I am sure that there are a great many reasons why the lawmakers have changed their opinion of 24 hour gambling. But as far as I am concerned, this is completely hypocritical. When the Indians wanted a casino, lawmakers flashed ads all over the place about the harm it would cause RI families, with gambling addiction and poverty. Now all of those problems have gone away? Or are we all supposed to look the other way because the government is going to get a big enough piece of the pie?

What am I missing here? Is this the same state that did not want a casino? Also on the national news this morning it stated that RI is now in a recession...so lets promote people to gamble hoping to win to pay their bills I work in Human Services and I see first hand how the economy is effecting everyone. What is wrong with this governor?

Several years ago, the Narragansett Indians were denied a bingo parlor/casino on their land. Since that time, our legislators have worked overtime and spent millions of dollars to guarantee that gambling will not take place on Indian land. Perhaps if those millions were left in the state treasury rather than being spent on anti-Indian affairs, our government wouldn't be proposing balancing the state budget by promoting gambling at Lincoln and Newport.

First and foremost, didn't the town of Lincoln hold an election to see how many of their towns people were in favor of having the casino (let's face it, that is what it is, no matter what you want to call it) open 24 hours a day, and didn't the towns people overwhelming cast their vote to say NO? So, the state is just going to say forget what they want, we'll do it our way. After all we don't have to live around it, right?

And, Governor, when the Indians wanted a casino, you were all over the airways spouting your views on the evils of gambling and how it would promote crimes, etc. What changed your mind so quickly? Was it you just couldn't see the tribe profiting on this venture, or was it your obvious hatred of the tribe chief?

This state will end if they allow this. This bill preys on those with addictions and lonely elderly people in Rhode Island. This bill is immoral, and we have to ask ourselves if as a state we are willing to take what is clearly blood money. For me and for anyone with a conscience (and a brain) that answer is no. This will undermine the economy of the state even further. People will commit sucide because they lost all their money in these late new hours and that is on the souls of those who allow this bill to pass.

Why stay in a state that doesn't care about it's people? This state will die with this bill passage, everyone knows it.