State lawmakers last week overrode Governor Carcieri’s veto of round-the-clock gambling on weekends and holidays at Twin River, above, and Newport Grand.

The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer

I commend Governor Carcieri for vetoing legislation for round-the-clock gambling on weekends and holidays at Twin River and Newport Grand.

Lawmakers who overrode the veto should be forced to spend hours — let’s say on six straight weekends — amid the video lottery terminals that disarm you with glitzy graphics, catchy names, mindless noise, and the illusion that a fortune is only a whirl away.

And no fair seeking sanctuary in non-smoking betting areas. Require the legislators to stay among the smokers and breathe in the cigarette-saturated air that state law allows at these facilities.

And, hey, make the reps and senators go during those newly available hours at, say, 3:30 or 4 in the morning. In addition to trying their hand at some action, thereby pumping some money into state coffers, they could meet people, conduct field research, see who’s up and around, and take some informal testimony on how the extended schedule strengthens quality time in the patrons’ family lives. Speaking of which, isn’t it interesting that on its Web site, Twin River boasts that its most popular video slots have not only such flashy monikers as Wheel of Gold and Enchanted Unicorn but also the more basic Milk Money?

(At Twin River, the lawmakers also could catch a glimpse of the new virtual blackjack games: The virtual image of an attractive young woman adorns a screen, looking around as if she were waiting just for you, waiting for you to sit down so she could deal you a virtual hand. Caution: The money you lose is genuine.)

In vetoing the round-the-clock legislation, Republican Carcieri was right to embrace the concept of host communities having a say in deciding hours of operation.

Indeed, Lincoln voters rejected the continuous-hours idea in a nonbinding referendum. The City Council in Newport also objected.

Of course, as Democratic legislators pointed out, Carcieri had backed explosive growth in the numbers of video slots without either local or statewide voter approval.

And let’s face it: Rhode Island is so desperate for revenue now of course lawmakers would embrace longer hours, and perhaps you don’t blame them.

Myself, I liked the veto because I saw it as a nod, however modest, in the direction of a hopelessly romantic dream I have, that someday a governor and legislators will have the guts to end the practice of financing government by systematically luring people to machines that fleece their money.

At the very least, I had hoped a veto would be a way of saying, “Enough! Rhode Island is not on an inexorable march toward full-scale casinos, complete with table games.”

But with the override, you’d have to guess that that march continues. And next year, especially if Twin River continues to be plagued by financial problems, I won’t be one bit surprised if there are moves to introduce still more gambling games and, of course, go full steam ahead on still longer hours. I mean why stop at a 3 a.m. closing hour on most nights? Why not have all gambling all the time, weekdays, weekends, who cares?

Meanwhile, it’s true that I zipped into Twin River recently — to wager on the Kentucky Derby. What’s the difference? The Derby, awash in history and glamour, is run by real horses, not computers. It is a sport, not a plague. Indeed, in terms of buzz, this $2 bettor forked his money over late Friday morning and had to wait until suppertime on Saturday to learn the results. I’d hardly call that addictive.

Actually, I placed three $2 wagers, two of them on the advice of my equine consultant, former Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who used to shoe horses for a living.

Chafee advised me to bet on Visionaire, who was 20 to 1 in the early line and offered the lure of a nice payout, and, if I were looking for a horse with shorter odds, Colonel John, who was 4 to 1.

So I bet on both. In addition, having been impressed by a glimpse of Big Brown (3 to 1) on TV Thursday night, I also put down $2 on him. All in all, I shelled out $6.

Colonel John finished 6th, Visionaire 12th. It was a “huge field” — 20 horses — Chafee rationalized later. He said it was “exceptionally hard” to pick the winner.

Well, it wasn’t so hard for me. My guy Big Brown won and paid $6.80. So I came out 80 cents ahead. Of course, now I have to go back to redeem the ticket, and I don’t want to spend money on gasoline for a special trip there.

I’m thinking, though: Someday I’d like to go to Twin River to see Peter Manfredo Jr. box. Maybe I could pick up my winnings then. I assume the bout would be at a reasonable hour. I mean, you don’t imagine I’d have to stay up until 4 in the morning, do you?

M. Charles Bakst is The Journal’s political columnist.