Time to let go of casino plan

I have grown weary of articles about casinos.

On Thursday, there was an article pertaining to the steady decline of casino revenue across the state and that a possible solution may be more Iowa casinos ('Casino revenue drops second straight year”).

Adding more supply to a shrinking demand seems like a fool's folly and one more attempt to rationalize a Cedar Rapids casino. Maybe it was a blessing that a Cedar Rapids casino was not approved.

As the article stated, Atlantic City casinos are closing because of oversaturation, and thousands of casino workers are unemployed.

Likely increases in medical, food and energy costs are having a significant impact on disposable family income.

The article had an easy-to-understand graphic that clearly showed pre-recession Iowa casino revenues were rising and post-recession revenues declining. These revenues are likely never to rise again.

It is time to let go of the Cedar Rapids casino plan once and for all.

I know a lot of resources and effort were made with the betterment of the community in mind.

I hope these same investors and business owners will focus and work together on other economic opportunities with more long-lived sustained economic growth for the community.

I hope city officials will put this much effort into restoring our streets and maintaining our city in a well-groomed manner that exudes pride.

Cedar Rapids is a great community. Let's move forward beyond pinning our hopes and dreams on a casino.

Kevin P. Schneider

Cedar Rapids