state + local

From the beginning far too much of this has been kept under wraps, something which shouldn't be happening for a $1 billion scheme which no other state has previously tried. There was never any indication of how the projections were developed, no detail about what the expectations were for each bar, restaurant, or other venue where these were to be sold. Now they're scrambling around trying to sell these at the airport and talking about putting them in grocery stores, hardly a sign of confidence in the projections. In addition to giving us gross numbers of bars and total sales, both of which are far below forecasts, how about a month to month comparison by sales outlet along the lines of what's called same store sales in the retail trade. That way the public could judge if electronic pulltab sales are improving or declining. In the end the public is on the hook for this. If it's turning out to be a bust then we have a right to know as soon as possible so alternatives can be considered, not when it becomes a major problem.

We must never forget the politicians who forced this fraud upon us. Rybak and Dayton chief among them.

When my local bar first made these games available, I couldn't wait to play. My friends and I played alot...it's fun. I have quit playing, however, as I have yet to see anybody win anything on them. And please do not ever say that these machines are not slot machines, because that's exactly what they are.

Time to open up state-run casinos in the metro area and beyond. It's no different than lottery tickets or these new pull tabs. Technically, it's all "charitable" gambling. The lottery ticket proceeds can still benefit environmental causes, while the state-run casino proceeds will go towards paying for this stadium. After the stadium is paid for, then the next cause gets paid for, and we just keep doing that instead of raising taxes. One of the nicest thing about state-run casinos is the transparency of the odds of winning at each game, as well as the financial transparency. As far as people that cry about government-sponsored gambling...so what? We already have lottery tickets. The government supports buying stocks and other related gambles. Why not state-run casinos?

e-tab Manufacturing LLC of St. Paul: At least somebody is finally gonna make some dough on this deal besides, Ziggy, Dayton, Rybak and Mondale.

A terrible financial blunder all around. Incredibly short sighted.