Love That Legalized Gambling

A Shawnee County District Court judge on Friday placed Lisa M. Bisel on probation for five years for stealing more than $400,000 from The Topeka Capital-Journal while she was a cashier there.

Bisel was convicted Feb. 2 of stealing what witnesses said was $415,000 from The Capital-Journal from 2001 to September 2004. Bisel now operates a day care from her home.

During her trial, witnesses testified Bisel won $832,933 on slot machines at Harrah's Prairie Band Casino in Mayetta in four years, but lost all of her winnings plus $170,840.

Full Story, Topeka Capital-Journal, March 31, 2007

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Wouldn't want to do anything to seriously discourage the big push for legalized gambling in Kansas, like consequences for thievery used to support the habit...

But I couldn't resist firing off this letter to the Topeka Capital-Journal, captioned "Gambling With Kansas' Future":


Dear Editor:

I don't suppose the massaging of the hand--it doesn't even rise to the level of a proverbial slap on the hand--of former Capital-Journal employee Lisa Bisel, who stole $415,000.00 from your newspaper, will change anything about your refusal to publish letters from a certain former Kansas resident who moved to California and has witnessed the "collateral damage" of legalized gambling.

No, continue to keep your head in the sand as the siren song of "free money" for all sorts of nice government programs seduces Kansas too. And in a few years, when you find out that the legislature uses the gambling revenues as an excuse to not fund schools from tax revenues, resulting in continued underfunding of the educational system--just as has happened in California--will there be anyone bright enough on your staff to figure out the bait-and-switch? Not to mention all of the other consequences like thievery to support gambling addictions.

Sincerely,

Terry L. Clark