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Indiana Wastes Money in Search for Illegal Slots
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA --
After forming a fifteen man task force, investing almost a full year, and costing state taxpayers a bill exceeding $2.5 million, the lead law enforcement official under the Indiana Gaming Commission says his men have confiscated a total of 760 illegal gambling machines.
The legislative outcry which led to the appointment of Larry Rollins as top lawman concerning gambling in Indiana had featured speculation that over 30,000 illegal machines filled the state. Governor Mitch Daniels had himself suggested that slots and cherry machines, which he called "illegal and very exploitative machines", numbered well over 12,000.
Now, a year later, the state has spent over $1.5 million to set up Rollin's task force, and budgeted the group at $900,000 annually, has had a return on its investment of far fewer machines than are scheduled to be introduced at the state's two race tracks, which will host 4000 slots.
State Senate President David Long a year ago had pronounced the gambling devices as "a scourge on the state." Now, with legalized slots, Long will lead other legislators in determining how best to spend the $500 million windfall paid by the race tracks for their casino licenses.
Long has suggested that the efforts of the task force had led to the withdrawal of many machines from the state before operators could be caught, as well as the placement of existing machines in much less visible and attractive locations. This sounds much like the theory behind the "disappearance" of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Perhaps the new gambling revenues can be used in part to offset the man-hours and money invested in this silly witch hunt; and perhaps Indiana voters will closely scrutinize the way their elected officials have squandered public funds in a vain attempt to legislate morality and limit freedom.
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