Putting The "Texas" Back In Texas Hold 'Em

The new blockbuster Bond film Casino Royale largely takes place in beautiful Montenegro, where a gamble-to-the-death takes place between the film's hero, James Bond, and the villain, Alex Dimitrios. Texas, believe it or not, is crucial to the film and the plot, because Texas Hold'em is the game they play. The Texas Hold 'Em scene literally takes up half the movie. The director chose the game because Texas Hold 'em can hold the audience's attention. We understand the game, so we can follow the action, as subdued as it might seem compared to the wicked-awesome opening scene. Texas Hold 'Em is as ubiquitous today as twister was in the 70s. You see it being played everywhere by everyone. TV, the Internet, college dorm rooms, nursing homes, church functions; everyone's playing.

This is the conclusion that Senator John Carona, a Dallas Republican and Southern Baptist, has reached. Sen. Carona had been a longtime opponent of Texas gambling, but is now resigned to the fact that gambling is here to stay and Texas needs a piece of the action.

"[T]his is a no-brainer," says Carona, speaking to the Dallas Morning News of the proposed bills before this year's session. "It's probably rather nearsighted not to recognize the public's strong support for legalized gambling."

The bills Sen. Carona supports, SJR 18 and HJR 10 (collectively referred to as the "Gambling Bill"), would allow for gambling at 12 resort-style casino locations throughout Texas. Harris and Dallas Counties would get two apiece, while Bexar, Galveston, Tarrant, and Travis counties along with South Padre Island, would get one. The remaining casino locations would be chosen at sometime in the future.

While the casino lobby has been unable to get Christian-conservative House and Senate members to come to the table, many, such as Sen. Carona, are beginning to see the lost revenue and lost jobs as lost opportunities.

"Why should we subsidize Louisiana and Nevada when we can create jobs and boost economic development here at home?" says Sen. Rodney Ellis in the Houston Chronicle. Ellis filed Senate Joint Resolution 18 that would allow for a statewide vote on the Gambling Bill. The bill has gained support on both sides of the isle. Sen. Charlie Geren (R-Tarrant) has joined Ellis (D-Harris) in calling for an up or down vote on the issue so Texas can "stop dancing around the issue once and for all."

Backers point out that the bill would require all tax proceeds from casinos to finance a higher education fund to help alleviate the rising costs of college education (essentially financing the Lege's removal of college tuition caps with gambling proceeds).

Some conservatives have given up on the moral argument altogether, instead relying on the budgetary results that the Gambling Bill could potentially create. Suzi Paynter, director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas' Christian Life Commission, doesn't rely on moral arguments, but talks about the lack of dependability of gambling revenues.

"It would be a terrible mistake and a trick on families to say to them that money that's made in an undependable revenue stream ... would be worthy of funding something as important as higher education," as Ms. Paynter was quoted in the Dallas Morning News.

I have other concerns about the bill.

First, the method of declaring the winners and losers in the race to build casinos is illogical. It would be hypocritical of Democrats to endorse king making legislation like this, where counties are simply declared to be the winners, when Democrats have decried this same type of legislation in regards to other no-bid government contracts. If this legislation is going to go through, why not do thorough investigations to discover the most efficient locations, based on a cost-benefit analysis? The bill is attempting to benefit the most powerful political interests by cutting them in to win their support. Would Sen. Carona endorse gambling if Dallas County was left out of the mix?

Second, the types of consumers who would flock to casinos located in Dallas or Harris counties are the kind that Texans shouldn't cater to. When you cross the border into Okalahoma or Louisiana to play a game of craps you don't find a mini-Vegas or the picturesque Montenegro that politicians are describing. You find grandmas spending their Social Security checks and deadbeat dads losing their child-support. You have $2 tables and $5 buffets, but you don't have class and you don't have the kind of elegant extravagance that makes Vegas a tourism destination. Prostitution, drugs, and sleaze are what you get when you legalize gambling too close to home. If you think I'm wrong, take a trip across the border to Oklahoma and discover the hidden costs of legalized gambling.

Finally, the greatest Democratic argument against legalized gambling is that gambling is a regressive tax. Legalized gambling represents the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. While the bill may be inevitable, Democrats who desire to improve overall societal welfare in Texas should vote down a gambling referendum.

The need to improve young peoples' access to higher education is an important goal and it should be fully funded. But why do we need gambling to do it? What Texas really needs is leadership. The Governor should use his bully pulpit to get voluntary contributions from businesses in Texas that benefit from a well-educated workforce. That way we could provide great opportunities for higher education without having to rely on the gambling habits of poor people.