I’m staying at a fairly decent motel in Mobridge, SD, The Wrangler Inn. It has a second-story lounge and restaurant. The lounge, The Windjammer, which overlooks Lake Oahe and the Missouri River, sports three video poker machines. One machine, a rather ancient looking device, has a crawl screen which asks, “Gambling problems? Call 1-800...” This strikes me as the nanny state gone insane.

I imagine some well intentioned South Dakota legislator tacked this requirement onto the bill allowing video poker: “Madam Chairwoman, if we are going to allow lower-income gambling addicts to lose their rent money, then we must help them get help for their addiction.”

So it seems to me that AA or some alcoholism treatment center (free marketing idea) should provide bar napkins that have an ad and an 800 number for help with drinking problems.