READ 'EM AND WEEP

The city doesn't want you gambling on its turf, as illustrated once again by the Super Bowl Sunday bust of a dozen local bookies across four boroughs. Why? Because a chunk of the $100 million the bookies had taken in was going to the mob. The city wasn't seeing any of that action.

Of course the city wasn't seeing any of it, because gambling's illegal. Apart from the lottery (which doesn't count) and the racetrack (where the payoffs are minimal), you need to take your money to New Jersey or Connecticut if you want to gamble legally-which people do by the thousands.

But people are going to gamble wherever they are, especially on something like the Super Bowl. If sports betting is illegal, they just as happily place their bets with a local bookie. It's estimated that illegal gambling within New York City brings in something in the neighborhood of $15 billion a year. As usual, the mob is raking in the profits for the very simple reason that they're giving the people what they want.

This is something too many lawmakers both on the state and the city level don't seem to understand, as they repeatedly crush any proposal to legalize gambling in New York.

People are going to gamble. In fact, people are going to drop lots and lots of money on gambling. And if the city played its cards right-and there's no indication that it will any time soon-they might be able to do something with its cut of $15 billion annually. Maybe invest some of that money in the schools, or help prevent the subway system from caving in on itself. They could certainly ease the annual budget panic some. Why, then, is legalized gambling considered such a radical notion?

-Jim Knipfel