Posted by Let Texans Decide
Sep 12, 2012
“Texas lore and linguistics are liberally sprinkled with gambling references and analogies. George Strait sings about having an Ace in the Hole backed up by a band with that same name. There’s a Four Sixes Ranch near Wichita Falls (beats the Four Deuces Ranch in California all day long) and if you’re new in town and can’t find a card or dice game in 30 minutes, you’re not really looking.
Texans’ love of gambling dates back to its earliest inhabitants, who bet their lives that they could beat the inhospitable terrain and fickle climate. Around the Capitol, though, lawmakers are ambivalent to the point of schizophrenia regarding gambling — and the state’s laws reflect it.
When lawmakers embraced the lottery, they went into competition with anyone who ever booked numbers. Betting is now legal on horse and dog races as long as the track operators have a license. Poker games are OK as long as the house doesn’t take a cut.” Read the full editorial here.
September 11, 2012
The Statesman Editorial Board
