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The Other Election: You Vote, We Gamble (Maybe)

While the world has been wrapped up in Obamamania for the last couple of days, there's other election news worth talking about from a travel perspective.

One issue that has been showing up increasingly on ballots is gambling. See, when state lawmakers face the tough decision of whether or not to save their budgets by allowing casinos, they do what politicians do best: Decide nothing and pass the issue on to voters in the form of referendums.

So Election Day has lately become Christmas morning for the gambling industry. This year, the gambling forces found little luck at the polls, with voters rejecting proposed casinos in Maine, Ohio and even Guam. The only victory for gambling was in Maryland, where voters gave the OK to slot machines at five locations around the state.

Related Stories:
· Md. Voters Give OK to 15,000 Slots [Baltimore Sun]
· Western Maine Casino Proposal Shot Down by Voters [Forbes]
· Casino Bet Fails [Toledo Blade]
· Guam Voters Reject Casino Gambling [Pacific Magazine]
· Travel Referendums coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: kckellner]