Texas Campaign Debate Include Casino Prospects

The prospect of casino is included in the heated campaign trail of gubernatorial candidates in Texas.

Kinky Friedman independent candidate in the gubernatorial position says casinos would give education billions of dollars.

Friedman said that if he will be elected as governor, he might legalize casino gambling. He aims to allocate the casino revenues of six to eight billion dollars for education.

Friedman further commented that casinos are considered illegal in Texas but Indian reservations are the best way to keep the Texas schools from funding problems.

Meanwhile the democratic candidate Chris Bell says that casinos are not the solution to the problems of the state. Bell said that the state should have the right to vote about casinos before any casino will be permitted and he wants to have a thorough study whether it will be really profitable for the state.

However, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, another independent candidate, supports video lottery and race tracks. Strayhorn said that video machines and race tracks can be permitted even without a constitutional amendment but she would be in favor of the amendment to ensure that the revenues from these games will go to the benefit of educational programs.

Gov. Rick Perry says that he is not in favor of extending any form of gambling in Texas.