Gambling interests deceiving legislators

By Dorothy M. Bobilin
President of the Hawai'i Coalition Against Legalized Gambling
and Robert T. Bobilin
Research chairman of the coalition

The public and our legislators are being deceived. There are 15 pro-gambling bills alive in the Legislature. Of those, Senate Bills 650 and 866 and House Bill 1366 each propose a "single" casino with "limited gaming" designated for West O‘ahu.

"Limited gambling" is a mirage. No other state with legalized gambling has only one arm of legalized gambling.

The concept of limited gambling is only one of several misleading themes in the three separate ads paid for and promoted by The Coalition for Economic Diversity, a wonderful name hiding the efforts of unknown members, including "six or seven local members." The spokesman, however, is Jim Boersema, a lobbyist for Sun International Hotels & Casinos, which wants a license for a casino at Ko Olina in West O‘ahu.

Nothing is stated in the legislative bills about what "limited gaming" might be. In reading them, it is clear that all of the latest and most addictive electronic devices are part of the plan. These are often referred to in other states as "the crack cocaine of gambling" because the addiction is so prevalent.

"Pre-selected operators" is also included in the bills and is left undefined, requires no open bidding or in-depth investigation of prospective operators.

Legislators are now receiving phone calls from the public. Most of them appear to have been arranged by Q-Mark, a part of Starr Seigle Communications. Boersema is president of Starr PR, which pays Q-Mark for use of the phone banks.

It appears to work like this: Target selected legislators and the district they represent. Call people in the district. Ask the person if he or she is for gambling. If the answer is "yes," the poll taker offers to connect the constituent directly to the legislator so that a message will be received. The message is usually for "a limited casino."

The real tragedy is that some otherwise respected legislative leaders in responsible and leadership positions may have caved in to the quick fix and lure of easy money, abandoning Hawai‘i’s core values of ethics, openness and honesty. Fortunately, most legislators are genuinely working to find other solutions than gambling for our difficult financial responsibilities.

[back to top]