"As the $625 million expansion of the Harrah’s Casino complex in Cherokee nears completion, state lawmakers should be reminded once again of the economic windfall the state could realize if it takes control of the gambling industry in North Carolina.

Harrah’s has employed as many as 1,800 construction workers as it has expanded its facilities, and the casino will be putting increasing numbers of people to work once it is fully operational. The casino has been generating, even before the state agreed to allow table games this summer, hundreds of millions of dollars for the local economy every year. That will only grow.

For years on this page, we fought creation of a state lottery and the presence of all forms of gambling in our state. We continue to find gambling a dangerous addiction. But, the legislature’s repeated attempts to keep gambling away, whether by banning video poker or sweepstakes games, have all been circumvented. The gaming industry continues to find legal ways for people to entertain themselves with games of chance."

Get the Story:
Editorial: State must tax and heavily regulate and tax gambling (The Winston-Salem Journal 9/30)

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Eastern Cherokees on track to finish $633M casino expansion (9/12)