Glad to see Steve Gray and associates coming forward with the idea of building a casino here. I believed that it was a good idea when I led the petition drive several years ago and I still feel it’s a good idea. It definitely will bring much needed jobs to this area and will bring more revenue and visitors to Cedar Rapids.

We are going to start hearing the old stories that casinos bring crime, prostitution, and other evils, but we have a lot of that now. Look at what the casinos have done for Dubuque, Waterloo, Riverside, and others.

The thing is, people are going to gamble no matter what, so why not do it in their hometown, instead of driving for miles and supporting other communities and counties.

I ask all the people who supported my petition drive to make sure you get your name on this petition. Let’s get this up for a vote again and this time get it passed. Hopefully, we’ll have a casino by 2016.

Jim Cannon

Cedar Rapids