WATERLOO - Robert C. Miller supported riverboat gambling in Muscatine as president of the nonprofit board holding the casino's gaming license.
He came to Waterloo Thursday with a different message for residents who will vote in less than two weeks on whether to allow excursion boat gambling in Black Hawk County: "If you get a riverboat, (the casino) gets the gold mine, you get the shaft."
Miller eventually resigned from the Riverbend Regional Authority in Muscatine, disturbed by the socio-economic problems he saw. He was a featured speaker at a rally organized by "Citizens Voting No on Oct. 7," which is working to defeat the gambling referendum here.
"This is not good for any community, and the damage being done in the other communities is significant," said Miller, who now chairs The Truth About Gambling Foundation. "Does Cedar Falls-Waterloo really need a moat boat and more pawn shops?"
Nearly 200 people showed up at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center to pick up red-and-white "Boat No" signs and pink ribbons, and to hear gambling foes like Miller explain why they believe allowing Isle of Capri's proposed $80 million casino on a man-made lake and hotel near the Lost Island Adventurepark would bring more cost and problems than benefits.
Miller, a past president of the Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and past director of the Muscatine Development Corp., said small businesses suffered when people began spending their money at casinos instead of on other goods and services. Restaurants and hotels were especially hard hit.
Meanwhile, he said, gambling would boost the rates of divorce, bankruptcy, suicide and crime. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission Report in 1999 said when gambling comes to an area it creates 1.9 percent more pathological gamblers and 3 to 4 percent more problem gamblers, which equates to nearly 4,400 people in Black Hawk County.
He also cited a 1999 retail sales tax study by Iowa State University showing major cities without gambling had much larger growth in retail sales tax than those with gambling. And he said no community in the state with gambling has shown a reduction in unemployment, despite promises of more jobs.
Miller also said their was a human toll to be paid for gambling addiction, recounting the story of a firefighter who embezzled $150,000 from his employer, lost it all at the Lady Luck Casino in Davenport and committed suicide. While the employer lost money and the firefighter lost his life, the casino pocketed $94,700 after paying taxes on the money. The city and county split $15,000 in tax money and the nonprofit license holder got $4,285, he said.
LeaAnn Saul, a Cedar Falls businesswoman, told those at the rally about how gambling addiction nearly took the life of her son, Judd.
Fighting back tears, Saul said Judd first gambled on a cruise boat with college friends in Florida. "Judd turned $10 into $100 and $100 into $1,000 and he was hooked," she said.
Her son kept calling home for money and lying about why he needed it. While staying in Puerto Rico, where the family had a business, Judd called a friend and asked him to tell his parents "he was ready to jump from the 11th floor" of the building where he lived.
"They only want our money. They want our kids enslaved. They want you coming back, coming back and coming back for more ... like a mouse to a bell," she said. "This gambling referendum will not enhance the quality of life in our county."
Saul is vice president of Professional Insurance Planners and Consultants Inc., or PIPAC, and president of Perfect Events. The companies are developing a new facility and conference center in the Technology Park wing of the Cedar Falls Industrial Park and seeking to locate a hotel there.
Jay Nardini, spokesman of Citizens Voting No, said the tax relief and economic benefits touted by gambling supporters are hollow promises.
"They will say, they will do, they will promise anything to get their hooks into our local economy," he said. "Only a pittance (of the profit) will stay here for us, while the rest is in a pipeline to Biloxi, Miss.," home of Isle of Capri's headquarters.
"The gambling isn't going to bring you much in the way of tax relief," he added, noting state law only allocates 1 percent of the adjusted net revenues --- the amount lost at the casino --- to be split by the host city and the county.
Members of the Black Hawk County Gaming Association, promoting the Oct. 7 referendum, have said Isle of Capri will pay an additional 5.75 percent of its adjusted net revenues to the association, which will distribute it for property tax relief, projects and charities throughout the county.
Even if that's true, Nardini said, the $6 million to $8 million in annual revenue being projected by gambling proponents is inflated. And he noted the "money that goes into the belly of that boat is not subject to state sales tax," which will rob the local governments of local option sales tax revenue used for street repairs and school construction.
"Taxes have never gone down in a county where there's gambling," he said. "Gambling tax is the crack cocaine of government. They will take that money and spend it five times over. Then they'll look to add more gambling."
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He came to Waterloo Thursday with a different message for residents who will vote in less than two weeks on whether to allow excursion boat gambling in Black Hawk County: "If you get a riverboat, (the casino) gets the gold mine, you get the shaft."
Miller eventually resigned from the Riverbend Regional Authority in Muscatine, disturbed by the socio-economic problems he saw. He was a featured speaker at a rally organized by "Citizens Voting No on Oct. 7," which is working to defeat the gambling referendum here.
"This is not good for any community, and the damage being done in the other communities is significant," said Miller, who now chairs The Truth About Gambling Foundation. "Does Cedar Falls-Waterloo really need a moat boat and more pawn shops?"
Nearly 200 people showed up at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center to pick up red-and-white "Boat No" signs and pink ribbons, and to hear gambling foes like Miller explain why they believe allowing Isle of Capri's proposed $80 million casino on a man-made lake and hotel near the Lost Island Adventurepark would bring more cost and problems than benefits.
Miller, a past president of the Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and past director of the Muscatine Development Corp., said small businesses suffered when people began spending their money at casinos instead of on other goods and services. Restaurants and hotels were especially hard hit.
Meanwhile, he said, gambling would boost the rates of divorce, bankruptcy, suicide and crime. The National Gambling Impact Study Commission Report in 1999 said when gambling comes to an area it creates 1.9 percent more pathological gamblers and 3 to 4 percent more problem gamblers, which equates to nearly 4,400 people in Black Hawk County.
He also cited a 1999 retail sales tax study by Iowa State University showing major cities without gambling had much larger growth in retail sales tax than those with gambling. And he said no community in the state with gambling has shown a reduction in unemployment, despite promises of more jobs.
Miller also said their was a human toll to be paid for gambling addiction, recounting the story of a firefighter who embezzled $150,000 from his employer, lost it all at the Lady Luck Casino in Davenport and committed suicide. While the employer lost money and the firefighter lost his life, the casino pocketed $94,700 after paying taxes on the money. The city and county split $15,000 in tax money and the nonprofit license holder got $4,285, he said.
LeaAnn Saul, a Cedar Falls businesswoman, told those at the rally about how gambling addiction nearly took the life of her son, Judd.
Fighting back tears, Saul said Judd first gambled on a cruise boat with college friends in Florida. "Judd turned $10 into $100 and $100 into $1,000 and he was hooked," she said.
Her son kept calling home for money and lying about why he needed it. While staying in Puerto Rico, where the family had a business, Judd called a friend and asked him to tell his parents "he was ready to jump from the 11th floor" of the building where he lived.
"They only want our money. They want our kids enslaved. They want you coming back, coming back and coming back for more ... like a mouse to a bell," she said. "This gambling referendum will not enhance the quality of life in our county."
Saul is vice president of Professional Insurance Planners and Consultants Inc., or PIPAC, and president of Perfect Events. The companies are developing a new facility and conference center in the Technology Park wing of the Cedar Falls Industrial Park and seeking to locate a hotel there.
Jay Nardini, spokesman of Citizens Voting No, said the tax relief and economic benefits touted by gambling supporters are hollow promises.
"They will say, they will do, they will promise anything to get their hooks into our local economy," he said. "Only a pittance (of the profit) will stay here for us, while the rest is in a pipeline to Biloxi, Miss.," home of Isle of Capri's headquarters.
"The gambling isn't going to bring you much in the way of tax relief," he added, noting state law only allocates 1 percent of the adjusted net revenues --- the amount lost at the casino --- to be split by the host city and the county.
Members of the Black Hawk County Gaming Association, promoting the Oct. 7 referendum, have said Isle of Capri will pay an additional 5.75 percent of its adjusted net revenues to the association, which will distribute it for property tax relief, projects and charities throughout the county.
Even if that's true, Nardini said, the $6 million to $8 million in annual revenue being projected by gambling proponents is inflated. And he noted the "money that goes into the belly of that boat is not subject to state sales tax," which will rob the local governments of local option sales tax revenue used for street repairs and school construction.
"Taxes have never gone down in a county where there's gambling," he said. "Gambling tax is the crack cocaine of government. They will take that money and spend it five times over. Then they'll look to add more gambling."
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