Recently, I read an online article that registered as 100% — 100% fake, when run through an artificial intelligence screener. I wasn’t surprised. It’s usually not very difficult to tell that something wasn’t written by an actual human being.

Anyway, the reason I’d read the piece was that it claimed to answer the question of why gambling is illegal in Hawaii. “(P)rimarily due to the state’s cultural values,” was among its many laughable assertions.

Yes, ridiculous.

Of course there are many folks in our state who are anti-gambling for moral reasons. But give me a break on “the state’s cultural values.” Reality indicates the opposite — like it or not, gambling is a huge part of Hawaii’s culture.