• 20 Jul 2009 at 1:39 PM

The Acceptable Form Of Speculative Bets

By Greg Michaels

Slot Machines.pngFaced with declining tax revenues coming from the economic wreckage created by all those speculative bank bets, three states are turning to one-arm bandits to simultaneously bridge budget gaps and promote responsible personal spending. Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are crafting plans that would legalize and increase access to video poker and slot machines in order to fund things like higher education. If state lawmakers are openly advocating plans that seek to put their own constituents in more adverse financial situations by increasing access to the ultimate addictive substance, easy money, Wall Street’s ethical record over the past couple of years doesn’t look quite so bad.

Comments (14)

  1. 1
    Posted by guest | July 20, 2009 at 1:55 PM

    what they really should do is legalize crack and slap it with a 50% VAT – then use the proceeds to fund green initiatives

  2. 2
    Posted by guest | July 20, 2009 at 1:56 PM

    Dear Greggums,
    This post is very well written. Absolutely no spelling error. Good boy. Keep up the good work and I can’t wait to read the comments from all of your reader friends you’ve been telling me about.
    Love,
    Mommy

  3. 3
    Posted by guest | July 20, 2009 at 1:56 PM

    Dear Greggums,
    This post is very well written. Absolutely no spelling errors. Good boy. Keep up the good work and I can’t wait to read the comments from all of your reader friends you’ve been telling me about.
    Love,
    Mommy

  4. 4
    Posted by guest | July 20, 2009 at 1:57 PM

    “If state lawmakers are openly advocating plans that seek to put their own constituents in more adverse financial situations by increasing access to the ultimate addictive substance, easy money, Wall Street’s ethical record over the past couple of years doesn’t look quite so bad.”
    Possibly the worst sentence ever written.

  5. 5
    Posted by guest | July 20, 2009 at 2:11 PM

    @4 “If state lawmakers are openly advocating plans that seek to put their own constituents in more adverse financial situations by increasing access to the ultimate addictive substance, easy money, Wall Street’s ethical record over the past couple of years doesn’t look quite so bad.”
    Is actually a great sentence. You continue to improve Greg, well done.

  6. 6
    Posted by guest | July 20, 2009 at 2:17 PM

    @5 Actually, no.

  7. 7
    Posted by american bandersnatch | July 20, 2009 at 2:18 PM

    @4 – I agree. Sentences over 40 words are too hard for me to understand.

  8. 8
    Posted by guest | July 20, 2009 at 2:24 PM

    The first state to legalize prostitution and drugs gets their budget overnight.

  9. 9
    Posted by guest | July 20, 2009 at 2:28 PM

    too greg, didn’t read

  10. 10
    Posted by HeadlessHorseman | July 20, 2009 at 2:30 PM

    Small point of clarification:
    By allowing casinos, state lawmakers are increasing access only to a way of quickly losing additional money…as opposed to increasing access to easy money.
    There are very few groups of people that can legitimately claim that casinos allow access to easy money. One such group is comprised of casino owners (typically Indian tribes of some sort). With a last name like “Michaels”, I’m going to step out on a limb and assume Greg’s exclusion from such ranks.
    The other group consists of successful professional gamblers. Based on the fact that Greg is writing on an internet blog (rather poorly no less), I’m going to further venture that Greg is more familiar with the term “dead money”, perhaps by way of his nickname at his weekly poker game.
    Greg – I’ve defended you from time to time and then you get all confident and post sloppy shit like this?

  11. 11
    Posted by guest | July 20, 2009 at 2:58 PM

    Give Greg a break. This post is fine.
    On a related point, it’s precisely the drop-off of “speculative” betting (through fewer real estate transactions and no tax rev on maturing options) that has lead California to where it is today.

  12. 12
    Posted by guest | July 20, 2009 at 4:19 PM

    @4 is right, it’s 8th grade quality crap. Greg starts with a paragraph long supposition “if” and finally gets to his point “then” 5 lines down. Painful.
    And Chicago already has casinos right next door in Indiana, California has crappy casinos all over the place, I can place OTB bets in parlors in Chicago and NYC, I can play Keno in Boston or Providence, I can bet on crap anywhere already so why the hell are you talking about video poker and slots like its some massive moral collapse in these 3 states, Greg? I bet you’ve never been with a woman.

  13. 13
    Posted by guest | July 20, 2009 at 4:49 PM

    We love you in Africa Greg

  14. 14
    Posted by guest | July 21, 2009 at 4:56 PM

    great article, all your haters are just trying to pick you apart because you have the job that you have.. keep up the good work

Leave a comment

You can log in with your account or comment as a guest below.

   or