wfn.org | Gambling Largely Defeated

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3277 notes).

Note 3277 by UMNS on Nov. 7, 1996 at 16:20 Eastern (5320 characters).

SEARCH:   gambling, Grey, Michigan, Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio,
               Washington, Dakota, Iowa
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

Contact:  Joretta Purdue                      563(10-21-71B){3277}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722            Nov. 7, 1996

Anti-gambling forces
win at ballot box

     WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- The National Coalition Against Gambling,
with headquarters in the United Methodist Building here, has
declared itself the winner in the 1996 struggle to stop the
expansion of the gambling industry.
     Referendum votes in several states on election day gave
gambling only one victory and that by a very narrow margin, the
coalition noted.
     In Michigan, 51 percent of voters favored "Proposal E," a
referendum to legalize three gambling casinos in Detroit, and 49
percent opposed the proposition. Proponents of the casinos, said
people were crossing into Canada at Detroit to gamble and spend
millions of dollars each year.
     But, in Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Ohio and Washington,
anti-gambling forces prevailed. Other states also dealt with the
issue earlier in the year or on a more localized scope.
     "The truth about gambling is if we mount an effective
campaign we win every time," declared the Rev. Tom Grey, a United
Methodist clergyman and executive director of the coalition. He
said sitting back and citing the denomination's resolution or
writing a few letters may not be enough to prevail. 
     "This is a tough fight," Grey said. "Get out of the sanctuary
and into the street on it."
     Arkansas voters defeated "Amendment 4," which would have
legalized a state lottery, charity bingo and three casinos in Hot
Springs.
     "David has once again felled Goliath," said the Rev. Randy
Nix, a North Arkansas Conference pastor who helped organize the
church's anti-gambling efforts. 
     Gambling proponents in Arkansas pumped more than $5 million
into their effort and mounted an extensive media blitz, but United
Methodists raised less than $20,000 and concentrated on a grass-
roots approach, sponsoring town meetings and community rallies,
according to Jane Dennis, editor of the Arkansas United Methodist.
     "Issue 1" on the Ohio ballots would have legalized eight
dockside casinos in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Lorain and near
Youngstown.  Ohio voters defeated the measure by a margin of 62
percent to 38 percent.
     In Colorado, a statewide referendum to legalize gambling in
the city of Trinidad, about 15 miles north of the New Mexico
border, was defeated by 68 percent of the voters casting their
ballot against the measure and 32 percent casting theirs for it.
     "Initiative 671" in the state of Washington -- to legalize
slot machines at tribal casinos -- was defeated by a margin of 60
percent to 40 percent.
     Louisiana voters had the option of expelling casinos and
video poker machines parish-by-parish. Thirty-five parishes voted
to rid themselves of the poker machines, and 29 parishes kept
them. The casinos won enough votes to remain in the state.
     In Nebraska, a statewide referendum to legalize off-track
betting was defeated by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent. 
     "We were fighting casinos right up to the last minute," said
Pat Loontjer, director of Gambling With the Good Life, so the
group only had a few days to muster forces against the referendum,
which was on the ballot because the Iowa state legislature had
approved the measure two years earlier.
     A constitutional amendment to legalize slot machines at race
tracks in Nebraska had been defeated in February. Then two
initiatives for fall voting were bumped from the ballot for lack
of signatures, but that decision was being fought in the courts,
Loontjer said.
     Referenda were kept off the ballot in several other states --
including California, Florida, Oklahoma and Rhode Island -- and
Washington, D.C., by earlier action, according to the National
Coalition Against Legalized Gambling.
     In Iowa, gambling interests from out of state proposed to
establish a riverboat casino and resort facilities worth $70
million at a 13-acre lake in Dallas County, not far from Des
Moines. Gambling losses were projected to give the casino $80
million annually, most of it from senior citizens, according to
the Rev. Bob Culbertson, who co-chaired the opposition group.
     Declarations filed by Nov. 1 showed the gambling organization
had spent $355,000 by the end of October, but only $117 had been
contributed by Dallas County residents. Opponents had spent $2,800
on a largely grass-roots campaign, said Culbertson, a United
Methodist clergyman who lives in Dallas County while serving the
Door of Faith mission in Des Moines.
     The initiative was defeated in a countywide vote by a margin
of 57 percent to 43 percent. A similar gambling measure in
Muscatine County, Iowa, also was defeated, he said.
     "We had a prayer vigil for five days solid before the
election. ... Prayer is what defeated it," Culbertson said. "It
was just a wonderful experience to see the churches and people in
the county come together and say no." 

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