Connecticut is the third smallest state yet it has two of the largest casinos in the United States. How much more gambling does this state really need? Yet the Mayor of Norwich, Deb Hinchey thinks we need more gambling ("Norwich mayor squarely behind casino growth" April 26), even though according to a Quinnipiac poll three out of four voters are against casino expansion.

Our Connecticut casinos are billions of dollars in debt and laying-off workers even before Massachusetts breaks ground on a casino. So it's surprising to me that the mayor wants to tell other cities and towns what they need when she can't even satisfy the needs of her own constituents. And if the casinos are as prosperous as she claims, then why hasn't the mayor and the NCDC been able to use this prosperity and bring businesses or development to downtown Norwich?

The mayor is just another politician doubling down on a bad bet because she is too cowardly to stand up against city and state unions/pensions that continue to bankrupt our cities and state. If Hinchey was sincere in the "responsibility to do everything to protect our citizens" maybe she would worry more about standing up to the greed of city unions, lower taxes, bring in business and maybe findi a competent city manager.

Philip Brose

Norwich