DOUGLAS: A casino in county a real gamble
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I have always enjoyed making a wager, be it on the golf course, which requires a short walk, through Draft Kings, which can be done on my Android, or at a casino, which historically has always required boarding an airplane.
I do not gamble with the foolish notion I will get rich quickly. That explains why I have less than $50 invested in the lottery, which has been legal in North Carolina since 2006. I do not play the lottery for two reasons: I know the long odds, and I am unconvinced that should lightning strike that millions of dollars won would make my life better.
You do not have to look long or far to find folks whose life has been destroyed because they hit the jackpot.
Some consider gambling a vice, but I see it as a form of entertainment. I know that for some gambling is addictive and can be destructive, so it is not for everybody – and I worry about making it too convenient, believing it should require a long drive or an airplane trip, not a walk to the convenience store.
If there is anything I have learned during a half century of making wagers, it is that I will lose more than I win, except on the golf course, where skill gives me a better chance. But that is OK. As I said, it is a form of entertainment, like going to a concert, visiting Disney, or going to a sporting event, but with gambling unlike the others, there is a chance you might leave with more dollars than when you arrived.
My favorite form of gambling is easily the blackjack table, which I have not done since August 2005, a date I remember because as I was doubling down, Hurricane Katrina was drowning New Orleans. I prefer blackjack for several reasons, the social aspect of the game, the leisurely pace at which it is played, you can better your chances if you play the cards correctly, and the Bud Light is free, which can offset any losses.
The key to winning at blackjack is obvious but not always easy to do. If you leave the table only when you are down, you will never be a winner, but getting up and leaving after hitting a blackjack is not easy.
I share all this because the talk that a casino might be coming to Robeson County is only getting louder. I want to be clear: I do not have any Inside Baseball knowledge on whether that will happen, only what I hear over lunch. It is no longer my job to know such things and share them with readers of this newspaper.
Ultimately, I am sure the Lumbee people would have to give a thumbs up or down to a casino, and I have no quibble with that. The county, which is straddled by Interstate 95 and a multitude of state highways traveling in all directions, is positioned perfectly to deliver tourists who enjoy gambling, so I am sure a casino in this county would be a popular destination.
Those tourists would leave behind a lot of money, not only coin lost gambling, but money spent on lodging, food, and entertainment. A casino would create thousands of jobs, not only for those who are employed there, but also in the tourism industry. The amount of wealth that would flood into Robeson County could be a game-changer, and perhaps we would shed our status of being one of the nation’s poorest counties.
Would a casino be a plus or minus for Robeson County? A casino would certainly float a lot of boats and sink some others.
Is one coming? I would not bet on or against it.
Reach Donnie Douglas by email at .
