NATIONAL GAMBLING IMPACT STUDY COMMISSION

TOM GREY

CHAIRPERSON JAMES: Tom Grey.

MR. GREY: Chairperson James and members of the Commission, I want to properly introduce our movement. It really is a citizens' campaign, not a religious crusade. It bridges Ralph Reed -- I've got my left hand, but that's okay. He won't mind -- and Ralph Nader on the right and left. You can sit the rest of American between the two Ralphs. This is not ideological. It has to do with citizens that found themselves under attack from gambling.

Our hopes for you as a Commission is we really look at you as our Commission. There were 6,000 bills that went before the 104th Congress. Only 200 passed, and we're happy that you're here and that you're going to listen in public.

It's been gratifying to hear the emphasis that the Chairperson has put on public comment and public opinion and wanting to hear, making a Web site available for the information, extremely important.

What we have here is strictly a product liability case. I'm going to be a little bit irreverent. This is the product, and it's called gaming. They drop the letters B and L out. It used to be called gambling. It's called gaming. It says economic development, jobs, job, jobs, painless revenue stream, taxes only from the willing, and then entertainment like shopping and the movies.

What I say is let the Commission hearings begin. We used to play a game in the Army called showdown. We can go seven cards here. Let's put the deck out. Let's get this Commission moving. Come on. Agree with one another. Work on it. You can showcase, and we can put in our arguments against.

What you're going to find, well, I've got the B. Let's go bankruptcies, addictions, crime and corruption, debt, embezzlement, fraud, and underlying it all is greed. What's theirs is theirs and what's ours was always negotiable. We found that at the local level, the state level. We're happy that you as a Commission will study the money and the muscle and the pressure we have felt as citizens.

We look forward to working with you. Thanks for being here.