What's the story on ________?

[Lamplighter]

re: casinos "... don't produce anything"

In Oregon, we have the "State Lottery" with video machines in bars, etc.
The Native American tribes also have casino's, some on tribal land.

For Oregon's lottery, a significant % goes to support the State's contribution to local schools,
and developing public lands (parks, fish habitats, etc.)
But, it is also a free ride for local politicians to make travel junkets all over the world,
...ostensibly to generate tourist dollars.

One public relations bullet point for the tribal casino's is the $ is being used to provide health care,
both medial and mental health, to Native Americans, both on and off of the reservations.
I believe is this one of best examples of historical irony
... take $ from the white man and improve the well being of individual tribal members.
But I have not seen anything about who else gets other shares of this pie.

So, in both of these forms of gambling, there are some uses of the $ which are good,
and some not so good; and there is a product or service at the end.

For myself, I guess I do still have that paternalistic prejudice that gambling,
especially State-sponsored, takes $ out of the pockets, of lower income people...
those who are not gambling for entertainment, but instead are
hoping to change their lives by "winning big".