138 environment. Clearly, Sander’s reasoning is mere grasping at straws, which shall become ever the more apparent upon observing the damaging consequences of riverboat casinos. A primary disadvantage to the practice of riverboat gambling is their monumental costs, which offsetted any promises Sander made to begin with. Recall that Sander planned for each individual riverboat to contribute five million dollars to environmental aid, meaning that even if all eleven Fox River riverboats extant in the present day contributed Sander’s given amount, only fiftyfive million dollars would be allotted. This measly sum is easily squandered by costs historically needed in the construction of riverboat casinos themselves. The aforementioned project of expanding the City of Lights I by 238 feet required twenty million dollars alone, a hefty price that would greatly increase when considering the price for building the riverboat in the first place.19 What’s more, significant funds are spent on decor: over the six months preceding the expansion, 1.5 million dollars were wasted on constructing Hollywood-themed artifacts to be placed within the boat.20 In a more extreme case, the riverfront pavilion complex from which the Hollywood CasinoAurora departed, home to complementary Hollywood and Las Vegas-themed entertainment, necessitated an entire seventy-five million dollars during its construction.21 In short, while Sander claims riverboat casinos would result in a net profit for the environment, a considerably more markable contribution could be made by simply reallocating the funds originally used for riverboat casinos into environmental agencies. Aside from funding concerns, riverboats also directly dispense harmful materials into the Fox River. For instance, due to sediment suspension caused by physical disturbances of boating (which in turn releases nutrients into the water, to be consumed by toxic species of algae), the 19 Baniak, "CASINO'S ADDITION A MARITIME MARVEL AURORA BOAT BECOMING 88 FEET LONGER WITHOUT LEAVING THE FOX RIVER" Chicago Tribune. 20 Ibid. 21 "Six Casinos Afloat in Chicago Area." New York Times 1994.
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