Gambling

Whether to expand gambling in Kentucky is a question we're sure to be discussing in the coming months. Gov. Steve Beshear has made no secret of his support for expanded gambling, and members of the legislature already are discussing a new push. Both sides of the issue have begun circling the wagons around well staked-out ground. There will be vigorous debates over the social costs and whether or how much the horse industry should benefit directly from any shift in state policy.

HARRODSBURG - Police raided a convenience store Wednesday afternoon and uncovered a sophisticated video gambling operation set up in two back rooms. Harrodsburg Police Chief Billy Whitenack said officers obtained a search warrant for Pioneer Market on U.S. 127 just north of Bright Leaf Resort after an undercover operative had gambled and received payouts at the store multiple times in the past week. Seventeen stand-alone video poker and slot-type gaming machines were seized, Whitenack said.

Dear Editor: Gambling was made illegal a long time ago for a reason, it preys on mans primal lust for money and leads to addiction, bankruptcy, crime and corruption. Gambling's acceptance in this nation has taken a devastating toll, especially destroying families, but just like other hard-learned lessons that we have forgotten throughout history, it's accepted because the moral standards of this nation have eroded to nothing. The money that is being made by gambling is mostly going to the casinos and is coming from our pockets, by playing and losing it and also from every taxpayer due to bankruptcies, etc. The laws we now have need to be enforced.

Is the word "vice" out of vogue? Does no one believe in such a thing any more? It used to be that mothers warned their children against vices, typified by the old proverb, "Don't smoke, don't chew, don't go with girls that do. " Gambling is commonly classified as a vice. A vice, in case the definition has been forgotten, is a morally questionable practice or a bad habit. Some people regularly indulge in a vice, and that is their prerogative if the vice is not illegal. Each one will live with the consequences of their choices.

Dear Editor: Recently there has been a pretty big uproar concerning right and wrong on the issue of sexual orientation. I, myself, do not agree with homosexuality but I think there is another wrong that is occurring right now that everyone is overlooking - that being this so-called "opportunity" for Kentucky, The Kentucky Gaming and Revenue Plan. The supporters who are currently running ads are stating how it will help fund Medicaid and education. Didn't we hear that a few years back when the lottery was voted in. Where is all of that money going?

Ernest DeMoss and his wife, Deborah, have been indicted by a Jessamine County grand jury for first-degree promoting gambling and possession of gambling records and devices. The indictments stem from a Nicholasville police raid March 13 at Sew Chic, a business located at 922 S. Main St. No arrests were made at that time.   Law enforcement confiscated 16 slot machines after executing a search warrant on the building they suspected illegal gambling had been taking place, Nicholasville Police Department officer Kevin Grimes said.  The building was leased by Nicholson Property to Ernest DeMoss, Grime said.

Dear Editor, As we enter a new year and have a new governor, I hope that as Kentuckians we will all pray for Gov. Steve Beshear. I also hope that as Kentuckians we might evaluate the issues related to expanded gambling. Our churches spend much of their time trying to minister to the various needs in the communities (provide food for hungry families, help with bills, struggling marriages, drug addictions, broken families, etc.). Expanded gambling just adds to the woes because it most adversely affects low-income families.

Dear Editor, One of Steve Beshear's TV ads asks, What lessons do our public officials teach? (Our children?) His granddad was a preacher, his dad was a preacher, and he went to church every Sunday. Is he teaching our children and young people that gambling is right and that God approves of it? B.J. Ellison Danville

State police detectives found a little more than they bargained for when they raided a Winchester tobacco store. According to the Kentucky State Police, officers with the drug enforcement and special investigations branch executed a search warrant Thursday at The Discount Tobacco Store in shoppers Village Plaza. Police obtained the warrant following several purchases of synthetic drugs at the business. When officers arrived Thursday afternoon with the warrant, they discovered an illegal gambling operation within the business as well.

HARRODSBURG - Edward Johnson claims the video machines confiscated from his store are like the Monopoly game offered by McDonald's, a promotional sweepstakes entertainment legal under Kentucky's “vague” gambling statutes. Mercer Circuit Judge Darren Peckler didn't buy that argument, however, and on Wednesday denied Johnson's motion to dismiss the 16 counts of felony promoting gambling against Johnson stemming from a raid on his Pioneer Market store in March. The store is on U.S. 127 in Harrodsburg.

To the editor, I am somewhat confused by a statement columnist Rhonda Dragomir made in the July 12 issue. She wrote, “For now, gambling is still illegal in Kentucky.” I was under the impression that going to the Kentucky Derby, or even Keeneland, and putting down money to bet on a horse was gambling. Am I wrong to think going to a bingo hall and playing bingo in hopes of winning a cash prize is gambling? And isn't buying a Powerball or Megamillions ticket, not to mention twice daily three digit and four digit number games are forms of gambling?

I can hear the moans and groans now. It's only been a few days since a Jessamine County couple was indicted for possession of illegal gambling machines, but gambling proponents likely are already preparing their arguments. “Who is the victim of this alleged crime?” Since gamblers choose to engage in the activity, some would argue that if the machines are honest, there is no victim. But those who consider gambling a victimless vice likely have never sat face-to-face with people whose loved ones cannot control their urges to gamble.

Ernest DeMoss and his wife, Deborah, have been indicted by a Jessamine County grand jury for first-degree promoting gambling and possession of gambling records and devices. The indictments stem from a Nicholasville police raid March 13 at Sew Chic, a business located at 922 S. Main St. No arrests were made at that time.   Law enforcement confiscated 16 slot machines after executing a search warrant on the building they suspected illegal gambling had been taking place, Nicholasville Police Department officer Kevin Grimes said.  The building was leased by Nicholson Property to Ernest DeMoss, Grime said.

HARRODSBURG - After Kentucky State Police raided Pioneer Market more than three years ago and confiscated eight video gambling machines, owner Ed Johnson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of promoting gambling, paid a $500 fine and was given a sixth-month jail sentence probated for two years. That experience did not cause Johnson to take his losses and lick his wounds, however; instead, he apparently decided to double down on the gambling operation in the back of his store and now finds himself deeper in the hole after police seized 17 gambling terminals and $2,300 in cash from Pioneer Market last month.

HARRODSBURG - Police raided a convenience store Wednesday afternoon and uncovered a sophisticated video gambling operation set up in two back rooms. Harrodsburg Police Chief Billy Whitenack said officers obtained a search warrant for Pioneer Market on U.S. 127 just north of Bright Leaf Resort after an undercover operative had gambled and received payouts at the store multiple times in the past week. Seventeen stand-alone video poker and slot-type gaming machines were seized, Whitenack said.

A constitutional amendment dealing with expanded gambling in Kentucky could come before the General Assembly as early as this week, state Sen. R.J. Palmer II, D-Winchester, said. “I think the people of the commonwealth have made it pretty clear that they are ready to vote on this issue. There has to be a constitutional amendment passed by the General Assembly before it can be voted on by the people of the state,” Palmer said. Currently, Palmer is working on a draft of an amendment that he hopes to sponsor, getting input from Republicans, gambling industry insiders and the governor.

Whether to expand gambling in Kentucky is a question we're sure to be discussing in the coming months. Gov. Steve Beshear has made no secret of his support for expanded gambling, and members of the legislature already are discussing a new push. Both sides of the issue have begun circling the wagons around well staked-out ground. There will be vigorous debates over the social costs and whether or how much the horse industry should benefit directly from any shift in state policy.

The Boyle County volleyball team may be gambling and losing, but the Rebels' coach likes the fact that they're willing to roll the dice. Experience gained over the first month of the season is allowing Boyle to try things it might not have attempted earlier, and coach Cate Guthrie said that's one of the things that is making it a better team as it moves into the second half. The Rebels still aren't getting the results they want as often as they'd like, as was the case Tuesday when they seized a lead in the first set, only to see West Jessamine quickly turn the tables and go on to a 25-21, 25-13 victory.