| DS files slots suit Members and clergy from area churches met outside Superior Court in Washington, D.C., June 21, to rally against the introduction of a new slots initiative - called 'video lottery terminals' — in the District of Columbia. The Rev. David Argo, Washington-Columbia District superintendent, called on citizens to refuse to sign a petition that requires 17,500 signatures of registered voters by July 6, to enable the slot machine gambling initiative to be on the November ballot. He was joined by two D.C. residents as plaintiffs in a suit against the Board of Elections. The suit accuses the elections board of improperly granting slots backers permission to pursue an initiative that would authorize the operation of 3,500 slot machines on New York Avenue NE. With their flashy lights and comfortable chairs, (the VLTs or slot machines) are designed to lure players into making bets … and hooking them into a system that they can't beat. That kind of compulsive gambling could be the tragic result,' said a Washington Post editorial. But the real winners would be D.C. businessmen Pedro Alfonso and former council member and attorney John Ray, 'who are mouth pieces for two gambling moguls' who launder the earnings in the Virgin Islands, said the Rev. Charlie Parker who attended the press conference. If the measure passes, Alfonso and Ray and their unknown partners are expected to take in $575 million of the estimated $765 million the venture would generate. | 
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