Gambling in Ashland?

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has named Ashland as an area that could get a casino under his proposed gambling legislation. As with almost governor in a state not named Ohio, Beshear sees gambling as a quick fix for a state budget that could use some new money.

Could we face a few facts that exist independently of whether a person favors casino gambling or opposes it?

The only reason for an area such as the Tri-State to have a casino is to capture money that goes to casinos in other areas. Any other income for a casino is money that otherwise would be spent in this area. It’s not like Ashland or the dog track at Cross Lanes, W.Va., would become major tourist destinations without a second draw, such as big-name entertainment.

Does anyone believe that the mini-casinos that dot West Virginia — the ones offering limited video lottery — really contribute to the local economy in any significant way? Is the West Virginia economy any better off because of them?

States in this part of the country are engaged in an arms race when it comes to gambling. It can’t go on forever. It has to stop sometime and somewhere.

Beshear’s proposal of a casino in the Ashland area has brought that time closer. If his idea makes it through the General Assembly and to the ballot, the people of northeastern Kentucky will make their voices here on where gambling stops or how much more it spreads.