How is the Casino Affecting My Newspaper Sales Business?

By Delores Manley

            I am writing about the Casino how my papers business is doing.   I sell my papers on Public Square when weather permits. Tuesday is my best day.  I sell the papers from 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.  My business is the same from last year but I only go for three hours on Tuesdays.

            I thought the people from the Casino would be very happy to give low income people some money, but like always, they say things like “get a job’’, or “We give to homeless everyday by paying taxes.”  I wish I had a good job, worked in expensive suits, acted like a big shot, worked for Key Bank/Sherwin Williams.  Last year one employee from Sherwin Williams gave me and my brother Donald a dollar. 

            The shifts at the West Side market I worked help me out a little but the hours are only in the morning.  It could be that maybe evening hours would be better, but I am not going to take that chance of going home in the dark.  I also have other obligations at home.

              In closing I would like to say that I had high hopes that the casino would help to increase my income, however that has not been the case so far. Many of the people who buy the paper are casual every day folks and students. I have yet to sell a paper to anyone entering or leaving  the casino.  I find that it is also difficult to tell who has won or lost money. The female gamblers also seem to have a very negative attitude when they are approached to buy the paper. I have found that the male gamblers are kinder when they are approached about buying the paper. I am still waiting for someone to purchase the paper with a casino chip.

 Copyright  Cleveland Street Chronicle  Cleveland, Ohio October 2012  NEOCH