So what’s wrong with gambling aboard cruise ships sailing between Hawaii’s islands? That was the question bobbing in the wake of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye’s scuttling of a Norwegian Cruise Line plan to include gambling on interisland trips by the
So what’s wrong with gambling aboard cruise ships sailing between Hawaii’s islands?
That was the question bobbing in the wake of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye’s scuttling of a Norwegian Cruise Line plan to include gambling on interisland trips by the 1,960-passenger SuperStar Leo, scheduled to begin next December. Inouye made the bets-off decree in a congressional measure he sponsored that would, if signed by President Clinton, bar ships with casinos from beginning and ending voyages in Hawai’i.
Inouye contends shipboard betting would lead to gambling in the state. That’s something he should let the state worry about and, in the meantime, allow what seems like harmless fun to contribute to the growing cruise ship industry in the islands. It’s an industry that should be encouraged at all reasonable costs. Gambling at sea is reasonable.