHenry County
Wednesday September 9th McHenry County will vote to disallow video poker in the county. We should all disagree with this vote because it’s based on flawed and dishonest research. Let me explain.
The ordinance is based off of two statements. The first statement is “WHEREAS, states such as Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina have abandoned experiments with the legalization of video poker”.
That might be true however they conveniently left out that 22 other states have passed legislation and find it successful. Is their “Whereas” an error, misstatement or just plain slant? If they are going to include such line in an ordinance they should be required to add all of it or none of it.
The worse however is the second statement:
“WHEREAS, electronic gaming is designed to entice people to play longer, faster, and at higher rates of wagering, according to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology”.
This statement is just plain false. The study from MIT they site is not an MIT study at all but a book review by Sharon Schorow on Natasha Schull Book “Machine Zone: Technology Design and Gambling Addiction in Las Vegas,” is scheduled to be published by the Princeton University Press in 2010. This book review was published in the MIT newspaper. Yes some people, such as myself actually looked up the so called study.
If we’re not against this ordinance on the freedom and liberty idea and believe we don’t need government telling us what we should or shouldn’t do with our money we should be against it for the sole reason of having the county lie, mislead or falsely report their own supporting documents concerning this inaccurate ordinance.
The slot machines you see above are located at the Happy Trails Restaurant in Wisconsin.
State law allows similar machines in every truck stop and every location with a liquor license.
The county board is allowed to ban such machines only in the unincorporated parts of McHenry County. City councils and village boards have control over whether they are allowed within their municipal boundaries.