I LOVE this place!

Today is my birthday - 34 , old enough to start thinking about prostate exams - which means another year that I get to watch the idiots in the state legislature make complete asses of themselves. I refer, of course, to the decision not to support casinos in the state.

It goes without saying that I am in favor, as I enjoy the occasional foray into Connecticut. However, my irritation does not stem from a missed opportunity to turn a 90 minute drive into 45. It has to do with common sense - which apparently you cannot have if you wish to succeed in politics.

True story - casinos would bring thousands of construction jobs and tens of thousands of permanent jobs. The upfront licensing fees paid to the state would approach one billion dollars and the state's annual cut would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Annually. As in, every year.

True story - The economy isn't doing so well. Property taxes are going through the roof, towns don't have enough money to fund basic programs. The state keeps raising taxes and tolls just to meet basic needs...never mind thinking proactively.

True story - A few years ago, the Boston Globe sent a reporter down to Foxwoods on consecutive weekends to take note of the license plates in the parking lots. More than half came from Massachusetts. Which means that every day, thousands, or tens of thousands of gamblers from Massachusetts are spending their money in Connecticut...and now Rhode Island. This isn't a matter of giving people another way to spend/lose money. They are already doing it and they will continue to do it. Just not here.

Ah, but the geniuses in the legislature, led by the esteemed Speaker of the House, Sal DiMasi, do not want to "import a casino culture of crime and problem gambling." Never mind that neither Ledyard nor Uncasville have deteriorated into crime-laden neighborhoods. In fact, with the money that Foxwoods and Mohegan contribute to the economy, new schools were built, new businesses opened to cater to the influx of visitors and property taxes have decreased. Funny how that works - don't let the facts stand in the way of your argument.

Of course, Speaker DiMasi wouldn't just turn away all of this state revenue without having a Plan B. Would he? Um..yes, apparently so. Uncle Sal hasn't come up with other means to generate this money - he just knows that casinos aren't the way to do it. Awesome.

Apparently, the legislature doesn't have a problem with all gambling. The Mass state lottery, long the most profitable lottery in the country, keeps rolling along. I guess it's OK to spend $100 on scratch tickets, keno and Megabucks, so long as you don't spend it on a slot machine. And to that end...good news! The state has drastically increased the number of places that can offer keno.

Good times.