Just as the tide at the beach ebbs and flows, the number of 8-liner gambling machines in the city rises and falls. A couple of years ago because of articles in the Chronicle/News by former reporter Robert Wilcox, which led to police raids, the number of machines dwindled down to a few.

Now the gambling machines are on the march again scooping up local cash that might better be spent for utilities, food, clothing and child support.

Under confusing Texas laws 8-liners are targeted, seized, and destroyed by law enforcement and then slowly they come back just like weeds and crab grass.

A few individuals reap hundreds of thousands of dollars while the suckers keep pouring in to donate their cash and their children's cash.

Texas law says that only prizes can be given away at 8-liner games but does anyone believe that people drive to Raymondville from Brownsville and McAllen to win cupie dolls?

In any case, city commissioners last night considered what to do about 8-liners and they seem to like the idea of taxing them. How much? Well, $5 per machine per year is the figure we heard mentioned.

City Manager Eleazar "Yogi" Garcia said there are 340 8-liner machines in town. This is how they are distributed:
The Longhorn...........76 machines..............585 N. 7th St.
Cardenas....................60 machines............1645 S. 7th St.
Lowkers......................52 machines..............625 S. 7th St.
Leo's............................42 machines..............222 W. Hidalgo Ave.
Lucky...........................40 machines.............637 N. 7th St.
Jack Pot.......................39 machines.............623 S. 7th St.
Border Billiards.........31 machines..............100 N. 77 Exp.

If things continue the way they are going we may have as many gambling casinos in town as we have churches in a few more years.

There is an old adage that you tax the things that you want to discourage and cut taxes on the things that you want to encourage. It's not hard to see why the gamblers are flocking to our little community if we only tax them $5 per machine, not if they are making tens of thousands of dollars off each machine in a year's time.

How about taxing the machines $5 per day rather than $5 a year. That way if the machines stay they will bring the city $1,825 per year, each. That's certainly better than $5 each.

Then if we still have machines in town at the end of the year we can raise the tax to $10 dollars a day and if that doesn't work, we can go to $20 a day. How about that?