Approximately half of blacks and half of whites play the lottery at least occasionally, but they play the games in various ways. Whites playing the lottery regularly spend an average of $210 a year; while blacks spend an outrageous sum of $998 each per year. That\’s more than double the sum of any other demographic slice, whether classified by age, sex, race, marital status, income, etc. About 25 percent of the heaviest lottery players are Blacks. They make up for 12% on the overall population measure.

Nuff said.

Jim Anderson Stivers, Frankfort, KY.

I see that Mr. Fred Bradley, a HORSE owner with residence in Franklin County has called attention to my OP Ed in the Herald Leader. Fred is a former, County Judge of Franklin County, and State Represenitive and now a wealthy Thoroughbred owner racing in the USA and Saudi Arabia. No wonder that he should try and discredit my postings. He has everyting to gain and very little to loose.

I stand by all the post of made attributed as factual. Fred, old Buddy, my fathers trusted friend, here is the rely to the lobby for the American Gaming Association. Your distortions are thin and can not be justified as facts. Your displeasure of my constant challenge of the down side of gambling, bothers you so much you must call in the head KAHOONA of Gambling.

Here is my reply Fred> Read it and weep, cause it\’s true.

Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr. is the USA leader-President and CEO for the American Gaming Association. This is the hired, high priced organization is the mouth piece for Casino Owners and Gambling interest in America. Recently Mr.Fahrenkopf challenged my comments about slots and gambling and according to Fahrenkopf my report is inaccurate.Here they are again. I might add, Earl Grinols is a psychologist and the most trusted name on gambling problems in the USA.

The 2.1 percent rate of problem gambling for our national study has a 95 percent confidence level, making it unlikely that we found a lower problem gambling rate by chance.\”

And more:
According to the numbers, between 30 and 50 percent of the money collected by casinos every year comes from about 4 percent of the population. In other words, explains the study\’s coauthor, Earl Grinols, what keeps the gambling industry going – indeed, what keeps it growing – are the husbands who lay the deeds to their homes on the craps tables and the widows who play their insurance money away in the slot machines. This, opponents argue, makes the gambling industry a wolf among sheep.

And more
15 million people display some sign of gambling addiction

And more
Two-thirds of the adult population placed some kind of bet last year.
Gambling profits in casinos are more than $30 billion while lotteries are about 17 billion annually

\”Players\” with household incomes under $10,000 bet nearly three times as much on lotteries as those with incomes over $50,000
In 1973 state lotteries had $2 billion in sales. By 1997, the revenues reached $34 billion

YOUNG PEOPLE . . .

Gambling among young people is on the increase: 42 percent of 14-year-olds, 49 percent of 15-year-olds, 63 percent of 16-year-olds, 76 percent of 18-year-olds.

Facts say . . . It AIN’T AS BAD AS IT HAS BEEN REPORTED. As a factual matter even if you don’t read the entire story. . . . the headlines say it pretty clear. BESHEAR, LOBBYIST, USE DIRE LANUAGE BUT EXAGGERATE PLIGHT.

In plain language that says the horse industry has manipulated information to make it appear there exist an extreme emergency. When, actually it is not. The real Breeders are holding on but the smaller farms with less significant bloodlines are having some trouble. Welcome to the real world . . . we are all having trouble right now with our expenses. The facts stated in Mr. Chives writing are pretty clear.

Thoroughbred Breeding in Kentucky has increased from 19% to 31%. Kentucky has been making headway in Thoroughbred Breeding since the early nineties. Now, with 31% of the market for Breeding and an increase from 19% of the market, to over one third of the total breeding market, the figures do not indicate or confirm the convoluted information given by Governor Beshear and Keep. Take the time to read John Chevis article in the Herald . . . it will open your ears and your eyes to the real thing, based on facts, and not perception. REALIZING the Herald Leader is located in the heart of the Horse Business, it would serve the Herald Leader market, much better to have both sides of the issue.

Well this is the first time the real facts have been know, yet Tom Eglin and Larry Dale Keeling, again remind us of the dire straights the horse industry in in.

Excuse me . . . but in the good old USA, sports venues are more diversified than ever and with so much SPORTS the spending dollar has been attracted to many other forms of sports entertainment. It was the CASINOS and their floating gambling palaces that started the change. AS more gambling became available individuals split their sports entertainment money on many other forms of sports entertainment. Now, because CASIONOS and floating GAMBLING PALACES, near by, that money, some of it, and no one can tell you exactly how much, is going to places where Casinos gain 85% of their profits from SLOT MACHINES. The tracks would gladly give up the table games for the slots. As slots play on the lower economic scale were individuals are less fortunate . . .

Now the HORSE people wants in on part of the action. And, they have been successful in expanding in other dumb down states. However, this year INDIANA had to expand SLOTS TO MANY OTHER STRUCTURES because the revenue from gambling is down. Guess what, . . . a lot of other, more serious things, are down right now.

The administration complains about revenue shortfall, but little is done to pull in the horns of the PORK DISTIBUTORS, members of the General Assembly.This kind of spending has been going on too long. And, someone needs to have the courage to step up to the members of the Assembly and just tell it like it is. All new bills must show the revenue stream to cover the cost of new legislation. If that can not be done . . .then our Governor and General Assembly can cancel the projects and save us some bucks, lots of bucks.

Don’t be surprised if the EDUCATION PEOPLE are the first to complain. Years ago, we approved a lottery to add a new revenue source for Education. Yet, the cost to administer the LOTTERY is much higher than it should be. Last check of records shows the lottery uses over 65% of its revenue for administration purpose.There is new information out there now, and if citizens will read and think, then perhaps citizens would not be annoyed now, as much as in the past, for a revision of Kentucky Tax structure. The Governor has painted the desperate picture and a lot of citizens take it as PLAIN TRUTH. If the General Assembly is ever going to do TAX REVISON the time is now. As for the HORSES . . . If you good at what you do, you are a survivor. If you feed off of the scraps in an industry, then the first down turn, and your in trouble. Could there be too many thoroughbred horses . . . for the market . . .? Could there be too many tracks? It is a dilemma, but if the Governor’s main priority at his time is money for THE HORSES and bread and water for the citizens.

Incidentally, the lottery law and expanded gambling has been to the ATTORNEY GENERAL WITH FIVE RULINGS. They all say the same . . . No other forms of gambling may be used by the lottery amendment. Poor old Jack Conway, the burden and the Governor and his Horse People are looking at AG Conway to give them the answer they want, even in light of five other decis0ons that say. . . . NO, NOT, NADA.

I just wanna say!

Jim Anderson Stivers

Frankfort, KY>

Yes, most projects in the Justice Cabinet by Codell Construction Company of Winchester have not posted proper bond. This shortage was made public last week in an article by the MSM.

The written demand has been issued by Chief Justice Minton and compliance is expected post haste. Chief Justice Minton, is a very firm man.

The Chief Justice made no mention of being contacted by Attorney General Jack Conway. AG Conway is Kentucky most recent hat to land in the ELECT ME U.S. SENATOR Pile.

I find it difficult to understand how Attorney General Jack Conway did not spearhead the drive to make the CODELL COMPANY pay up way before it became public. He or his staff knew what was occurring. However he made no official action. Perhaps, at the advice from OTHERS in the current administration who knows for sure, but the administration people in particular Jonathan Miller has to have known this bonding was not posted. Will they admit it?

NO!

Did he care?
Apparently not.

Codell is a powerful name in Kentucky politics.

It is perplexing how one very rich, former Secretary of the TRANSPORTATION CABINET chose to allow his company to ignore the statue, keep the money and not pay up the thousands that were required by law, until it became a public issue?

Chief Minton should also note; but did not, at this time.

As a result of the action by those seeking projects for the Justice Centers or Justice Cabinet, not be allowed to bid on further jobs for the next year. But, with a Big Senate Race ahead, the current administration will not allow this kind of action to go forward.

Isn’t that a conflict of interest from te Governor’s office?

No, never mind that would be bad manners.

House Speaker Stumbo wants to make sure his herd follows the rules and does not make the mistake of an early adjournment. If you believe that, then . . .. . .

Here is the plan.

When a special session is called and the Governor identifies the issue for the call . . . the rules change.

Remember a few weeks back , Speaker Stumbo was meeting with members to get a feel for his SLOTS BILL.
I mean the one arm bandits that are supposed to save the Thoroughbreds. Mostly owned by BLUE BLOODS.

I suggest this plan was structured shortly after Stumbo became the Speaker. Governor Beshear will call a special session to announce a need for more revenue. There will be press clippings that Kentucky is much deeper in the hole than we first discovered. This is supposed to create a need in the mind of the uninformed.

BAM . . . KENTUCKY IS RIGHT BACK WHERE IT STARTED WITH THE GAMBLING ISSUE.

The idea of slots, pardon me, that is a vulgar word, VIDEO TERMINALS at racetracks is back and looking good for passage. The normal rules are suspended under the special called session.

This was the plan all along. Here we are with a special session, the bible belt members of the Assembly were very concerned if they voted for Casinos the last time the issue was raised shy that such a vote might not return them to the Assembly. That was especially true in South East and East Kentucky, the heat of the Bible Belt.

HERE IS WHERE THE RULE CHANGE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE GOVERNOR AND SPEAKER STUMBO’S SLOT PLAN.

In order to pass SLOTS, GAMBLING ISSUE, all that is needed in a SPECIAL SESSION is a simple MAJORITY VOTE.

Stumbo, being an old hat a legislative procedures knew this and silently backed away from forcing the SLOTS issue in the regular term.

WHY.

Speaker Stubmo did not have the 2/3Rd’s needed to pass the VIDEO TERMINAL issue. So, he plotted, and it is hard to believe that this idea was not disused with Beshear.

Now, with a simple majority vote, in special session,
Stumbo will pass the VIDEO TERMINALS issue claiming over 300 million will be the income. And, that is simply not true.

Consider this: The MGM Mirage in Vegas is the top player in the gambling structure in Vegas. MGM Grands stock- less than a year ago- was selling for over sixty bucks. That same stock is now listed at less than three dollars per share.

What does that say about Americans appetite to give away the money of the lower economic class for gambling?
The largest unemployment in the West is Nevada and much of that is attributed to loss of gambling revenue. As revenue falls so does the amount states receive from gambling. That is way the income projections are wrong.

It will all take place and the media will not cover this aspect of the issue as there is not enough knowledge among reporters as to where to look for research involving the Gambling Issue.

One important fact Speaker Stumbo and Governor Beshear can not push back . . .

THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE REPORTS THE NUMBER ONE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE IN THE UNITED STATES IS GAMBLING.

Many in the assembly know this, but they choose not to make it an issue in the gambling issue headed for the Spacial Session.

A telling sign recently was when House Majority Leader Stumbo sold his share of the ownership of a Thoroughbred purchased recently at KEENLAND. He opt to not be in the horse business. Yeah, right.