Gary Poster, with essential assists from Galyn Norwood, Phiroon Phihakendr, Jose Quijada, Pavandeep Kalra. East St. Louis has been mired in misery. Its 1992 murder rate was the highest in the nation, while the property-tax rate was one of the highest in Illinois. Six years ago, it achieved national notoriety when, crippled by debt, it gave up the city hall to settle a lawsuit. Garbage lay uncollected in the streets.
Drugs are rampant.
The question is not ironic. The boat, with 1,250 workers, is now the city's largest employer. In the past seven years communities across the nation have embraced gambling as an economic savior. But for all its glitter, gambling's gold is, in many cases, more mirage than miracle, because in addition to the obvious fiscal benefits there are many less obvious economic and social costs. In Las Vegas, Southern California tourists bear the burden, while the riverboat in Council Bluffs, Iowa, lives off bettors from Omaha, Nebraska.