[jambutty]

Manchester has won the race for the ‘Super Casino’ and it will bring a lot of money to the owners and any ancillary services associated with it not forgetting the local authority.

In my view it will also bring misery to many people as they chance their arm at the gaming tables and most will lose. There is nothing wrong with a little flutter I suppose but far too many people take one step further and then further still in some crass attempt to win back their losses. The initial success of the Lottery scratch cards is testimony to that. Many people would spend all their money on scratch cards and end up with nothing not to mention no food for their kids.

The real bottom line with all forms of gambling is that the organiser takes all the stakes, deducts his expense and profit plus any taxes due to be paid and then returns the balance to a few winners.

Give one hundred people a thousand pounds each and let them loose in a Casino. Collectively they will come back with a lot less than the original £100,000 that they started with although there will be a handful that come out with more than £1,000. Meaning that most people will lose their cash.

What was that about the government trying to encourage us to save more for the future?

Blackpool and the Dome are particularly upset by the award going to Manchester and the ‘Prophets of Doom’ are already spouting on how their areas will become ghost towns.
Somehow I doubt if that will happen.

However does this country need a ‘Super Casino’ with the potential of more being created in later years?

I don’t think that we do.

Most major towns already have casinos not to mention Turf Accountants (is that name still used today?), Bingo halls and of course the Lottery. Surely that is enough gambling temptation?