Gamblers, whores, and STL

Gambling casinos have a very good role in our economy. The taxes and winnings government gets from them help fund the government's programs.

They also equalize life. The rich who have money to lose share their wealth with the poor. And the poor, if they have extra funds can buy lotto tickets.

But Small Town Lottety?

By its name itself, this is intended for small towns where the poorest of the poor live.

Just the other day I quoted Blake's "Auguries of Innocence" on two items. One was "A robin redbreast in a cage puts all heaven in a rage" which should be the battle cry of press freedom fighters and the other is "A dog starving at its master's gate predicts the ruin of the state." A good battle cry of cause-oriented groups fighting for the poor.

The problem is many of our young people don't read the works of the Masters.

Blake in that "Auguries" has another epigram or short saying: "The Whore and Gambler, by the/ State licensed build that Nation's Fate."

* * *

Note, Blake did not say gambling and prostitution "ruin" the state. He said, "build." Gambling and prostitution for that matter, if run well by the state, can build the fate of that state.

Moralists may disagree with me. But that's reality.

With friends we were in Macau, China last week. This is the gambling capital of Asia. Ric Yanson gambled and won in just 15 minutes, which Toti Ramos recorded and Ric was wise enough to leave right after the winning.

That night, the dinner was on the gallant Ric Yanson and Nordy Diploma was in-charge of ordering.

* * *

May I proceed? I have also visited Las Vegas, America's gambling capital and have also visited Montecarlo, the gambling center of Europe.

Their respective governments earn substantial amounts from these gambling centers and money is well accounted for, gambling is well administered and money goes to the people through government projects.

And these are the places where poor people don't go because the stakes are high and the amount of bets is beyond the reach of the poor.

Here our government brings gambling to the small towns. This is what is bad. This is impoverishing further the impoverished.

Rise you all, leaders, political, social, or civic. Rise you, Church people. This is where Bishop Navarra can make the difference. Let this be the campaign of the Church. Your priests must be in this campaign too. And all Church organizations.

Don't be carried or convinced by whatever donations STL might promise you.

Let us save the poor from themselves. Let not posterity damn us for not doing something.

* * *

I recall in 1995 or before it, there was an attempt to have STL open here. I understand at that time, the people promoting STL were from southern Luzon. This was the group of then Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez.

Sanchez was later convicted of rape and double murder. Sanchez, with his money from jueteng, STL is just another name in the numbers game, had police, even judges and prosecutors, including media under his control.

But a no-nonsense Judge Harriet Demetriou convicted him and his accomplices of double murder and on the part of Sanchez, of rape.

In this space, Feedback, mounted at first a solo and lonely campaign against STL, which later gained adherents that made the would-be operators here, many of them my own friends, back out.

Let's teach our people to work hard and not gamble. They can raise pigs, chickens, goats, and cows. They can plant vegetables which gives better income than rice or sugar. They don't need a wide tract of land.

This is what my friend Arthur Uy Chiat is specializing in. We all can learn from him. If they lack money and technology, the province will be very willing to help. This has been the program of Governor Marañon on food security.

* * *

People are openly and blatantly fooled in the numbers game. STL, jueteng, daily double or masiao, like lottery, are numbers game. In numbers game you must know your chance of winning.

In cockfights, you either win or lose except when you go into a derby. If your cock does not win, it loses. What you will lose will be the same amount of what you will win which we call fifty-fifty chance.

Not so in the numbers game. I don't know how STL will be operated. But usually, it is in the combination of 37 numbers.

If you guess on the combination of the three numbers from 1 to 37, you win.

But many do not know that in 37 numbers from 1 to 37, there are 50,553 combinations. You get this by multiplying 37 by 37 by 37.

So, your chance of winning is one out of 50,553 combinations.

Let us grant the operator gets 10 percent from the bets for operation, will they pay you P45,000? No! Very much less.

Worse, in jueteng without government supervision, the operator chooses the number with the least bets to win.

If not checked on time, this will not just result into impoverishing the rural areas. It will also spawn vagrancy and worse, criminality.

Let us all rise to oppose the coming of STL in Negros Occidental. There is the lottery already.

***

My guest on Feedback aired 7 tonight on the Sunshine Channel is Revenue District Officer Sweet Rios.*

back to top