Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Sioux Falls

I was in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, yesterday (ain’t business travel glamorous?).  It was my first time in South Dakota, so I can cross off another state.


visited 37 states (74%)


Create your own visited map of The United States or try another Douwe Osinga project

It was interesting because there are casinos EVERYWHERE.  In mini-malls, in old fast food restaurants, in bars, at Champs where I had dinner, EVERYWHERE. 

It made me think of Wisconsin.  Wisconsin has a race-based policy where only the Tribes can run casinos.  I have long advocated the abolition of that policy to allow other races to be permitted to run casinos.  Sioux Falls made me rethink that stance.  Such a prevalence of casinos seemed a bit seedy, but perhaps that is an emotional reaction.  I admit that after dinner I wouldn’t have minded pulling a couple of handles if I hadn’t been so tired.  Gambling, when done responsibly, is fine.

In the end, I returned to my original position.  Even if it means a ratty casino on every corner, it doesn’t justified a race-based gambling policy enforced by the government.

(8) Comments
Posted by Owen at 2336 hrs
Off-Duty + Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. I’m totally with you.
    BTW, have you gone to the Obamanation casino off of 19 yet?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 22, 2009 at 0047 hrs


  2. Nope.  I’m not much of a gambler.  I don’t mind tossing $20 into a game for entertainment, but that’s about it most of the time.

    Posted by Owen on January 22, 2009 at 0052 hrs


  3. I do believe that’s Champps with two P’s, on the corner of 41st and Western and right next to South Dakota Furniture Mart.  Had I known you were going to be in Sioux Falls, I could have recommended a few local establishments.  Bob’s Cafe is the best.

    The “casinos” there are all video lottery (except on the reservations), and can only be located in establishments with liquor licenses.  As I recall, the state gets 50% of the revenue from video gaming, and it’s now used entirely to reduce property taxes.  They also have no state income tax.  Of course, the whole model may be easier to pull off because there are only about 750,000 people in the whole state.

    I’ll remain neutral on the benefits of the funding situation, but man, those “CASINO” signs all over the city make the place look pretty tacky.

    Posted by Recess Supervisor on January 22, 2009 at 0102 hrs


  4. What I can’t understand is how a raced based license to print money hasn’t been found unconstitutional somehow.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 22, 2009 at 1235 hrs


  5. You should make it a point to try and get up to New England some time. I had never been there until 2004, and I just fell in love with New Hampshire. Can’t speak to the rest of it, but NH is pretty darned cool.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 22, 2009 at 1657 hrs


  6. apc, I lived in VT for years. New England is gorgeous and I’ve spent many a night in the Presidentials in NH (high enough to get ice on a running brook in August), but NH is going downhill rapidly due to Boston bleedover. It’s a crazy area if you want to run a business.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 22, 2009 at 2251 hrs


  7. nerdbert, I was admittedly only there for a little more than a week, so I can’t really speak to the business climate. I was there for the Howard Dean campaign (now that I think about it, it was late 2003), and I was really impressed by how seriously they take the responsibility of being the first primary. Say what you will about it being a small, unrepresentative state, its residents take the time to become well-acquainted with the issues, and they ask hard, serious questions of you. If voters all over the country held candidates as accountable as do the voters of New Hampshire, we’d be a lot better governed.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 23, 2009 at 0925 hrs


  8. Anyone ask you for my autograph?

    Posted by james wigderson on January 23, 2009 at 1241 hrs


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