Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

Last week, CPC held a press conference in the state Capitol and raised concerns over the proposed Oak Grove casino expansion.  We also raised concerns over Attorney General Andy Beshear's memo urging legislators to legalize casinos and dedicating the revenue to pensions. We know that communities with casinos have increased crime and this further burdens the law enforcement and judicial system. According a story in the Washington Post (in 2012) "Baylor University's Earl Grinols, University of Georgia's David Mustard, and the University of Illinois' Cynthia Dilley found that eight percent of crime in counties with casinos was attributable to their presence, a crime increase that cost residents, on average, $65 a year." With that in mind, maybe Attorney General Beshear might want to rethink his call to expand casinos into Kentucky.