Casino tourism should receive the same thorough planning as other economic development initiatives. This article examines the attitudes of residents in a Midwestern city considering the possible introduction of a riverboat casino in their community. In addition to surveying the general population, a subsample of 104 African American households was contacted to ensure that this population's views would be represented. Similar data from the African American and white samples were compared using t-tests and chi-square statistics. Results indicate that the minority population were somewhat more ambivalent toward and less opposed to the proposed casino and were generally less likely to gamble themselves. Furthermore, they indicated a preference for new tax revenues to be allocated to social programs.
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