If casinos only failed to deliver on their promises, then perhaps they could be written off as just another government boondoggle that fails to deliver on its promises.

But government-run gambling has a much darker side than most government waste and mismanagement. Most government-sponsored boondoggles count their costs in terms of money wasted, but with government gambling the costs can be counted in terms of lives lost and destroyed.

Did you know that Las Vegas has more suicides per capita than any city in America? Or that about 8% of crime in areas with casinos can be attributed to gambling? Or that when you add up all the social costs of gambling, including bankruptcy, law enforcement, court costs, social services and lost wages, the cost of gambling outweigh the benefit by almost 2 to 1?

The simple fact is casinos cost the taxpayers a lot of money. Even if you leave aside the human toll of lives lost and ruined, the return on the investment for the taxpayers is simply not real. What does it matter if the state gets an extra $100 million if it costs $190 million to pay the extra expenses incurred?