Ray Werner, a playwright and creative consultant, is chairing a committee that is bringing musicians and others together on Feb. 21 in Pittsburgh to raise money to help the children at St. Damien's Hospital and Orphanage in earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince, Haiti. St. Damien's is the only free pediatric hospital in Haiti.

Werner was driving in Pittsburgh the other day when he noticed the new Rivers Casino and became overwhelmed by the irony that the gambling facility seemed to project. He thought of the extreme suffering and intense need in post-earthquake Haiti and the contrast of people in Pittsburgh with money to spare and an obvious willingness to throw it away by feeding it into one-armed bandits, despite the terrible odds against walking away a big jackpot winner.

Werner was so caught up by the irony that he wrote an opinion article that was published Wednesday in a Pittsburgh newspaper. In that article, he challenged Rivers Casino to take a gamble and help the children of Haiti.

Specifically, he suggested that the casino might "go for broke," with all proceeds for a few hours going to Haiti. "You sure would bring in a lot of newcomers, like me, to experience the thrill of losing," he wrote.

"Help Haiti beat the odds" was another suggestion. "Give a portion of the winnings to Haiti," he wrote.

What Werner didn't specifically address but his article implied is that there is plenty of disposable income in and around Pittsburgh that could be channeled to more worthy recipients — like the suffering people of Haiti. The same can be said about the disposable income that people plunk down every day at their local lottery machines.

Pennsylvania Lottery officials can't think of enough ways to tempt people to part with their money. In addition to the never-ending march of new instant lottery games that Pennsylvania introduces, the Keystone State has expanded its machine games menu by becoming one of the states that participate in the Mega Millions game.

While Werner put the spotlight on the Rivers Casino, he should have expanded his message to other nearby casinos, specifically the Meadows Casino near Washington, Pa., Presque Isle Downs near Erie, and the Mountaineer and Wheeling Island casinos in West Virginia.

But consider how much could be raised for Haiti's relief if all casinos throughout the country opted for one of Werner's suggestions.

Again contrasting the atmosphere in the casinos with Haiti, Werner wrote, "The chinga chinga drowns out the cries of the children."

But would Pennsylvania state government embrace Werner's proposal? Wasn't a major basis for introducing slot machine gambling the state's self-proclaimed laudable desire to provide tax relief to beleaguered property owners? And, isn't the Pennsylvania Lottery all about helping senior citizens?

About that purported property tax relief: It's been difficult to find anyone boasting about their savings.

But even if taxpayers are not seeing any significant property tax relief, the casinos have been making healthy profits.

The bottom line is that the casinos — the big recipients of disposable income — should have some disposable income and compassion for those truly in need — like the people of Haiti.

Werner's points are more than food for thought. They're a potential jackpot for the worthy cause that Haiti indisputably remains.

By the way, Werner's Feb. 21 Pittsburgh fundraiser, HAITI RISING, will be held between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. at The Map Room Grill in Regent Square.

The message with the newspaper article was that everyone is welcome.