01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, July 6, 2004

I've just returned home from our battalion's World War II reunion, in St. Louis. There, I talked with my old buddy Ed Gutowski, who was badly wounded in the Battle of the Bulge and who has been living in Las Vegas on his government pension.

Ed tells me that he doesn't gamble in the casinos -- "They just take your money" -- but he does play poker for entertainment.

"Should Rhode Island have a casino?" I asked him. "A lot of people hope that the income from casinos will help the state."

He was vehement: "After the first two years, the casinos run the whole state. Las Vegas, and Nevada, is run to accommodate the casinos. We have a school problem in the state, but the casinos will not up their 20-percent ante to help out -- yet they promise 60 percent to open casinos in other states. Vote no, unless you want to give away all control of your government."

Ed Gutowski is a good man, and a good American. His advice is not slanted by preconceived opinions, and he has lived in Las Vegas for many years. Consider his advice.

JOSEPH GEARY

Kingston