Three Cheers to Mayor Luken! It's about time Cincinnati surged forth into the 21st century by bringing casino gambling to the riverfront.

Why let all that hard-earned money flow up the river to Indiana? Plus, a riverboat casino will do wonders for this side of the river. Look out, Newport! Put the idea in front of the voters and I'm sure we will soon see growth and prosperity on the Ohio side of the river.

Kathy A. Galvan, Downtown

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Should Cincinnati allow casinos on the riverfront? Share your thoughts at Cincinnati.Com. Keyword: casinos

Lots to win, and lose

I took my father and stepmom to Argosy recently. It was kind of exciting anticipating our big wins to come. The complex is nice enough and the buffet was a fairly good deal, although I've been to other casinos in the South and they are about half the price as Argosy. When we stepped on the boat I noticed how many zombie-like people were transfixed on their little spinning wheels of fortune. I did more watching than gambling, but I did manage to lose $50. Most people there did not really look like they could afford to lose a whole lot of money. It seems like a pipe dream to me, just like the lottery, but if they are going to spend money, it seems stupid to not get part of the pie.

Steve Buchholz, West Chester Township

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Could be centerpiece

The mayor is on point, I think. One need only look to the highway on any given day and see the exodus to Indiana by our own citizens, to say nothing of those that pass us by en route to slot city. If we had our wits about us we would have a whole riverboat-era area to complement and compete with Newport on the Levee. Casinos for gamblers, venues for nostalgia buffs, an amusement or two, things to tie in and revitalize the downtown area. We say no to casinos but yes to lottery, bingo and Internet casino play. Who are we kidding?

Tim La Cour, Evanston

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Social costs are huge

Many studies in many states reveal that short-term gambling revenues are offset by long-term "social costs," sometimes eating up twice the revenue generated by gambling.

Mayor Luken says he just wants to keep money from Ohio gamblers in Ohio, as if allowing otherwise violates some sort of metaphysical order. I would like to know how he plans to keep the revenue and obviate the social costs.

Gambling enterprises are simply wealth-redistribution schemes with shiny lights. They create no product and provide no service. They are outmoded, copycat ideas that reflect a lack of imagination and lack of commitment to the long-term economic prosperity of this city and state.

Ashish Budev, West End

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Yes, but not on boats

Now that the Cincinnati PC have acknowledged that full-service gambling in Ohio might stop the drain of money to the Indiana boats, let's hope they don't make the same mistake the Hoosiers made. Forcing the gambling operations to be located on the river did absolutely nothing for the downtowns of Lawrenceburg, Rising Sun or Vevay. We need to fight fire with fire by allowing full-service gambling in Ohio, and those facilities should be land-based and located in the downtown areas of our cities.

Chuck Klein, Downtown

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Most players careful

Kentucky and Ohio are crazy for letting all that money go to Indiana. I have lots of friends from both states who frequent the boats. They don't have a gambling "problem." When you get older, there aren't a lot of things to do. Some people sit in bars, but not all of us drink. We don't rob banks to pay for our gambling habits. We only spend what we want, and can afford. We also eat dinner there, so the boats are also taking some of the restaurant money that would have gone to Kentucky. We just like to do something once in a while to kill a little time. So, we take our money to Indiana, and they love it! Not everyone who goes to the boats has a gambling problem or will lose their house or job or go bankrupt. Wake up and keep our money at home!

Gayle Barton, Alexandria

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An old, failed idea

Gambling is usually portrayed as a "game," but to many people it is a serious addiction, to some families the evil that separated them and to homeless shelters the reason a number of people seek a place to stay (check with some Michigan cities for proof!). Cincinnati does not need a pre-emptive casino strike. How about more restaurants and entertainment at water's edge? Those are proven strategies that provide much more than Mr. Luken's tired and unimaginative suggestion.

Elaine Suess, Clifton

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Sure, let's go crazy

Why not have riverfront casinos? Among other things, it would help clean the environment, with people driving less to throw their money away. While we are at it, how about some nice penthouse suites on the top deck? These could be used by "ladies of negotiable virtue" for selective entertainment and additional tax revenues. Once the neighboring states catch on to how we are draining their income, we could make better use of the riverfront arenas for some sporting but potentially deadly games featuring hardened criminals. Oh my gosh, wasn't this tried before in some society that went into serious decline?

Edward M. Levy, Montgomery

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Twain right on, again

Once again we're last to get on the bandwagon. Mark Twain once said that when the end of the world comes, he wants to be in Cincinnati because it's always 20 years behind the times. Well, Mark, it's not just Cincinnati. It's the whole state.

Many years ago Harrah's presented its plan to City Council for casino gambling. It guaranteed the city millions of dollars a year in revenue. Council turned them down, citing among their reasons that gambling would bring prostitution and drug activities to downtown. Thankfully, since we don't have gambling, I guess we don't have those activities today.

We have schools in dire need of funds. We have townships whose budgets are stretched to the max. We have bridges in need of repair and/or replacement. We built two ballparks at taxpayer expense that could have been built with casino revenues.

Angel Joseph, Mack

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Imagine possibilities

I totally support the effort by Mayor Luken and Rep. Yates to bring casinos to Cincinnati. I don't want to see Luken's "nightmare" become reality. We have lost too much to Northern Kentucky. The income that could be generated for Cincinnati could erase future debt and provide tax breaks as he suggests. And the jobs casinos would create - wow, the possibilities!

I have only been to Lawrenceburg twice since it opened. I say this because I am not really interested in gambling, but I do play the lotto. However, if done correctly, casinos would be a boon for Cincinnati.

Victor P. Fabro, East Price Hill

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Treat ill gamblers, too

It does make economic sense to keep revenue from Ohio gamblers in Ohio. However, as accessibility and availability of casino gambling increases, so too will pathological gambling. A recent survey in Nevada showed the extent of problem or pathological gambling was double the national average. Ohio could be a responsible leader and use some of the revenue generated to establish treatment programs for problem gamblers. Cincinnati needs to look at the entire effect additional casino gambling will have on the community, not just the revenue generated.

Karen Meyer, Loveland