Betting on a Town’s Future

Paid your taxes?  Dreaming of a better way to fund government?  Maybe more lotteries?  Back in 1986, governments were beginning to experiment with gambling to raise money.  The mayor of McClusky, North Dakota mayor bet on his town’s future.  He left it to chance.  Friday nights down at Elms cafe, you could find him dealing blackjack.  The money he won went to charity.  All of it.  In four years, this village of 650 people had raised $57-thousand dollars.  Gambling.  Players figure they couldn’t lose.  If they did, their money helped paint the town’s pool or buy a new ambulance.  It had been a blessing for some, a curse for others.