Poor People and Gambling. Downtown?

I was downtown with the family this past weekend enjoying a nice day of sunshine and mild temps - a much needed break from winter. While talking with some friends who happened to be there also, a lady walked up with a clip board- either looking to sell something or taking a survey, I thought. Wrong, she was getting signatures for a petition to get casinos on the Ohio state ballot... again.

She made certain to tell us that if we signed it she'd get credit - I assumed she was a paid organizer with ACORN or the like. Maybe I'll do some research on that another time. Two of her selling points on why Ohio needs casinos: 1) everyone who wants to gamble leaves the state for Indiana or Kentucky - riverboats & horseracing and 2) poor people can't afford to make the drive all way out to the casinos or maybe they don't even have cars to get there.

My friend Nick quickly replied, "I don't think those people should be gambling at casinos. If you can't afford a car, you probably shouldn't be gambling." I agree, but "you can't fix stupid." (apparently Ron White gets the credit for that one)

I find myself leaning more and more towards a libertarian way of thinking- If people want to spend their money gambling, so be it. We all have a vice of some kind. I've been known to play blackjack, buy a lottery ticket here and there and enjoy a scotch. However, I do not think we as a society should make it easier for the poor and desperate to ruin their lives or remain in their self-induced poverty by pissing away their $100 weekly check (earned or government paid).

Would the economic benefits of putting a casino(or 4) in Ohio outweight the social costs that would/might come along with it? I don't know. But I am certain that putting a casino in the downtown area of a midwestern city, instead of out in the sticks, is a bad idea all around. Who thought this one up? Wouldn't adding a casino to a downtown already stricken with a fair amount of crime in the surrounding neighborhoods, and one already struggling with the issue of suburbanites not wanting to come back to the city after hours and on weekends, only add to the problem with a casino that would likely become a hangout for gangsters, panhandlers, hookers, etc.? Why not make them drive 30-40 minutes to get near the action like everyone else?