A couple of years ago, when I ran for Congress, I was asked a very, very tough question. “Are you going to race horses?” I said I was going to support the reinstatement of legislation that would restore the public’s trust in American racing. I still believe that it’s the job of our elected representatives to stand up for the public good and not stand in the way of racing. A lot of people, of course, are opposed to horses and are against them.
How do you respond to the criticism that you are a hypocrite?
Look, I had to do something I was passionate about. If you have a passion for people, you can do anything you want to do. A lot of people aren’t willing to go to a federal agency or a state agency and say, “I believe in these laws and if I think they’re wrong, I’m going to make a difference.” It’s not very good to be a hypocrite.
What are your thoughts on the race bingo, which allows people to bid up to $50, but you were fined $10,000 for using ineligible credit card numbers?
It would have been very simple. It should apply to everyone. I would love to play the game and run a game for charitable purposes but it has to conform to all federal laws and regulations.
The reason I won’t play the game is because it violates one’s privacy. If there’s any legitimate concern that the number is being used by someone else to bid up to $10,000 without anyone’s permission, it would be very easy for me to come up with a way to use a different number.
But on the other hand, it’s the same game. But you make a big fuss when it’s legal gambling, as if that’s the worst thing that could possibly happen.
Do you feel that the $1 million fine for using the wrong card was too much, even though you were running a charity bingo bingo?
Oh, I can’t see a big fine at all. You never know what the future might hold. It’s very scary, but I will continue to run the charity and have fun doing it and I would like for it to have an impact.
I think we should legalize bingo for all sorts of different purposes. I have great interest in bingo. I’ve run an operation where we played bingo for charitable purposes. It did a lot, not bad.
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