I’ve seen the TV ads. I’ve read the newspaper endorsements and the political mailings. I’m convinced; gambling will be good for me. In fact, it’s hard to find any down side. We will keep millions of dollars in New York State, have more money for education, create jobs, and even lower taxes! My God, gambling is the medicine that will cure all our economic ills! Why didn’t we do this sooner? Without a doubt, the greatest beneficiary of more gambling will be our colleges and universities. They might open a school of casino management or extend its art majors to include Vegas style choreography and dance. New courses will sprout in bartending, dealing, security, floor walking and valet parking. Or a tech school could add a college of gambling software to work in conjunction with its animation and digital programming departments. Local schools with nursing programs will increase enrollments as new specialties arise in the treatment of chronic carpal tunnel syndrome, respiratory diseases and depression. New hospitals will be needed to treat the cancer and asthma that employees will acquire working in dense, smoke filled rooms. That also means more doctors and perhaps, if we’re lucky, a new world class cancer treatment center. Also, government employment will expand as well as more public housing for the elderly who have squandered their retirement savings will be needed. Pundits have long bemoaned the brain drain of local college grads moving where there are more jobs. With increased gambling, this trend should be reversed. There will be jobs galore in the arts, in technology, in the sciences, in health care, in the ‘service class,’ and especially in mental health services treating addiction. Perhaps new slot machine manufacturers will locate in the Luther Forest Tech Park. It will be just like the old days! Prosperity for all! Gambling is a godsend. It will put people to work, improve our schools, lower taxes, build new businesses and fix the local economy. Why did we wait so long? It’s just too bad we can’t do the same thing with heroin and crack! Then none of us would have to work anymore. Pete Tonery Hamlin, NY