Casinos are magnets for crime and misfortune

Opinion: October 28, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

EDITOR:

I am shocked at the fact that so many Valley residents were hoping for a Las Vegas style casino.

Recently, I moved back to Youngstown from the Los Angeles area to care for my elderly mother. While in Los Angeles I worked as a paramedic for 12 years. Most of the areas that I worked in had a local casino within their borders. What the wonderful people of Mahoning Valley may not know, is that casinos are nothing but a magnet for crime.

While on duty in L.A. I was often called into the security office to evaluate and treat the victims of assaults that were often the result of a parking lot robbery attempt. There were a slew of other complaints, many of which originated from gamblers sitting at the tables and machines for up to two days straight with virtually no sleep. Other situations included drug or alcohol abuse and even murder.

What really got me when I found myself in those security offices, were the photographs of the people who had been missing. There were always about a dozen of them and they were all last seen at the casino.

Everything within a five mile radius of the casino became a “bad neighborhood” almost instantly after the casino was built. What happens when Youngstown gets a casino and then Warren gets one? Maybe Struthers will want one too?

Promoting vices like gambling is not a good trade off for jobs in the Mahoning Valley. What our area needs is a good industry or two that wants to stay here. Youngstown is primed for industries to come here and operate with less expense and a great work force!

JEFF BUZARD

Youngstown