Proposal to Create Vegas Strip in Cairns Causes Uproar

Thursday 8 July, 2010 17:06

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An interesting new proposal has been heard in Australia regarding the creation of a new gambling strip near the Great Barrier Reef.

Queensland Member of Parliament, Aidan McLindon, who runs independently, made the proposal with the view to bringing down the number of problem gamblers in the state.

"Gambling has spread like a cancer across Queensland, so what we are doing now is we have got lots of mini problems," he said to a press conference.

McLindon said that by developing an "AusVegas" strip in Cairns and relocating all the state's gaming machines to this one spot, "it would certainly offer a place where people can go away, blow their money, have a holiday and then come back to reality", he said.

However, while some gambling proponents liked the idea of bringing Vegas down under, the mayor of Cairns, Val Shier rejected the proposal outright.

"It is not something that Cairns would ever want to be part of," said Shier, adding that the "fantastic natural attractions" were what brought people to Cairn and not "some tinsel town, artificially created product."

McLindon said that the gambling strip would be a far cry from the traditional features of 'sin city' in Vegas.

"I certainly wouldn't want to see it with elements of the sleazy you see in Las Vegas," he said

However, the mayor reiterated that Cairns found the idea "bizarre".

"Perhaps he is just seeking attention," she said of McLindon's campaign.

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