I am no fan of gambling. As my son says, gambling is a disproportionate tax on those who are bad at math.

I have never personally dropped a cent in a gaming machine or at a gaming table. But in the imperfect world we live in, if some Utahns are strongly inclined to gamble in neighboring states, we should create the Utah Gaming Commission and give it jurisdiction over plots of land two miles wide and five miles deep at the first relatively vacant area along any state or federal highway that crosses into an adjacent state where gambling is allowed.

The Utah law would be that whatever type of gambling is legal on the other side of the line is legal in the 10-square-mile Utah Gambling Preserves. With the "preserves" established, some of us could continue teaching that gambling is evil. The "preserves" concept is not all that different from having our well-tolerated state liquor stores.

Thomas W. Draper

Provo

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