At the Tuesday evening public hearing hosted by the Lincoln City Council, 17 people came to the podium to speak their mind regarding the allowance of video gambling inside the city limits of Lincoln.

Eleven spoke out against the new video games that will pay cash to the players, while six spoke in favor of them. Below is an example of the opinions expressed.

Pictures by Nila Smith

Larry Hartley of Hartley Amusements in Normal -- pro-gaming -- said video gaming will fund capital projects in the city of Lincoln.

Gerald Carter of Lincoln -- anti-gaming -- has done volunteer work with prison inmates for 27 years. He said many of the inmates' problems begin with an addiction.

Dale Ridgway of Lincoln -- anti-gaming -- lost $60,000 and maxed out 13 credit cards as a result of his gambling addiction.

Dick Anderson of the Lincoln VFW -- pro-gaming -- said the VFW uses gaming revenues to support local causes.

Shawn Taylor of Logan Lanes -- pro-gaming -- said his business has been hit hard in recent years, and he doesn't know if he can take another loss of revenue.

Elaine Woolard of Lincoln -- anti-gaming -- grew up with a father addicted to gambling.

Ed Carter of Lincoln -- anti-gaming -- knowing that Chicago and Cook County have vetoed gambling, said: "If Chicago thinks this is a bad idea, maybe we should wise up."

 Joe Papesch of Old Joe's -- pro-gaming -- does not believe his patrons deny their children their needs in order to play video games.

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