Rory - Apparently, when you refer to "credible evidence" you simply mean copies of info off a "YES on I-892" web site with the link to that site.

So, turn-around is fair play. Here are some statements and copies from the NO on I-892" web site followed by a link for those that dare to learn something about this poorly conceived initiative and run by a crook like Eyman.

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FUNDED BY OUT OF STATE CORPORATIONS

Tim's "property tax relief" is a guise for the real intent of this initiative. It's industry backed, and industry funded. Tim Eyman is helping to promote it, and put his name on it, and for that, he recieved a $3,100 a week salary. Corporations from Canada and Nevada doled out most of the funds to buy this initiative onto the ballot- Great Canadian Gaming has given $160,000 already. This initiative gives them exactly what they want- what the state Legislature has denied them, for many years, with good reason- legalized slot machines in Washington State.

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The companies that stand to benefit from I-892 are its backers- out of state, foreign gambling consortiums with a history of problems.

Great Canadian, I-892’s largest contributor at $72,000, previously invested in a cruise ship venture that soured, and is now involved in a lawsuit against Allegiance Capital of Texas, which partnered in the investment.

The cruise ship itself is now a floating den of prostitutes off the coast of Taiwan.

Besides the failed cruise ship venture, former employees of Great Canadian have stated in sworn depositions that casino managers overlooked loansharking at the company’s British Columbia casinos.

For reporting on the loansharking story, the CBC was faced with a Great Canadian lawsuit alleging libel.

Great Canadian is the meanest bully on the block of the gambling industry. It has aggressively pushed into Washington State, buying up four casinos and dumping thousands into an initiative that allows it to cash out on its investments at the expense of Washington’s communities.

Great Canadian reaffirmed its sinister interest in Washington State when it acquired the other half of partially owned subsidiary Evergreen Entertainment Corp. and raised its stakes by $5.3 million.

It obviously expects I-892 to pass and is hoping to reap the rewards of an initiative that is bad for the state but good for the company

Another large donor is Michaels Associates of Nevada, which was fined $50,000 by the Washington State Gambling Commission for lax oversight that resulted in a $250,000 embezzlement.

And yet another large donor, Washington Gaming, Inc., owned by the Iszley brothers, is currently more than $900,000 delinquent in state taxes.

I-892’s backers are dishonest, scrupulous companies with questionable reputations. They stand to gain from I-892 while Washington stands to lose.

I-892 is clearly a bad investment that the people of Washington State should avoid by marking “NO” on their ballots in November 2004.

http://www.permanentdefense.org/

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Clearly, this is a bad idea. Don't get sucked into the fairy tale of savings on property taxes.... that's just "paying off" the State so that the big gambling companies can take money OUT of the State and YOU can have a slot machine in every tavern bowling alley and (probably) coming soon to a conveneince store in your neighborhood... just like Nevada. Won't that be great?

The initiative allows slot machines to be in locations where only adults 21 and older have access to them. This is the same basic requirement as for beer and wine.... why would the gambling companies NOT press to have them in every convenience store? Think about it.

No on I-892