A smashing success?

A citizens nonprofit organization that rails against government-sanctioned gaming really hammered home its point this week.

The group Stop Predatory Gambling organized an Oct. 15 event in which it smashed a slot machine at the State Capitol in Albany, N.Y., taking a page out of the book of New York City’s colorful former mayor and gambling opponent Fiorello LaGuardia.

One of the participants in the machine-smashing event was David Blankenhorn, who wrote the book New York’s Promise: Why Sponsoring Casinos Is a Regressive Policy Unworthy of a Great State.

Stop Predatory Gambling was established in 2008, but its roots date to the 1990s and specifically to the efforts by a Rockford, Ill., resident to block a proposed casino in his community.

A news release from Stop Predatory Gambling stated, “The event effectively delivered a powerful message. If you want your government to stop sponsoring highly predatory forms of gambling like slot machines in our communities, then I strongly urge you to organize a slot machine smashing in your state.” The release ended with, “Now go find yourself a sledgehammer.”