About numbers

Dear Editor,

I'm writing to the Gazette to express my opinion about an article written about the Ben Nelson Regional Airport.

It has trouble keeping carriers that will fly to different destinations.

As we all know, the airports survive or die with numbers.

Volume is what we look at today.

In the past, McCook has offered Denver or Kansas City. Both are driveable in a few hours. I for one like the use of Allegiant Airlines; this is used by North Platte and Grand Island for gambling trips to Laughlin, Nevada and Wendover, Nevada, as well as trips to Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada.

These airports have trips to those places for people who would like to get away and gamble.

This is a word that Nebraska lawmakers don't want to hear.

There has been and was some form of gambling before Christ. As I stated at the first, numbers. North Platte and Grand Island have these gambling junkets that fly out and back with almost 144 passengers aboard.

They are always full with a waiting list to get on. I feel if the Ben Nelson Airport could offer this to Southwest Nebraska and Northwest Kansas, it would create numbers and volume, this keeping the airport operating.

I have used Allegiant out of North Platte to Wendover, Nevada, and also Allegiant Airlines at Grand Island.

Numbers are up, so they are expanding their airport with updates. As I have said, gambling is all around Nebraska.

Colorado, Kansas, Iowa and South Dakota have seen what revenue this brings in to their states and what use they can do for highways and schools to make this better for all.

But as we go year after year, all Nebraska wants to do is more taxes on the people when we are all about taxed out.

This is my opinion and I feel there are thousands of others who sorta feel the same way.

It's all about numbers.

Sincerely yours,

Monte Cooper,

Hamlet, Nebraska