Online gambling bill is just another bad bet

[Commentary] Some bad ideas just won't go away. Case in point: a revived law to allow online gambling in California. This time around, all the big players -- casino tribes, cardrooms and racetracks -- want to bring online poker and its devastating social impact to homes and smart phones across the state. It's a wholesale expansion of gambling with a predicted audience of 2 million players. Backers claim the law would regulate what's already going on and could net cash-hungry Sacramento upwards of $100 million per year. Sorry, we've heard this before. The state lottery was pitched as a way to save public schools back in 1984. Then tribal casinos said their measure in 2000 would give an economic lift to distant and deprived reservations. Both forms of wagering have morphed into major industries that are feeding the state's official addiction to an empty and destructive industry. Make no mistake, this measure is all about gambling interests that want to expand their reach and control a new market.