Gambling addicts want Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, state to help more

Lehigh Valley gambling addicts want Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, state to help more
Published: Sunday, April 01, 2012
By Lynn Olanoff The Express-Times The Express-Times

Every employee at Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem receives annual training on how to recognize a problem gambler.

But Sue, an Easton resident, was not approached by any of them during her many screaming matches with her husband when he refused to give her more gambling money.

Tammy, of Emmaus, and Lynne, of Upper Macungie Township, also have experienced such screaming matches with their husbands at Sands — and never heard from any staff, either.

Lynne is on the state’s self-exclusion list, which is supposed to keep her from entering any Pennsylvania casino. But she said she’s been inside Sands three times since she put her name on the list in January 2010.

Carl, of Allentown, also is on that list but has been to Pennsylvania casinos more than 20 times since. He always sticks to machines that pay out less than $1,200 so he won’t have to show identification if he wins.

All four Lehigh Valley residents are gambling addicts who say the state and its casinos should be doing more to help people with their affliction. They met with The Express-Times at the Bethlehem Diner recently to discuss their misgivings on the condition their full names weren't published.

“I’d wake up in the middle of the night, go online for help and there really isn’t anything,” Tammy, 48, said. “That 1-800-Gambler is such a crock.”

Their advocacy is new.

Lynne, who has been involved with a gambling addiction group for two years, happened to be on the state gaming control board website March 10 and saw it was the last day of the state’s Problem Gambling Awareness Week. As someone who is a problem gambler and meets weekly with other problem gamblers, she was aghast she knew nothing about it.

The state issued a news release advertising the week and its special and regular efforts to assist problem gamblers. The state has a round-the-clock gambling addiction hot line — 877-565-2112 — as well as 70 certified problem-gambling counselors.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health last year also launched a statewide problem-gambling awareness campaign featuring television and radio ads, department spokeswoman Brandi Hunter-Davenport said in an email.

In addition to the annual employee training, Sands offers the state and its own problem-gambling assistance literature, and has gambling addiction hot line numbers just about everywhere you look in the casino, Sands Bethlehem spokeswoman Julia Corwin said.

“Everything that has the Sands logo on it has to have the responsible gaming language on it and our logo is all over the place,” she said.

The local gambling addicts think Sands and the state’s other casinos could be doing a lot more than just providing literature and posting hot line numbers. In addition to having their trained employees offer assistance to obvious problem gamblers, they believe the casinos should be able to invest in facial recognition software to keep out people on the self-exclusion lists and not allow their bank cards to work on the casino’s ATM machines.

They also are bothered that the chief place to register for the self-exclusion lists is at the casinos.
Self-Exclusion Registration at the Casino

Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board spokesman Richard McGarvey said the board understands that concern and offers regional offices where people can sign up for the self-exclusion list, as well. The closest offices to the Lehigh Valley are in Conshohocken and Wilkes-Barre, he said.

“I recognize that argument. That can be a difficult situation,” he said of entering casinos to enroll on the self-exclusion list.

"They push everything down your throat; they do billboards on everything else."
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board also recognizes that some people on the self-exclusion list are still entering -- and gambling at -- state casinos, McGarvey and colleague Doug Harbach said.

The state's 10 casinos all have different security policies. Many require identification from anyone 30 or younger but some don't, Harbach said.

But casino security guards have caught people on the self-exclusion list, especially if they're trying to get into a casino where they were previously a regular player, McGarvey said. As of March, 498 of the 3,500 people on the self-exclusion list have been caught violating the list, for which they are charged with trespassing, McGarvey said. The state officials still find the list beneficial as it helps most people on it stay out of the state's casinos, he said.

The Council of Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania has been impressed with the state’s efforts on gambling addiction and Sands’ efforts in particular, Executive Director Jim Pappas said. Pennsylvania has more members on its gambling self-exclusion list than New Jersey, even though New Jersey has had casinos for almost three decades longer, he said.

The state is active in training counselors to deal with gambling addiction and Sands has paid for the training of more than 500 counselors itself, Pappas said. His council and the national Council of Compulsive Gambling both have honored Sands for its efforts, he said.

“Sands has been our premier partner since day one,” he said.

“We work hand in hand with the gaming control board’s office of compulsive gambling. I think they do a wonderful job,” Pappas added.

The Lehigh Valley is home to five of the state’s 70 certified problem-gambling counselors. Two of them — William Dougherty, of Palmer Township, and Greg Krausz, of Bethlehem — said they’ve been contacted by only a handful of gambling addicts.

“I thought we would be seeing more people than we had so far,” said Krausz, who works at Monocacy Counseling Associates. “I think some of it is that the problem is developing in severity for people. Most of the people who have come in to us for gambling counseling have come in after something significant has happened.”

A Breaking Point

That was the case for Lynne. It took a suicide attempt in December 2009 to finally convince the 60-year-old to give up gambling after playing for decades.

Carl hasn’t been able to give it up after multiple significant circumstances. The 46-year-old says he’s probably been a gambling addict for most of the 25 years he’s been gambling, which includes several stints in psychiatric wards and homeless shelters.

“Being in a homeless shelter because of gambling should have been rock bottom, but you forget,” said Carl, who hadn’t gambled for 30 straight days as of last week.

Lynne, Carl and Tammy all gambled before Pennsylvania first opened casinos in 2006 and Sands opened in May 2009, but they said their addictions became worse when casinos got closer.

“I was gambling three times a day there,” Carl said of Sands. “I can’t stop gambling until all my money is gone.”

Carl estimates he’s lost $400,000 gambling. Tammy’s $100,000 in debt due to her addiction, said the 47-year-old who last gambled Feb. 10.

Lynne once sold a brand new car — a gift from her husband — for $9,000, which she blew through in two days on a gambling bender. She once gambled for 36 hours straight in Atlantic City and 24 hours at the same slot machine at Sands.

“Don’t tell me one of the waitresses didn’t notice,” she said.

Sue hasn’t stopped gambling. The 68-year-old Easton resident quit for a period of 90 days over the summer when her psychiatrist threatened to stop treating her and her husband threatened to leave her. But she’s been back at it on and off since October and had planned to go last week.

“I think they’re giving out free hams,” she said.

Her fellow addicts pleaded with her not to go.

“I once went in for the $15 ham coupon and it cost me $40,” Tammy said.

“If they give a $15 coupon, I’ll match it,” Carl offered.

Sue didn’t appear dissuaded.