Sorry, but I get so angry at the governments gung-ho attitude to gambling, and having seen families break up because one was addicted to betting, I find this whole casino thing monstrous. So.....
Full House: the Lords, who voted out the supercasino bill by 3 during the week.
Knave: Lord Carey, aka the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, who missed the vote because he was watching a film. Sorry, but if you're going on Question Time on national TV, and you know it's likely to be a big story, and it's going to be a close vote, that just doesn't strike me as clever. Ok, I'm not a retired AB of C, and I'm sure Amazing Grace is a good film, but what if the bill had got through by 1 vote instead of lost by 3?
Ace: another bishop, James Jones, who suggested on Thought for the Day that if gambling was such a good way of sorting out urban regeration, perhaps the council leaders from Blackpool and Manchester should simply play a game of poker, and the winner gets the casino.
2 of Clubs: Gordon Brown, who raised some of his gambling taxes in the budget. Not to deter gambling of course, but to raise income. More gambling = more income.
The other thing which clashes is that all this goes on whilst the death of Bob Woolmer is still being investigated. One of the popular theories, which is still speculation so who knows, is that it involved people linked to the betting industry, who made money out of match-fixing which Woolmer planned to expose. A feature on the radio this week - highlighted the problem of illegal gambling in cricket, and how hard it was to control. It just seems bizarre that we know that betting ruins lives but yet our government wants to see more of it.
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