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Maybe it has something to do with turning 40, but lately I’ve been paying more attention to whatever grabs my grandmother’s attention.
Gran, who’s 80 and lives in Omaha, often visits me for a week at a time because, as she says, I work too much to get the ironing done.
I’ve never had the heart to tell her that even if I worked at a dry cleaners, I could find a way to avoid ironing. But because I enjoy her company, I simply say, “You’re right, Gran,” and plan for her next arrival.
During one of her July visits, we discussed Sioux Falls’ benefits and shortcomings while we sorted through wrinkled clothes.
It turns out that Gran likes the summer lunch concerts at the Old Courthouse Museum. And working crossword puzzles on a bench at Falls Park. And sitting in the rocking chair on my front porch at dusk.
However, while discussing plans to attend my church’s annual summer picnic, I warned that the picnic would end at 5 p.m. As a matter of fact, many summer events in Sioux Falls end at 5 p.m. – unlike 7 p.m. or 10 p.m. or even midnight as they do in Omaha.
Gran thought that was rather odd, but she was willing to make do. So far, the only aspect of Sioux Falls that still bothers her is the sight of our plentiful casino signs.
Recalling her impressions during her first visit to Sioux Falls, she mentioned again that she couldn’t understand why so many businesses host video lottery. She wondered if the casinos were real.
They are real indeed, I assured her, handing her another piece of clothing.
As a matter of fact, it has been 20 years since the South Dakota Lottery started selling scratch-and-match tickets. A Sept. 5 cover story in the Sioux Falls Business Journal examines how the industry has grown to what it is today.
And today, it’s an industry that boosts 541 video lottery establishments and 242 retailers that sell lottery tickets in the area.
In fiscal 2007, the lottery generated nearly $120 million for the state’s coffers.
To be sure, the lottery’s presence promises to be an ongoing controversy for years to come.
Video lottery machine owners say they never know when another election seeking to end that form of gambling might pop up. And that’s because lottery opponents indicate that they’ll continue pushing to repeal it.
It has been only a year since voters statewide last said that video lottery should stay. And the 2006 election was the fourth time voters upheld the gaming practice.
For those of us who still maintain that gambling is a lousy way to fund government, the lottery’s 20th anniversary is greeted with a grudging acceptance that it easily could take two more decades before state government abandons dependence on gambling receipts.
In the meantime, there are other priorities to tackle.
During Gran’s visit for Labor Day, I noticed that she didn’t mention casinos. She did mention how fascinating it is to watch Sanford Health’s ambitious growth unfold blocks away from my house.
And as the weekend ended, Gran mentioned that she’d be back in a few weeks.
She needed to focus on more chair-rocking on the porch, she said.
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