Ryan Yencer, writing for the Muncie Star Press, has an article on Rep. Dennis Tyler’s proposal to expand gambling. Tyler’s proposal would make pull tabs, punch boards and tip boards legal for establishments licensed to sell alcohol.
Lewis Coulter, a Muncie bar and restaurant owner, said customers always came in and played pull tabs and punch boards until gaming laws changed and excise police cracked down on bars last year.
“If you don’t have something for them to do, they won’t come in,” Coulter said.
Coulter used to run eight bars in Muncie, but now only has two, the Red Dog and End Zone. He admits factory closings and declining population were factors in the reduced number of bars, along with smoking bans and drunken driving enforcement.
Back in the day, it seemed to me that drinking a lot of beer and talking to the people in the bar was activity enough. I guess there was an exception – NTN bar trivia was a big draw for me. Still, the booze was pretty much the draw. I’d feel awfully sad about my situation if I was making a bar my destination because of pulltabs and punch boards.
Yeah, cause it isn’t sad that you’d be making the daily trek to the bar for the beer and smoking.. :-)
I think gambling and tax cutting go hand in hand.There comes a point when gambling is the only option left for local and state government short of cutting services or raising taxes.I credit my own RCC for paving the way to make gambling respectable and eventually legal in so many places. Years ago the only gambling in many towns was bingo at the local parish hall on Wednesday night ( as I remember). And if anyone took a survey,it would be clear that many Protestants,and others, were there,even if they drove there incognito from another town. State lotteries came later,as states became more and more desperate for money, and that really opened the door to respectable Middle Class gambling.
In Wisconsin where I lived as a youngster for a time, going from Wednesday night bingo to the local family neighborhood bar was an easy transisition.No minors allowed at either.