Slots?!
There are canvassers on the streets of DC gathering signatures for a campaign to legalize slot machine gambling in DC, and they’re on the streets as part of a hard push to get 19,000 signatures before the July 10th deadline for ballot initiatives. Here’s where it gets really fun. The referendum that they are trying to gather signatures for would put a 3,500 machine slots gambling parlor…in the middle of Ward 8 in Southeast.
The canvassers are, as they have been recently, out of towners brought in to gather signatures at a reward of $2 per signature. You may remember this sort of thing from Mayor Williams own campaign for mayor the last time around, when he had to run as a write-in candidate because most of his signatures were deemed invalid and improperly collected. The companies involved in collecting them, as well as the Mayor’s own campaign, were fined heavily by the Elections Board.
Does DC really need slots? Maybe, but is putting it in the poorest area of town an ethical thing to do?
I grew up in S.E. in the neigborhood where they would like for these machines to be placed. Isn’t the lottery enough? Adding slot machines is hardly the kind of improvement anyone should envision for residents of the District, in any quadrant of the city.
I live near the proposed site for this. For the love of God, puppies and chocolate, don’t sign the petitiion if you’re a DC resident!! It’s an undesirable business that won’t employ that many people and will only bring the real estate properties in the area down. Why line the pockets of some offshore interests?