Casino – Down The Rabbit Hole

Okay so roughly a week or so ago I noted that I was divided on whether or not to vote yes for the local casino that had been proposed by a bunch of rich people. What happened over that period of time between then and the March 5th vote was something quite interesting-and also the reason I voted yes.

Nope it wasn’t the endlessly annoying campaign ads, my friends all badgering me to support the casino, hell not even a good honest last minute pitch from some “Vote Yes” group via telephone/my front door (luckily that didn’t happen). What pushed me over to the “Yes” side was the water park proposal. A 30 million dollar water park, which the man behind the Riverside casino would build if us, the people of Cedar Rapids, did not vote yes. Basically it was a bribe, the last act of a desperate man who knew he was beaten. It was also a huge insult to our intelligence. That was the last straw.

So in the end I walked over to my local voting precinct, grabbed a “Voted” sticker (I’m a sucker for those-honestly) and filled in the “Yes” part of the ballot. With a heavy sigh I might add, because neither side really convinced me that their choice was the right one. I’ll remain skeptical about the casino, however it was the best idea anyone’s proposed in a while. And I’m hoping it leads to a new movie theater, or something really cool along those lines. I can hope and dream, too.

Oh there is one major hurdle left: the casino has get a license from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. So the will of 61% of the people might not mean anything if the Riverside/Vote No crowd manages to bribe-I mean, convince-the commission to turn down the CR proposal. However all of the casinos approved save for maybe one have had over 60% of the vote in favor of them, so there’s hope there too future and current gamblers. I’ll be monitoring the results, naturally-if the license isn’t approved though the city better have a Plan B in place for something to attract people to Cedar Rapids. I doubt they’ll come up with anything worse than a water park.

Next week my local hometown of Cedar Rapids, IA will vote (on March 5th, to be exact) on whether or not to approve a casino downtown across the river. The previous attempt was shot down, but this time around it may actually pass. Now look I grudgingly oppose a casino, as I feel that it won’t create as many jobs as they say it will and I’m not sure if its a good idea. At the same time I’m almost inclined to vote yes, and not because anyone is pressuring me to vote yes or no (I refuse to let outside voices influence my decision making, and that’s always been the way I’ve thought on any issue). You have to listen to both sides on anything, educate yourself, and make an informed decision.

So before I actually vote, I’ve decided to spend the next week weighing both sides opinions one more time. Considering a building of a casino will greatly impact Cedar Rapids’ future and affect me one way or another in some kind of way, thinking how I will vote over is the wisest decision. Right now I don’t see a right or wrong side here, just two cases of opinion that are both vocally loud and defiantly backed by groups that as the vote grows closer have decided to fund very nasty campaign ads on TV. Just when you think the election cycle is over, a local issue comes to a vote (and I’m glad that we the people of Cedar Rapids are allowed to vote on it) and those who actually care about something that directly impacts them should, and will hopefully, show up to the polls and make their voice heard.

I just figured I should comment on the issue in the next week, as I haven’t bothered to do so and I think sometimes mentioning some things about my hometown in my blog might be a good idea. I wanted Down The Rabbit Hole 2.0 to be more about general issues, rather than just covering music and movies.

Tag: Casino

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