Rolling Craps

Don't say we didn't warn you, Governor Pawlenty.

Today's story in the Strib spells out the collapse of a gubernatorial initiative that, if it had to be advanced at all, was best collapsed; the notion of the state casino.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty's effort to use casinos to solve state budget problems was a central drama of the regular legislative session, and the effort's failure thus far was a major reason the regular session produced no overall budget solution. Pawlenty's casino plan ran headlong into Indian tribes protecting their interests, liberal DFLers and conservative Republicans. His latest idea -- creating two casinos at Canterbury Park race track -- stalled in the final days of the regular legislative session amid fears that the plan would eventually spawn a third state-sponsored casino, in Anoka County.

I have to wonder - who on earth thought this would be a good idea?

On the one hand, so much of the idea depended on a deal that one wonders who thought could ever happen?:

The governor banked heavily on an Indian partnership that was more fragile than it appeared in public pronouncements.

Then he added Canterbury to the deal despite signals that most of his Indian partners didn't want to do business with the track.

"Hey, Indian Tribes - would you like to give up the monopoly that also serves as your legal reparations and the only real cash cow you as communities have, to share with a state government that has been steadily encroaching on your preserve for almost 20 years now? All the while, by the way, turning your backs on the DFL machine that you've been a part of for all of recent memory?"

That, and getting social conservatives on board with state-sponsored gambling?

Gambling, even more than tax hikes user fee increases is Tim Pawlenty's biggest mistake this term.

Posted by Mitch at May 31, 2005 06:38 PM | TrackBack