CT ATTORNEY GENERAL RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, DANBURY MAYOR MARK BOUGHTON & AUTHOR JEFF BENEDICT DISCUSS THE CONTINUING THREAT OF CASINO GAMBLING IN SEPT. 30 PUBLIC FORUM IN DANBURY, CT

(PRWEB) September 25, 2002

DANBURY, CT -- September 25, 2002 -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and noted author Jeff Benedict (Without Reservation), are the keynote speakers for a public forum on casino gambling sponsored by the Coalition Against Gambling Expansion (CAGE) on Monday, Sept. 30, in Danbury, CT.

CAGE's special guest is Mary Beth Gorke-Felice of Woodstock, CT, chairwoman of Connecticut Citizens Against Casinos, a grassroots volunteer organization fighting against casino gambling expansion in Eastern Connecticut, home of the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos. The CAGE forum will be held at 7 p.m., in the Rogers Park Middle School Auditorium on Memorial Drive in Danbury, CT.

"We invite all Danbury area residents to join us in this discussion," says CAGE spokesperson Rick Edwards. "A casino in our region would have a disastrous impact on all our neighborhoods and citizens. Come and get the facts about the continuing threat of casino gambling to our area."

CAGE is a volunteer organization of area citizens dedicated to increasing the awareness of the effects of gambling and casinos. CAGE's Interim Steering Committee includes: Chairman, Dessain Terry; Vice-Chairman, Mildred Jackson; Treasurer, Garland Warren; Secretary, Bob Bose; Spokesperson, Rick Edwards; Members: Henry Blansfield, M.D.; Valerie Bose; Bobby Gardner; Henry Grier; P.J. Leopold; Leo McIlrath; Peter V. Scalzo; Preston Tallman; and Chuck Wrinn.

Will You Gamble With Your Future?

Casino gambling interests in Connecticut are betting on it.

That's why they've targeted our region as one of their top new sites.

They're also betting you'll remain silent. Speak up today! Let your voice be heard before November's general elections throughout the state. Tell your elected officials NO MORE CASINO GAMBLING IN CONNECTICUT!

Here are the facts about gambling the casino industry don't want you to know. Why? Because gambling destroys people's lives and the communities and surrounding areas in which it is allowed to operate.

The Facts About Gambling

• Casinos increase crime. Crime rates in communities with casinos are 84% higher than the national average.1
• Gambling hurts local businesses. One-third of Atlantic City's retail businesses closed within four years of the arrival of casinos.2
• Gambling costs taxpayers money. Every $1 in gambling revenue costs states between $3 to $7 in hidden costs.4
• Gambling eliminates jobs. For every 1 job created by casinos, surrounding communities lose 1 to 2 jobs.5
• Gambling hurts our kids. In states with legalized gambling, 5% to 11% of the teenagers will become compulsive gamblers.6
• Gambling is addictive. A Connecticut study showed that 47% of those who gamble in the state are problem or pathological gamblers.3
• Gambling wrecks lives. In states with legalized gambling: 99% of compulsive gamblers commit crimes; 100% of compulsive gamblers become physically abusive, especially towards children; 25% of compulsive gamblers end up in the legal system.7

1 U.S. News & World Report. 2 Robert Goodman, author of The Luck Business: The Devastating Consequences and Broken Promises of America's Gambling Explosion

3 Connecticut Department of Revenue. 4&5 Prof. John Kindt, Business Dept. of the University of Illinois. 6&7 Valerie C. Lorenz, Ph.D., CCMHC, CPC Executive Director, Compulsive Gambling Center, Inc.

Coalition Against Gambling Expansion (CAGE)

11 Comstock Trail, Brookfield, CT 06804

203/743-4400 • Fax: 203/743-3799 • NOCASINOC@aol.com