Video Poker Opinions
September 12, 2009
The latest addition to many states seems to be video poker. There are
many states that had been adding it to their bars and taverns in an attempt
to bring in more revenue. McHenry County is simply the latest in the state
to try and decide whether or not it would be good for their residents. Many
other counties have already put a ban up against the video poker, and the
county is trying to decide whether or not to follow suit.
Many county board members have already said that they don't think that it is
a good idea. The county has a reputation for being very family-friendly, and
they think that by adding in video poker it would ruin that ideal. However,
the county also stands to make a lot of money off of the poker machines, so
it is not an easy decision. If they agreed to allow the video poker machines
to come in, it could raise as much as $367 million annually across the
state.
That money would go towards road construction and other infrastructure
improvements that are desperately needed, but that the state does not have
the money to pursue. The board says that it may be wise for them to leave it
up to the voters to decide through a referendum whether or not they want to
allow it. They know that if they do nothing video poker will come to town.
The board knows that out of that $367 million that would be coming in that
their county would stand to get a large portion of that. This means that if
they do not allow the video poker machines to come in they would be looking
at taking money out of their county budget.
