Posted on Saturday, May 14, 2005

CONTRA COSTA TIMES
GUEST COMMENTARY by GAYLE McLAUGHLIN

Casino at Point Molate is a Losing Bet for Richmond

ON APRIL 30 the Times ran a commentary by Richmond Mayor Irma Anderson titled, "The future of Point Molate is the future of Richmond." In her article, Mayor Anderson tells us that the casino complex planned for Point Molate is a "world-class destination resort" and that it will bring jobs and prosperity to Richmond. In our Mayor's mind, the casino complex will be the miracle medicine, able to cure all of Richmond's woes in a single dose.

A single, easy solution to our problems would be nice, but let's look at reality here, and the real effects of urban gambling. Call it a "world-class destination resort" as much as you like, but remember that the proposed "resort" is totally dependent on urban gambling. A Point Molate resort without a casino is like a ship without water. It won't float.

I ran for, and was elected to, the Richmond City Council last November with a clearly stated position against bringing casinos to our West County communities. I continue to uphold my position. I do not see the proposed casino complex as the "golden opportunity" painted by Anderson. I believe that elected officials must bear the responsibility of making sure that any decision—regardless of good intent—has the actual ability to create more good than bad for our city.

The questions we must ask are: Will a casino at Point Molate sustain our economy, our environment and the social well being of Richmond? Will it make us a better community?

To answer these questions, we must take a hard look at the facts about urban casinos. Studies abound, and the data all point to one conclusion: casinos bring more problems to the cities that host them than they solve. The exhaustive study "Casinos, Crime and Community Costs" which was conducted by Grinols & Mustard in the late 1990s and revised in September of 2004, examines the relationship between casinos and crime. The study shows that the opening of casinos creates new crimes (as opposed to moving crime from one neighborhood to another) and values the social cost of these crimes at $75 per adult. (This is based on costs in 1996; today's costs would be higher.)

Applying the findings of this study to our city of 100,000, we can project that a few years after the opening of a casino at Point Molate, we will suffer 60 additional robberies, 1,000 additional larcenies, 300 additional burglaries, 100 more auto thefts, 60 more rapes, and 100 more aggravated assaults every year than if there was no casino here. At a cost of $75 per adult, the casino will cost us over $6 million a year. And the crime gets worse over time. Any crime-reducing effects from the increase of new low-skilled jobs tend to occur before, and for only a short time after, a casino opens. Over time, the good effects are canceled out.

The number of problem gamblers in Richmond will also increase. Clinical research shows that problem gamblers and pathological gamblers typically take two to four years to complete the cycle of starting to gamble, to becoming addicted, and exhausting their financial resources. Casinos, by definition, make money from those who lose money. No product or benefit is exchanged in the process of gambling. Many, many people drop money that they can't afford to lose and are left with nothing at all in hand.

Yes, poor families in Richmond need jobs, but gambling disproportionately affects the poor. Gamblers with household incomes under $10,000 wager nearly three times more than those with household incomes over $50,000. The negative impact of casinos on financially strapped families will far outweigh the positive impact of new jobs. And as small wheels turn inside larger wheels, the plight of the individual gambler becomes the plight of the larger society. A casino is a regressive economic development. Much more money will leave Richmond than will stay. We will pay the costs, and the profits will go to Harrah's and the developers.

I was glad to read that Major Anderson acknowledges the existence of "public concerns" about the Point Molate proposal and about casinos in general. The people of Richmond have expressed their opposition to urban casinos in polls and votes and would tumble this irresponsible idea in the ballot box again if given a chance.

Has our mayor failed to notice that we voted no on Prop. 68 and 70 in the 2004 statewide ballot? A casino at Point Molate is a direct undermining of the democratic process in which the voters have spoken. Casinos, tribal or non-tribal, simply don't belong in urban areas. As our cities struggle to regain their balance from failed local, state and federal policies, we must search for real and viable methods to generate revenue and employment—and refrain from jumping on the shortsighted casino bandwagon that only causes more problems in the end.

How about modifying the application of Proposition 13 to corporate property and ending corporate tax perks and giveaways? How about requiring Chevron to pay their fair share of utility taxes? Putting naive visions of easy money aside, what can Richmond families realistically expect from a casino complex at Point Molate?

Rather than a vision of international tourists and high rollers flocking to Richmond to leave their money with us, the more realistic image is one of casinos filled with local older adults, women and people of color, leaving their hard earned money at the slots in an "easy fix" effort to break the cycle of poverty and misery in which many find themselves.

To add pain to this suffering, other problems associated with casinos are sure to emerge or expand: prostitution, drug trafficking, substance abuse, domestic violence, depression, suicide, and increased poverty. On a different level, but with serious and far-reaching consequences, an increase in traffic and its pollution are sure to aggravate a situation already among the worst in the country. The need to handle all of these problems will result in the redirecting of city resources to serve the casino rather than the needs of our community.

A casino at Point Molate is a losing bet for Richmond. It will bring more problems than solutions. Let's not gamble Richmond's future.
__________________________________________________________________________________

McLaughlin is a member of the Richmond City Council.