Casinos' economic harms trump gains

By David Blankenhorn, Guest columnist

The gambling lobbyists who've converged on Tallahassee are excellent at making promises. Fantastic economic growth, billions in new revenue, smarter children, redder roses — all this and more will soon be ours, they assure us, if only Florida's legislators will give them what they want, which is a string of Vegas-style casinos in South Florida.



But while gambling-industry leaders make rosy predictions about the future — after all, these are the folks who say that putting your money into their slot machines will bring you "luck" — they are noticeably reluctant to discuss what is actually happening in the United States right now. This reluctance should not surprise us. Recently, a group of 40 scholars and leaders from across the country (I was one of them) carefully reviewed the current social-science evidence on the role and impact of casinos in America. Our report, "Why Casinos Matter," makes it quite clear why gambling advocates would rather predict the future than discuss the present.

First, independent research overwhelmingly shows that casinos do not contribute to economic growth over time, mainly because they don't produce anything of value. A tire company makes tires. A doughnut shop sells doughnuts. All a casino does is take your money. That's why most economists conclude that gambling doesn't create wealth; it just redistributes it. In addition, casinos contribute directly to economic problems, including higher crime rates and higher levels of bankruptcy and household debt. That's why, according to many economists, casinos not only fail to help the economy, they actually weaken it.

The gambling industry likes to brag that new casinos will provide jobs for the construction workers who build them and the people who work in them. That's true. But what they never tell you, and what study after study shows, is that those economic gains are typically outweighed by the larger economic harms that casinos represent.

Second, a range of careful studies shows that from 35 percent to 55 percent of all revenue from casino gambling comes from problem gamblers — people whose excessive gambling is causing serious harm to themselves and to those around them. Casino owners say that only a small proportion of Americans are problem gamblers. That's true. But what's just as true, and what they'd apparently rather not admit, is that their business model depends decisively on money taken from highly vulnerable problem gamblers. Would we want our government to favor and help to expand the liquor industry if half of that industry's income came from alcoholics?

Third, casino gambling today primarily means slot-machine gambling. Casino owners like to create ads showing happy, upscale people watching a spinning roulette wheel or playing card games at a table. But the reality is quite different and much uglier. More than two-thirds of casino revenue today comes from slot machines, and more than two-thirds of casino floor space is devoted to slot machines.

Slot machines are particularly noxious gambling devices. No skill is involved. Slot machines are highly addictive and are intended to be so. They frequently attract vulnerable people seeking temporary escape from fear, depression, stress or boredom.

Slot-machine players are disproportionately lower-wage workers, minorities and retirees — the people least able to afford the inevitable losses. And of course, the players can't win. Some individual spins win more than was bet, but no steady player can beat a slot machine. That's why casino owners love them. If you put your money into one, you are betting against a computer that has been programmed to cause you to lose. Slot machines are rip-offs, plain and simple.

Finally, legalizing casinos is a terrible way for the government to raise money. It's regressive, basically a transfer program from the have-nots to the haves. It's quite costly. One respected study shows that every dollar going to government from casinos is matched by about $3 in social costs. And it's shockingly inefficient. The proportion of a gambler's losses that goes to government is fairly minor compared to the amount that goes to the casino owners, with no positive social result.

When casino owners lobby lawmakers, the big promises flow thick and fast. And who knows? Maybe tomorrow, all evidence notwithstanding, horses will fly and we'll all get something for nothing. Wanna bet on it?

David Blankenhorn is president of the New York City-based think tank IAV and a signatory to the report Why Casinos Matter: Thirty-One Evidence-Based Propositions from the Health and Social Sciences.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2014-02-21/news/os-ed-casino-gambling-florida-022314-20140220_1_problem-gamblers-slot-machines-new-casinos

...the Fear of Losing Money

Dianne M. Berlin

READ!! Why they don't promote losing!! New Year's Resolutions and the Fear of Losing Money : The New Yorker
http://m.newyorker.com/online/blogs/currency/2014/01/new-years-resolutions-and-the-fear-of-losing-money.html

January 2, 2014

New Year’s Resolutions and the Fear of Losing Money

Posted by Adam Alter

 

 

To commit to a New Year’s resolution is to gamble. Gym memberships and weight-loss programs are expensive, but they’re good investments if they bring health and happiness. Unfortunately, as I learned eight years ago, people don’t take the prospect of losing money lightly. In the summer of 2005, I interviewed dozens of habitual gamblers in Atlantic City. I waited as they stumbled from the casino onto the boardwalk, squinting into the sunshine, and asked each one a string of questions about their gambling beliefs. Many believed that a roulette wheel could become “stuck” on red or black (known as the hot-hand fallacy). Others felt that the same roulette wheel was “due” to spin red after a string of black spins (the gambler’s fallacy). The most consistent response came when I asked some of the gamblers whether they would consider playing a simple, hypothetical game: I would toss a coin. If it came up heads, I would give them ten dollars; if it came up tails, they would give me ten dollars. This is a perfectly fair gamble—fairer than many casino games, which are designed to favor the house—but the appeal of winning ten dollars wasn’t enough to overcome the potential pain of losing ten dollars. Almost all of them said that they would prefer not to play.

The pain of losing ten dollars looms larger than the gain of winning ten dollars because most humans are loss-averse. In the past eight years, I’ve presented the same hypothetical game to rooms filled with bankers, insurance agents, salesmen, marketers, and design experts—and fewer than five per cent have been willing to gamble. (If you sweeten the payoff, so that they stand to win twenty-five dollars versus losing ten dollars, about half of the people in the room are willing to play; sweeten it further, to a fifty-dollar gain versus a ten-dollar loss, and almost everyone wants in.)

Almost three decades have passed since the psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky first demonstrated loss aversion. Since then, other researchers have shown that loss aversion drives real, long-term behavior beyond hypothetical lab experiments. In one field experiment, four economists offered to reward Chicago schoolteachers according to how much their students’ test scores improved during the 2010-2011 academic year. The teachers stood to earn up to eight thousand dollars (roughly eight per cent of their annual salaries) if their students improved significantly more than other students with similar starting test scores. The economists promised one group of teachers that they would get the reward at the end of the year. With another group, they handed out four thousand dollars at the beginning of the year, and told the teachers that they would have to return some of the money if their students’ improvement fell short of the average gain. Most reward schemes, from annual holiday bonuses to sales commission, work according to the first approach.

They promise compensation for good performance. But the second approach was novel, capitalizing on the sting of loss aversion. The teachers in the second group coaxed roughly five per cent more improvement from their students than did teachers in the first group, presumably because the prospect of having to return money at the end of the year motivated them to devote more care and effort to teaching.

The gamblers in Atlantic City and the teachers in Chicago believed that losses would hurt them more than gains would help. But were they right? Perhaps people are actually more resilient to losses than they tend to believe. Until recently, it was difficult to measure how painfully losses stung and for how long, but a recent paper suggests that the gamblers and teachers were wise to be cautious. Five European economists and psychologists measured how fifty thousand German and British workers responded when their incomes rose and fell between 1998 and 2009. At the end of each year, the German respondents indicated how happy they were on a scale that ranged from “totally unhappy” to “totally happy.” The British sample completed the General Health Survey, which measured the presence of twelve signs of psychological distress.

Both groups were sensitive to changes in their income, but a loss of a thousand dollars was more than twice as damaging as a gain of a thousand dollars was helpful. I mentioned earlier that the people I surveyed were unwilling to play a fair gamble unless the prize for winning was two-and-a-half times greater than the punishment for losing—and that pattern resonates with the outcomes of the European study. The researchers were careful to consider a long list of factors that may have magnified the impact of losses, including the possibility that people who earned less had lost their jobs or marriages, or were caring for more dependents than were the people whose income had risen. The pattern held even when those factors were ruled out. These results suggest that our collective fear of losses is grounded in wisdom: losing money really hurts us more than winning money helps.

Perhaps this message sounds bleak, particularly as we begin a new year. Many New Year’s resolutions require that we embrace the prospect of paying for dieting plans, anti-smoking programs, and gym memberships—and the possibility of losing that money if our resolve wanes. (As Maria Konnikova wrote this week, many resolutions do indeed fail.)

The good news is that people can overcome their aversion to loss by thinking differently about risky decisions. One excellent technique borrows from thousands of successful stock traders. Traders make dozens of risky investment decisions every day, but they overcome the fear of losing money on any individual decision by focussing instead on those decisions in aggregate: instead of agonizing over each trade, they pay attention to the broader portfolio.

This technique, known as broad bracketing, isn’t just a mental trick; it’s actually a good way to think about life decisions. It’s unwise to focus on each financial decision in isolation when you’re constantly drawing from the same pool of funds. Instead, it is better to consider the effect of each decision on the others, and how these decisions affect you cumulatively over time. Instead of asking whether you should buy a gym membership, and then asking, separately, whether you should buy an expensive kit to help you quit smoking, you should ask whether it makes sense to buy each of those things in the context of all of your financial obligations. Perhaps you’ll squander the funds you devoted to the gym membership or the quit-smoking kit, but it’s arguably worth risking the loss given the benefits if your resolutions happen to stick—and if those investments are among a dozen such purchases, chances are that some of them will pan out. Of course, it’s foolish to think away every poor financial decision, but if you’re generally careful and prudent, there’s no reason to avoid occasional risky decisions if the potential benefits outweigh the risks.

Adam Alter is the author of “Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave,” and an assistant professor of marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

Photograph by Edward Linsmier/Getty.

Study shows that gambling is dumb!

Dianne M. Berlin

Study shows that gambling is dumb! Business Insider

Study Shows That Most Gamblers Are Throwing Away Money

Amanda MaciasOct. 30, 2013

They may not admit it, but most people lose money through gambling — and heavy gamblers lose the most, according to a new analysis by the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal drew these conclusions from a study of several databases and interviews with experts.
Eighty-nine percent of gamblers lost money in a study of 4,222 anonymous users of one online gambling network in Europe that includes games of chance like roulette, blackjack, and slots. In the small set of winners, few won more than $150.

Among the heaviest gamblers, 95% lost money. In this group, big losers outnumbered big winners by 128 to 1.

In another study of 18,000 loyalty card holders at U.S. casinos, only 13.5% ended up winning money.

The odds of winning were better when it came to games of skill like poker, but still most gamblers lost money.

And that's all you need to know when it comes to the investment value of gambling for most people.

Read the full analysis at the Journal >

SEE ALSO: 8 Signs You're Addicted To Gambling


http://www.businessinsider.com/gambling-is-even-dumber-than-we-realized-2013-10

Casinos are mostly about losing

13 January 2013
Casinos are mostly about losing


By Kurt Rogahn

The people enthused about bringing a casino to Cedar Rapids sure talk a winning game. But everything they promise — the jobs, the money for education, social needs, the arts, and community development and beautification — depends on just one thing: A steady parade of people willing to lose money. Losers, they are. Losers, like my younger brother, Mark, of Oconomowoc, Wis.


To look at Mark, you wouldn’t think him a loser: Maintained a career in sales for years, driving to work in a black Lincoln Continental. Always wore laundered shirts — no wash-and-wear for him. Still, he lived a double life, over many years, with huge appetites on his dark side — first for alcohol, then for drugs, and then, for something else.

While Mark’s wife, Michele, underwent treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the University of Nebraska in summer 2006, he crossed the river to the casino at Council Bluffs. If he regularly visited casinos before then, it’s beyond me. After Michele died that fall, Mark’s casino visits accelerated: Milwaukee, Chicago, Hammond, Ind., and Las Vegas.

To fund his losing over the next three years, Mark drained Michele’s substantial retirement accounts, and then his own. Then, without permission, he tapped the trust fund he and I and our sister had set up for a fourth Rogahn sibling. Mark’s fortunes roller-coastered. He lost his job selling forklifts.

Bank deposit slips indicate substantial winnings, confirmed in notices from the Internal Revenue Service: He saw one in July 2009 demanding nearly $40,000 in back taxes for 2006, but by then the money was gone.

He never saw the notice for $69,000 in 2007 taxes, or nearly $85,000 for 2008. Those came to my house, here in Cedar Rapids, after his suicide in April 2010. At his death, Mark was immediate past president of his church, a big mainstream congregation.

Not everyone lives a double life. Not everyone who drinks is alcoholic — though Mark was — and not everyone who visits a casino has a gambling problem. Still, problem gamblers do exist in sufficient numbers that the society in which I grew up confined gambling to Las Vegas and few places else.

Today, we not only forget why that was so, but we have enfeebled our aspirations. We used to build communities by attracting the means to provide jobs and produce goods and services people need.

Yet what passes for economic development in the March 5 casino vote depends instead on losers losing big.

To build a casino in Cedar Rapids will make it easier for losers to lose, and that’s what that industry is counting on. In gambling, the odds favor the house. Any charitable contributions are but a fraction of the losers’ losses. We all like nice things for our community, but the benefits are indecent if we rely on indecent means to obtain them.

I’m voting no in March. If I had the power, I wouldn’t vote for any more casinos in Iowa.

I care too much for losers.

l Kurt Rogahn, onetime reporter and assistant opinion page editor of The Gazette, is a senior proposal writer for Pearson Education in Iowa City. The views are his own. Comments: Kurt.Rogahn@hotmail.com

http://thegazette.com/2013/01/13/casinos-are-mostly-about-losing/

Super Rugby star confronts gambling addiction

Willie Ripia's road to recovery from gambling

Super Rugby star confronts gambling

DAVID LONG
26/08/2012

PETER MEECHAM/Fairfax NZ

WILLIE RIPIA: “It is a troubling illness and,

at the same time, I am more than ashamed with

what I've done, and I don't think there is one

word that can explain how embarrassed and

sorry I am and also the shame I have brought

on myself and more so my family."

Eight months ago, Willie Ripia's world collapsed around him. Yesterday, he took another step towards rebuilding his career and life.

In an exclusive interview, the former Super Rugby player has told of how he is coming back from the hell of gambling addiction.

Ripia, who turned 27 on Monday, spoke to Sunday News at his family home in Rotorua earlier this week. He bravely opened up about his ordeal, to apologise for the pain the habit has caused those around him - and to thank loved ones, and even strangers, for their unyielding support in turning his life around.

Ripia, who is in counselling for problem gambling, said: "The hardest thing is to admit you've got an addiction."

“It is a troubling illness and, at the same time, I am more than ashamed with what I've done, and I don't think there is one word that can explain how embarrassed and sorry I am and also the shame I have brought on myself and more so my family," the former Hurricanes first-five said.

“This is going to be with me for the rest of my life, whether I like it or not, and I'm always going to have people that put me down for it.

“At the same time, there have been people that I don't know really supporting me, whether they've been affected by it, or they love the sport and the people that play it."

In January, Ripia resigned from the Western Force after being confronted with CCTV footage of him at the Super Rugby franchise's Perth changing rooms. Players had earlier complained to management alleging money being taken from their wallets and bags.

Ripia, who had even planned on qualifying to play for Australia, instead retreated to the safety of his family in Rotorua, seeking help and guidance.

Yesterday he turned out for the Bay of Plenty development team against Taranaki in Mt Maunganui.

“You get that little itch and feeling that you're back,” he said.

“I guess it was initially tough with them [Bay of Plenty] not knowing me, other than what happened.

“It will be interesting what happens in the next few weeks.

“I am fortunate that the coaches have given me the opportunity to play. They could have easily said no.”

Ripia was a star first-five throughout his career. He represented New Zealand at under-19 and under-21 level and also played for NZ Maori.

He played 29 games for the Hurricanes and one for the Highlanders before moving to the Force in 2011.

At the Force, Ripia was the key playmaker in a side that included superstars David Pocock and James O'Connor, and the plan was that once he had been with the team for three years he would be eligible for the Wallabies.

But then, everything turned upside down.

Following months of turmoil, Ripia only now felt the time was right to tell his story.

“I haven't gambled for eight months now, which is great, but it's continually going to be with me for the rest of my life,” Ripia said.

“For the whole of my professional career I've had this.

“I played four years of Super Rugby and the whole of that time I was a problem gambler.

“It isn't easy to play rugby, thinking, ‘S..., I've lost a lot of money today' while I'm about to take a kick in front of 20,000 people.

“This wasn't for a year or two, it was my whole career and that's me spending a lot of what I earned as soon as I could get it.

“It's something that happens to not only professional sportsmen, this is something that affects so many people."

Ripia said it was a gradual process that led him to become addicted to gambling.

“Growing up, I was the person who said I'm not going to do that, that's only what idiots do,” he said.
“When I started five or six years ago, I dabbled in it and it became a recreational thing . . .

“Over the years it progressed to be something . . . [I] did every day.

“When I moved to Perth it was so easy to do. You wake up at 7am and the New Zealand trots start and you go to sleep at 11pm and the South African and English trots are happening.

“It did start off with pokies. I've always hated cards and I'm useless at them. But I'm useless at gambling in general.

“It primarily became horses, it was a quick fix for me and especially in Australia.

“I lost quite a lot. I lost everything really and it got so bad that I couldn't control it."

But Ripia said even people close to him wouldn't have realised the extent of his problem.

“It is harder to identify who is a gambler, compared to who is a drug addict or an alcoholic, because you don't show the physical signs.

“You get real good at hiding what's really going on.

“I found out that life is all about perception and I found that gamblers are really good at throwing a
certain perception out there, but when you get caught, man, s... hits the fan.

“It [problem gambling] is something that's not addressed as much as it could [be]. I'm not saying gambling should be banned because some people do it for fun and some people make a living from it, but there are the other people and families [who] get ruined."

Ripia is intelligent. He comes from a good and loving family and - as the number of photos of him on their walls bears testament - one which is proud of his achievements.

Ripia regrets the hurt he's caused them and he regrets not seeking help for his addiction earlier.

“The whole way through it I knew it was wrong, but I was immersed in it so much that I couldn't say that,” he said.

“I definitely knew gambling was wrong, it was just that it was so hard to stop.

"I never talked to anyone about it and that's the worst thing that happened, I never got to express how I felt about it.

“When I was doing it I couldn't sleep at night, I wasn't the person I'd grown up to be. I got myself in a hole and I'm still in a hole and it's hard to pull myself out of that.

“It overpowered the right in my life, all of it. I'm paying for it and that's the terrible thing.

“I knew that things hit the fan and I ruined my rugby career, my respect from players and my respect from everyone and that's huge in life if you don't have respect.”

But Ripia did eventually seek help, including intensive counselling for problem gambling. The counselling continues.

Those helping him in his courageous comeback include his family, friends, NZ Rugby Players Association, his manager, Kent Hale, and the rugby community at large. Ripia hopes people can learn from his story, and that others caught in the grip of the addiction seek help.

"Saying to someone that you need help is the hardest thing you could ever say if you're a problem gambler,” he said.

“With gambling, I'd been away from my family for four years, I never watched my younger brothers play, and I regret all of that.

“I never spent time with family and friends, I was doing everything by myself because I didn't want anyone to know. Coming back and having to try to do that was hard, saying hello to someone I've known all of my life was hard.

“The first three or four months was hard and I would never wish how I felt on anyone.

“It is always going to be different for me than a person who's not on TV. I can't walk out with my head held high and look at people because I know it's human thought that they're going to think about what I've done.

“It's still hard, I'm not going to lie, it's hard saying hello to people.

“But there is nothing like friends and family and that's where I am now, I have family and friends.

"I've had to change how I was and it's hard for me to change.

"I have to continually show how much of a different person I am and how much I want to change, how much I want to continually become a better person and push on with my life.”

Gambling Helpline - 0800 654655


http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/7550289/Willie-Ripias-road-to-recovery-from-gambling

Doing the math in Antioch!

Sucking money from poor communities and local Gambling Addicts is just beginning as Illinois steps forward.

Wonder if they'll figure out that each Slot Machine permanently removes + 1 JOB from the local economy?

Antioch officials divided over video gaming

By Diana Kuyper Special to the news-sun

August 17, 2012

ANTIOCH — Village residents have one more opportunity Monday night to voice their opposition or support of video gaming.

The Village Board will make a final decision on an ordinance that would allow up to five video gambling machines per liquor-pouring business, with 5 percent of the proceeds to be allocated to Antioch.

The Village Board is divided on the issue, with trustees Mary Dominiak and George Sakas against legalizing the newest form of gambling sanctioned by the state.

Before the final vote is cast at Monday’s Village Board meeting, Dominiak wanted to clarify the level of gambling revenue it would take to generate a modest return for the village.

“It would take $2 million of betting to generate $20,000 for the village,” said Dominiak, correcting a $400,000 figure that was published earlier this week as the betting needed to generate $20,000.

She said $400,000 would be the net terminal income from that $2 million, or the revenue that would be shared among the municipality, the state, the business and the terminal operator.

“The amount of $400,000 is player losses. Every $1 the village receives results from $20 in gambling losses. I use the example that if the village were to receive $20,000 in tax, that would equal $400,000 in losses.

“I think these are important points that need to be clarified. First, the magnitude of betting required is basically 100 times what the village would receive and secondly, and most importantly, that the tax that the village would receive, no matter what the amount, is based on people who don’t necessarily have money to lose, losing 20 times what we would receive.”

There are 16 Antioch businesses, including the VFW, that qualify for installation of up to five machines, for use by ages 21 and up, that will be regulated by the Illinois Gaming Board.

Village Administrator James Keim said seven establishments have indicated to village staff they will seek a gaming license if the village board approves the ordinance Monday night.

http://newssun.suntimes.com/news/14553018-418/antioch-officials-divided-over-video-gaming.html

Municipal bankruptcies

From: NoPlainvilleRacino ‎

"San Bernadino files for bankruptcy as officials admit to 'cash flow issue' "

San Bernadino, California has a casino right in the city. Mammoth Lakes, California — with a casino about fifteen miles down the road — filed for bankruptcy last week.

Detroit is headed for bankruptcy, and it has three casinos.

Stockton, California filed for bankruptcy last month. That city has a casino, "card clubs", ...and three other casinos from fifteen to fifty miles away.

Do you suppose the economic multipliers — the effects of consumer spending flowing through the economy — might have felt the impact of predatory gambling in those cities? When you lose consumer activity, when money is spent in casinos and slot parlors instead of buying food, clothing, cars, refrigerators, etc., the economy of a town or city is bound to slow. If $100,000 spent in slot machines results in $300,000 in economic losses, it only stands to reason that cities with predatory gambling facilities are having to turn to bankruptcy when they can't balance the books.

The gambling "industry" doesn't create wealth; it simply transfers money from the less well-off , poor people and seniors to the already wealthy. You can't build a healthy, vibrant economy on taking from the poor and giving to the rich.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/11/san-bernadino-bankruptcy-cash-flow




 

Slot machines are programmed for (their) profit

By Steve Siegel

Published:June 10, 2012

All but the most brazenly optimistic gamblers entertain the possibility that they may lose money at a casino. Therefore, gamblers usually approach the activity with a certain degree of optimism that “today might be my lucky day.” That attitude may be justified if you are engaging in games where skill is a factor — say black jack — but may be based upon false assumptions if you are playing a legally rigged game such as slots.

Slots machines are legally rigged in that the operator precisely sets the pay-out for the machines, guaranteeing that they keep a predictable portion of each dollar that a gambler wages. Looked at another way, the operators can guarantee that collectively their customers will lose a certain amount of money and that the casino will make a desired profit.

To illustrate this point, we need look no further than the more than 7,500 slot machines in the three casinos operated in Western New York by the Seneca Gaming Commission, and the New York State Lottery run casino in Hamburg.

Latest yearly data from both entities shows that approximately $7.16 billion of gamblers’ money passed through these slot machines. Of this amount, the two entities collectively kept $579.6 million. This means that the machines as a group were programmed to keep approximately 8 percent of the gamblers money played over a period of time.

The gaming industry has one of the simplest and most effective business plans imaginable. To illustrate utilizing the actual data above, if the commission and the lottery had forecasted that $7.16 billion would have been played at their slots during the yearly periods in question (which happened) and then proceeded to program the machines to collectively keep 8 percent (which they did), this guaranteed that their customers would collectively lose approximately $580 million (which happened) before any gambler even walked in the door for that fiscal year.

Under the above scenario, for every additional penny that the casinos might program the machines to keep, gambler losses for any given year would be guaranteed to go up by approximately $72 million. The commission has no legal requirement to report the odds of losing because it is no longer required to file a Securities and Exchange Commission report. The state lottery website has the information available, but only as part of complex reports.

Perhaps the Seneca Gaming Commission as well as the New York State Lottery, as a public service, should post a warning at the entrance of each casino and on each slot machine: “Warning, habitual long-term use of the slot machines will result in losses of approximately 8 percent of all money wagered.”

Don’t bet on it.

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial-page/from-our-readers/another-voice/article896276.ece

Robo Dealers

Predatory Gambling is promoted based on whatever the local market of short-sighted politicians and local 'suckers' will believe.

In Massachusetts, they were just as blinded by phony promises as New York.

Wait until you see this one! Automated Gambling will suck discretionary income out of the local economy faster and create Gambling Addicts faster.

When the Gambling Industry speak of the 'technological changes,' this is part of what they mean - eliminating EMPLOYEES!




From: Kim Shea --
Robot dealers in a Queens Casino -- Huh....Didn't I just recently hear about a recent field trip Cedric Cromwell and Mayor Hoye took to a Queens casino - to use as a comparison for the Taunton casino? I wonder if it was this one.....

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New York City’s Massive First Casino Is Staffed by Robot DealersNew York City’s Massive First Casino Is Staffed by Robot Dealers

New York City’s Massive First Casino Is Staffed by Robot Dealers

By Sam Biddle

Oct 28, 2011

By Sam Biddle

Oct 28, 2011 8:37 AM   Post-9/11, New York State legislators decided an enormous casino, opening today, would help the devastated economy. Unfortunately, some pesky laws prohibiting gaming got in the way. No problem! Just replace all the humans with robots. It's like Vegas on Mars.

Well, not Mars—Queens, actually. But the combination of requisite casino artificial light and robot card-dealing arms might make you feel like you're aboard a space station. Not everyone is happy, the NYT reports—the usual casinos are good for the economy versus casinos are a social ill (not mutually exclusive?) argument persists. But I'm wondering what kind of anti-cheating mechanisms a massive casino without human dealers will have in place. The number of carbon based enforcers peering over your shoulder will explode compared to a normal gaming joint, even with cameras pointed in every which direction. Will lasers be involved? I have a feeling I'll find out for myself soon. [Resorts World Casino New York City via NYT]

Post-9/11, New York State legislators decided an enormous casino, opening today, would help the devastated economy. Unfortunately, some pesky laws prohibiting gaming got in the way. No problem! Just replace all the humans with robots. It's like Vegas on Mars.

Well, not Mars—Queens, actually. But the combination of requisite casino artificial light and robot card-dealing arms might make you feel like you're aboard a space station. Not everyone is happy, the NYT reports—the usual casinos are good for the economy versus casinos are a social ill (not mutually exclusive?) argument persists. But I'm wondering what kind of anti-cheating mechanisms a massive casino without human dealers will have in place. The number of carbon based enforcers peering over your shoulder will explode compared to a normal gaming joint, even with cameras pointed in every which direction. Will lasers be involved? I have a feeling I'll find out for myself soon. [Resorts World Casino New York City via NYT]

http://gizmodo.com/5854178/new-york-citys-massive-first-casino-is-staffed-by-robot-dealers

Luring you in

The Pennsylvania residents' losses are staggering and haven't yet solved the state's fiscal disaster, yet the Slot Barns are offering targeted comps such as 'free play' to lure in NEW Gamblers and create NEW Gambling Addicts.

Note those 'comps' are cost-free, tax-free to the Slot Barn. Pennsylvania's tax is 55%, yet Massachusetts is 25%.

Those $$$ spent in local businesses would generate the desired sustainable economic development.

The following is not offered as a promotion, just an attempt to share what some folks fancy is sensible fiscal policy --


Slot fans, casinos in midst of 'golden age of free play'
By Mark Gruetze, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, April 6, 2012


The offers abound at casino after casino -- free slot play here, free slot play there, free slot play everywhere, it seems.

Most slot fans relish the gifts. They're able to enjoy a few spins at no cost and maybe cash out with a profit. Casinos can enjoy the free play, too; like the sale-priced Easter ham at the supermarket, free play attracts many customers who spend more than they save.

Casinos and players are in the "golden age" of free play, says Andrew Klebanow, a principal with Gaming Market Advisors, a gaming research and consulting firm in Las Vegas. Casinos award more free play than any other form of "player reinvestment," including free meals, hotel rooms and entertainment tickets, he says.

The amount of free play awarded by Pennsylvania casinos has climbed consistently since legal slots debuted in November 2006. Hollywood Casino in Dauphin County, which uses the least free play among the state's 10 major casinos, issued $19.6 million worth in the first nine months of the 2011-12 fiscal year -- an average of more than $500,000 a week. Sands Bethlehem issued $89.3 million, or more than $2 million a week.

Typically, free play is loaded onto a customer's players club card; the player converts it to game credits by inserting the card into a slot machine. Players can't cash out the free play itself; they may cash out any winnings from it.

Some casinos use free play instead of cash-back programs. Slot players accumulate points as they play, and with cash-back, they could redeem the points for money. But casinos couldn't be sure whether that money went back into the machine, was spent elsewhere in the casino or stayed in players' wallets.

Now, those points are converted to free play, which must be put through the machine. Casinos also offer free play in mailers, tournaments and promotions such as drawings.

Astute casinos have specific reasons for their mailed free-play offers, says Jeffrey Compton, executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports in New York.

"You don't send it out, because customers earned it," he says. "You send it out with a goal in mind."

For example, a casino might want to draw more customers from a specific ZIP code or drum up traffic on slow nights. Maybe some players are more likely than others to spend their own money after running free play through the machine.

Compton and Klebanow say casinos can hurt themselves with excessive offers.

"If you give too much free play, it reduces the share of the wallet you're going to get from a customer," because players budget both time and money for a casino visit, Klebanow says.

Casinos can reduce their costs by using free play in place of prizes such as cars. Free play is not taxable to casinos -- at least not yet, Klebanow says. Although rules vary by jurisdiction, players typically have to pay taxes only on their winnings from free play.

John Stone, vice president of client services for CDC Consulting in Las Vegas, says high-rollers sometimes receive thousands of dollars in free play as an inducement to gamble at a specific casino. In some areas, the slot machine hold percentage has dropped dramatically because of such free-play deals, he says.

Low-rollers can learn how to qualify for additional free play, says Compton, author of the "The Las Vegas Advisor Guide to Slot Clubs," published in 1995 and one of the first books to tell players how to get the most out of players club offerings.

"Every place I know of bases (free play) on how much you play," he says. "Keep a record of how much handle you put through on what day and what time, and see how your free play ties in."

For example, a player at a $1 video poker machine has a "handle," or total wagers, of $3,000 in an hour of play, based on a rate of one hand every 6 seconds and a bet of $5 per hand.

Players also should note the "lapse time," or the period between their play and the free-play offer.

"Chat up the people at the booth and see what they know about it," Compton says. "Any player trying to save money but still play should make it a goal to know more about the club than the people in the booth do."

Check for extra benefits, such as discounts at outside businesses or a monthly car wash.

And enjoy the free play when you get it. You never know when the golden age will end.



Money trail

Slot players lost a record $233.1 million at Pennsylvania casinos during March, the Gaming Control Board reported this week. That's 8.5 percent more than the March 2011 total of $214.9 million. The state's previous record for slot revenue was $218.3 million in July 2011.

The state gets 55 percent of that gross slot revenue, or what's left of players' wagers after all jackpots are paid. Since the fiscal year started in July, slots have paid out at a 90.05 percent rate; for every $100 put in, the machines return $90.05.

Payout rates for Western Pennsylvania casinos:

•89.85%: Rivers; gross slot revenue in March was $26.7 million, up from $24.31 million last year.
•89.78%: Meadows; gross slot revenue in March was $22.81 million, up from $22.44 million last year.
•90.44%: Presque Isle in Erie; gross slot revenue in March was $15.04 million, up from $14.71 million last year.

About the writer
Mark Gruetze has been a recreational gambler for more than 30 years, focusing on blackjack, video poker and poker. He is administrative editor of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Read more: Slot fans, casinos in midst of 'golden age of free play' - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/s_790232.html#ixzz1rUCLGJSB

Massachusetts: Lost Local Businesses

Officials fear casinos could kill local theaters
Music acts could be lured away
By Johanna Seltz

The South Shore Music Circus cut its season short this summer because of Tropical Storm Irene, but local officials worry that resort casinos coming to the state could inflict more lasting damage to the 60-year-old entertainment venue by sweeping away its acts.

“From the Legislature’s perspective, the whole casino bill is being proclaimed as an economic development package - and we need to ensure that it remains just that, and not an economic destruction package,’’ said Cohasset Town Manager Michael Coughlin.

The South Shore Music Circus - a theater in the round under a tent - “drives the engine of the local economy,’’ Coughlin said. “People come into Cohasset for a show, they’re filling up at the local gas station, buying things in our convenience stores and supermarkets, going to our restaurants. On more than one occasion people move here because they saw an act [at the Music Circus] and fell in love with the community.

“We truly need that to be protected from the great sucking sound that could be a large casino,’’ he said.

The fear is that smaller theaters, like the South Shore Music Circus or the Cape Cod Melody Tent, won’t be able to compete for bookings with the casinos, which can afford to pay entertainers far more because their shows don’t need to make money, said Ted Carr, chairman of the Cohasset selectmen. Instead, they’re used to draw people to the casinos for the core business of gambling, he said.

The shows are “a loss leader for them, a tool to get people in,’’ said Troy Siebels, executive director of the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts in Worcester. “The dollars are earned at the tables.

“We already are losing business to Connecticut casinos and our concern is, if there are three more [in Massachusetts], it could be the end of us.’’

The local performance centers have banded together to lobby for protections in the casino legislation before the Legislature. The goal is to limit the number of seats in casino theaters so they’re either very small or so large that places like the Music Circus couldn’t afford to bid for those acts anyway, according to Vincent Longo, chief operating officer of both the South Shore Music Circus and Cape Cod Melody Tent. Both theaters have about 2,250 seats.

“It just levels the field slightly,’’ he said. “The casinos don’t have most of the money; they have all of the money.’’

The Performing Arts Center Coalition wants to restrict casino theaters to less than 500 seats or more than 5,000. Longo said House members appeared to favor limits of less than 1,000 seats and more than 3,500. The Senate still has to weigh in on the issue.

“It’s not a perfect solution,’’ Siebels said. “There will certainly still be instances where [the casinos] take an act away, but they won’t do it 200 times a year.’’

But Larry Bonoff, former owner of Rhode Island’s Warwick Musical Theatre, worried that the protections might not be enough. His theater closed in 1999 - the land now houses a Lowes home improvement store - six years after Foxwoods Casino Resort in Connecticut opened its 1,500-seat Fox Theater with a performance by Frank Sinatra.

“My venue was 3,300 seats, and they built a venue half the size and offered twice the money,’’ Bonoff recalled. “The loyalty of the acts can only go so far. It becomes impossible to compete against.’’

The South Shore Music Theater, which employs 105 people each summer, is owned by a nonprofit organization, South Shore Playhouse Associates. But it voluntarily pays Cohasset about $32,000 in property taxes annually, according to town records.

A Chicken in Every Pot, A Casino in Every Corner!

As a resident of New York, I witnessed the devastation caused to 'low income communities' with the introduction of OTB - Off Track Betting - designed to suck disposable income out of minority communities, instead of sound fiscal policy.

And now in a stellar move to expand the devastation, the New York Governor jumps on board the Yellow Brick Road!

The Folly of Expanded Gambling is evident. The costs are so high, you simply can't stop expanding to cover the costs of Gambling Addiction.

Folks: Wake up!



NY Gov.’s casino comments raise Mass. eyebrows

Advocates and foes of casino gambling in Massachusetts are keeping a closer eye on New York after Gov. Andrew Cuomo raised the possibility of licensing casinos in the neighboring state.

Cuomo said Tuesday that New York is actively looking at plans to legalize commercial, non-Indian casinos as part of a comprehensive gambling plan.

Cuomo’s comments come as Massachusetts lawmakers are struggling to draft their own casino plan.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray hope to unveil a bill next month after a proposal to license three casinos collapsed last year over the issue of slot machines at race tracks.

Former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger said Cuomo’s comments demonstrate the inevitable pressure on states to keep expanding gambling operations.

New York already has Indian-operated casinos and electronic slot machines at horse tracks.

Gladys Knight discusses beating her Gambling Addiction

Excerpts from:

The Sunday Conversation: Gladys Knight
The 'Empress of Soul' discusses .... beating a gambling addiction.


I read that many years ago you kicked a gambling addiction. Does that make living in Las Vegas where you can't go to the laundromat without hearing bells a challenge?

I don't hear them anymore. I really don't. I feel so blessed. And I always have to bring this element into whatever I do. I have a faith that's unbendable as far as my Lord and Savior is concerned. I try to go in the way I'm supposed to go, and if I fall short, I ask for help. I got into gambling when I was playing a casino. I was a hermit in those days. I would go onstage, go to my room, or if we had to travel, I'd get in a car or a plane, whatever. But I didn't do anything. One day, this friend of mine said, "Do you want to play some blackjack?" So I started playing, and I enjoyed it. I started spending my time doing that. And you're talking about a dollar table. And I remember when I graduated up to $20. And when my kids got in college — I'm telling you the real deal — I had gone through a nasty divorce, I spent over a million dollars looking for my son after he got kidnapped. And I was broke.

When was that?

Thirty years ago because he's 33 now.

And how long was he gone?

Five or six months.

How did you get him back?

Well, let me see. Can I tell that? Let's just say it was a covert operation. But I spent a whole lot of money doing it. All of it, as a matter of fact. But I didn't care. It was my baby. I was broke and yes, I had to go to work double-time, but it was OK with me.

When they got to college, it was really hard for me, so if they called me for something — like, "I need books" — I would play, and I would win. And you should never win. Winning is how they get you. Because you think you'll win everything, and you won't. And I just woke up one day and said this don't make no sense. I had gotten $2,000. And within 25, 30 minutes, I had won 60 grand. And I sat right at that table and gave every dime of it back. And I just got sick at the table. And I got up, went to the phone and called Gamblers Anonymous. And the lady on the phone said, "Where are you? We'll come get you." That was about 15, 20 years ago. And I went to one meeting. That was all I had to go to.

Estimates Problem Gambling Costs $4.7 Billion a Year

Pro-pokie campaign not worth a punt
By Ben Peterson

I was as worried as anyone when I wandered down to my local pub to find a poster over the door announcing the government was trying to shut it down.

In their national campaign against proposed changes to poker machine use, Clubs Australia and the Australian Hotel Association (AHA) say “some bloke in Tasmania” (Independent MP Andrew Wilkie) is trying to push through laws that will bankrupt our pubs, destroy our communities and put us all under more government surveillance.

As well as posters and coasters in pubs, Clubs Australia and the AHA have run TV commercials. The commercials explain the threat is not just to those who want a punt, but to our very way of life — it’s un-Australian.

So naturally I went home and investigated the matter, ready to go off to war against those evil bureaucrats in Canberra. But to my surprise (and relief) I couldn't find any trace of a wowser inspired assault on society.

What is actually being proposed is not a 1984-style assault on our civil liberties. What’s proposed is a system of self-regulation for poker machine users, in that you set your own limits to how much you gamble.

It’s limited to poker machines, not other forms of betting. There’s no talk of a government register or surveillance.

Contrary to the hysterical screams of industry executives, no one is trying to stop me putting a tenner on the Bulldogs for the footy on Saturdays (although the way they’ve been playing, someone probably should).

The government isn’t going to kick down your door and confiscate the sweep when you have the neighbours round to watch the race on cup day. “That bloke in Tassie” has nothing against you having a casual punt.

The inspiration behind all this is that we need to find ways to help problem gamblers.

What’s proposed is a targeted system. To play the slots you will need to get a card or sign in (like you would to have a meal at my local club) and set a limit on how much you’re willing to lose before you start playing.

This doesn’t target the regular punter. This is meant to help those who are problem gamblers. People who are struggling with gambling problems can then limit their losses, and not get caught up in the game and extend their stay.

The reality is that gambling addiction is a serious problem. The government estimates the social cost of problem gambling adds up to $4.7 billion a year.

Up to half a million Australians are at risk of becoming, or already are, problem gamblers. One in six people who regularly play the pokies is a problem gambler, and three quarters of problem gamblers have issues with poker machines.

Contrary to the popular myth, problem gambling is something that affects Australian youth. Gamblers aged 18-24 lose more on poker machines than any other group.

Problem gambling is a social issue that affects millions of Australians. The proposed regulation will go some way to helping ease that problem. Why then the hysterics?

Turns out gambling is a rather profitable business. Pokies alone generate about $12 billion a year for their owners (which isn't really surprising as they're programmed so that it’s impossible for you to win). That’s big money.

For those at the winners’ end of the spectrum, that’s 12 billion reasons to stick with the status quo.

Twelve billion dollars is a huge amount of money that goes out of community pockets and into the hands of private businesses, often big corporations.

The gambling lobby tries to present this as something that will hurt local community groups. But the biggest venues for pokies machines, (that generate the biggest annual profit) are the casinos, such as Melbourne Crown casino, which is the largest casino in the southern hemisphere.

Crown boasts a gaming space that covers an area equal to more than two city blocks. In 2009/10, Crown casino ran at a profit of $288.4 million, which doesn't go back into community projects such as may be the case with some sports clubs, but into the hands of shareholders.

Even something as simple as taking measures that can help problem gamblers cuts into this very lucrative business, and those profiting from it don't want that. It’s pure old-fashioned greed.

It’s not often that the government will pick a winner. It's even rarer to see the government go against such a huge and profitable industry. These laws, if they can get up, could have a real impact on reducing problem gambling and its social cost.

However, if we want to see problem gambling reduced even further, we need to see further regulations.

Let’s ban advertising for gambling, in the same way smoking ads are banned. This would have a dramatic effect.

We could apply loss restrictions to the pokies, so people can only lose a certain amount in any sitting. Regulations could be placed on the odds of the machines, to put punters closer to a level footing.

There’s a lot we can do, and a lot that needs to be done. But the one thing that's a sure bet is that if these changes were ever proposed they would be fought tooth and nail by the industry.

Any affront to power, like the one being proposed by “that bloke in Tassie”, will be dependent on our ability as a community to understand it and rally around that cause.

We need to campaign and build alternative bases of power based in our communities that can push back against the pressure of industry groups.

Without that, real social progress draws some pretty long odds.

Priest expected to admit church funds theft of $300,000

Attorney: Priest expected to admit church funds theft
By Art Barnum
Tribune reporter

A Roman Catholic priest accused of stealing more than $300,000 from the collection plates of his Roselle parish to support his gambling addiction is expected to plead guilty Thursday to theft.

The Rev. John F. Regan, 47, the former pastor of St. Walter Parish, is expected to enter a blind plea to a single count of theft, his attorney, John Donahue, told DuPage Judge John Kinsella today.

A blind plea means no sentence has been agreed upon by the prosecutors and defense. Kinsella will sentence Regan at a future hearing. The crime of theft over $100,000 carries a 4- to 15-year prison sentence, but a defendant is also eligible for probation.

A jury trial for Regan was scheduled to begin Monday. Regan, who is out of jail on $100,000 bond, wasn't in the Wheaton courtroom today, but he has been present at regular court calls the past two years. Court records show that he had spent 10 days in the county jail after being charged.

A priest since 1989, Regan was removed as pastor of St. Walter in 2008 when officials of the Joliet Diocese became aware of financial irregularities within the parish. At the time, a diocesan spokesman said that misappropriations were “related to gambling” and that Regan had an “apparent gambling addiction.” Regan has since received treatment, church officials said, and is living in a parish in Shorewood.

According to a February 2009 indictment, Regan took cash and personal check offerings made to the church from August 2006 through July 2008. He placed the funds into an account he opened named "Church of St. Walter Special Needs Account." His name was the only name listed on the account. He then took funds from that account and moved them into his personal account at a different bank, the indictment charges.

Then, according to the indictment, he withdrew funds at ATM machines at riverboat casinos and also used the money to make personal purchases and credit cards payments.

He was indicted for theft over $100,000 from a place of worship, a continuing financial crimes enterprise and money laundering, which carried a potential prison sentence of up to 30 years.

Simply withhold negative Gambling information

When you don't like the results of a report on the Socioeconomic effects of Gambling, you simply withhold the report.

Opposition asks NDP to release gambling study

MLAs remind government of its past pleas
By DAVID JACKSON Provincial Reporter

The freedom of information officer, Dulcie McCallum, said this week the government should release the document on the socioeconomic effects of gambling.

Opposition MLAs appealed to the Dexter government to release a gambling study Thursday, reminding the NDP of its past attempts to pry information from the government of the day.

The government has refused for more than a year to release work from Alberta consultant Mark Anielski on the socio-economic impacts of gambling. The province’s freedom of information review officer, Dulcie McCallum, said in a decision this week that the government should release the document.

Liberal gaming critic Leo Glavine noted during question period Thursday at Province House that Finance Minister Graham Steele was the lawyer for Dan O’Connor, Premier Darrell Dexter’s chief of staff, and Shawn Fuller, Dexter’s director of communications, in court battles over information requests going back a decade. At the time, the NDP was in opposition, and the Tories were in power.

Glavine said that while in government, the NDP has changed direction.

"We all deserve better than a government which hides opinions and facts it disagrees with. The NDP have ushered in a new era of controlled secrecy and manipulation, a level of which the Harper government would be envious."

New Democrat ministers have said Anielski’s work was flawed and incomplete, while he suspects the study has been kept under wraps because of information on social problems linked to video lottery terminals and casino slot machines. Tory gaming critic Keith Bain said the public should be allowed to see the report and then decide if there was a problem with the methodology.

Labour and Advanced Education Minister Marilyn More, whose department has the draft report, said the government is considering McCallum’s decision. "This government continues to value transparency and accountability, but at the same time, we do not want to be irresponsible," More said.

Glavine said he thinks public pressure could be a factor in getting the government to release the document.

The government has until May 8 to respond to McCallum’s decision. The decision was in response to requests from The Canadian Press and the group GameOverVLTs.com.

If the government refuses to comply, those organizations would have the option of pursuing the issue in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

Anielski submitted the draft report in June 2009. He said he was told in December 2009 that his contract had been terminated, a day after sending an invoice.

He was paid $144,000, but the government refused to pay the rest of what he was owed under his $212,000 contract.

Recovery from gambling addiction is a process

Recovery from gambling addiction is a process

Several Oklahoma organizations teamed up to host a free workshop in Edmond to provide information and resources related to problem gambling. Representatives and people who have had gambling addictions spoke about resources for coping and recovery.

BY DARLA SLIPKE Oklahoman

After a 32-hour gambling binge, Jeff Aynes contemplated making the ultimate gamble.

He parked his van on the side of a cliff along a winding road between Oklahoma City and Dallas on the morning of Feb. 10, 2006. He prayed it would look like an accident when he drove over the edge so his wife and two daughters could collect life insurance.



Two days earlier, Aynes was headed home from working as a disc jockey at a wedding in Elk City. The weather was bad, so Aynes called his wife and told her he was going to pull over. He didn’t tell her he was about to stop at a casino.

Aynes was a compulsive gambler, but he was getting help. At that point, it had been 90 days since he last gambled.

During the next 32 hours, Aynes visited eight casinos spread from Tulsa to Goldsby. He ignored dozens of calls from friends and family.

Aynes was winning, which made him angry. In his mind, he didn’t deserve to win. He was a loser. So he resolved to keep gambling until he lost. After the winnings were gone, Aynes kept playing until he had lost everything else.

He doesn’t remember how he got from that last casino to the curve in the road where he parked his van. He’s not even sure which casino he left last. Everything was a daze. Somehow, Aynes drove to that spot near the Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center in the Arbuckle Mountains, where he had gone before when he was depressed about gambling losses. This time he was set on driving over the edge.

The road was narrow and winding, which is why Aynes prayed his suicide would look like an accident. God didn’t listen. At least not to Aynes.


Raising awareness
On Saturday, Aynes, 43, discussed this problem and road to recovery during a workshop for people affected by problem gambling. About two dozen people attended the event, held at Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Edmond.
Representatives from local organizations and several people who are coping with gambling problems spoke about overcoming addiction.

Gambling problems affect people of all ages and backgrounds. Many Oklahomans have lost their savings, marriages, jobs and homes.

About 200,000 Oklahomans — close to 5 percent of the population — are considered problem or pathological gamblers. Oklahoma has 111 casinos and ranks third in the nation for number of slot machines with 64,000, said Wiley Harwell, executive director of the Oklahoma Association for Problem and Compulsive Gambling.

Compulsive gamblers often are fueled by the adrenaline rush that comes with hitting a jackpot. It keeps them chasing after their next high. Many lie to their families and hide their finances.

People can seek help in a variety of ways, said Susie Harrigan, a therapist at A Chance to Change.

“There’s more than one way to climb up a mountain,” she said. “Everybody has their own way.”

A Chance to Change is a nonprofit organization based in Oklahoma City that helps people suffering from addictions and behavioral disorders and their family members. Among other services, the organization offers $5 counseling sessions for qualifying individuals.

Harrigan discussed the many stages that problem gamblers and their families go through. They include denial, codependence, anger and guilt.


A gambler’s story
Dorothy Grimes, of Choctaw, knows the stages well. Grimes, 60, gambled for years, but her problems escalated when casinos became big in Oklahoma. Grimes hit a low on her 39th wedding anniversary in September 2006.
Her husband worked nights at Tinker Air Force Base. On the afternoon of their anniversary, Grimes headed to the casino while her husband slept and went to work.

She gambled all night and felt guilty for squandering her family’s hard-earned money. Grimes managed the family’s finances so her husband wouldn’t notice.

Less than two months later, she went back to the casino and won big. Within a two- or three-week period, Grimes had recovered enough money to pay her debts. Instead, she bought a ring and a refrigerator and gambled the rest. Eventually the money ran out.

Grimes sought help. Recovery is an ongoing process, she said. Her husband, children and grandchildren have supported her. Grimes’ husband is at retirement age, but he will keep working for several years because Grimes refinanced their home.

The temptation hasn’t disappeared completely, but Grimes is determined to choose recovery over gambling.


The road to recovery
On the morning of Feb. 10, 2006, Aynes is convinced that God listened to prayers from his family.
Instead of driving over the edge, Aynes noticed the birds chirping and the trees around him.

He thought about his wife and daughters.

Aynes decided to take responsibility for his recovery. Later that night, he went to a support meeting. This time he was ready. He knew he needed to go through the steps for himself, not for others.

Next month, Aynes will celebrate five years in recovery. He gets to be a father to his daughters, ages 11 and 17.

Aynes wishes he could have back the time he lost, but he knows he can’t escape the past. Instead, he focuses on the future and celebrates his victories.

“If my story helps one person, it makes a difference,” he said.

Alabama jurors: Have your every won or lost gambling?

Jurors: Have your every won or lost gambling?

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The casino operators, legislators and lobbyists facing trial April 4 in Alabama's gambling corruption case want the potential jurors to be questioned about their views of gambling, the Legislature and lobbyists.

An attorney for VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor filed the request in federal court Friday on behalf of most of the defendants in the case.

He wants potential jurors to say whether they have ever won or lost at a gambling establishment and whether they won or lost enough to change their lifestyle. He also wants to know if they think the Legislature is honest or dishonest and whether lobbyists help or hurt the political system.

The defendants want the judge to approve the questions so they can use the information when picking a jury for the trial.


Documents posted here:
Defendants in Gambling Corruption Trial Petition Court to Draw Jury Names at Random, Court sets Hearing Date

John S Keppy

MONTGOMERY: Defendants in the U.S. v McGregor trial petitioned the court to allow potential juror names to be drawn on a random basis from names in the entire Middle District of Alabama court instead of just the north district. The petition below is from James Pruitt and is similar to petitions submitted by other defendants.

Judge Myron Thompson has set a hearing date of February 9th, 2011 to hear arguments.

Not 'all roses'

New casino may not be 'all roses'


Gambling experts caution a new casino in Ford Heights may not be "all roses" as some lawmakers presume, pointing to a listless economy that has some Indiana casinos in bankruptcy and others in Illinois bringing in less money.

Illinois legislators are weighing a plan to add four casinos, including one in Ford Heights, as well as allow thousands of new slot machines at racetracks and expand the number of gambling terminals at existing casinos.

"You have to realize it's not all roses. We had a lot of businesses shut down, restaurants especially, because they could not compete with the casino," said Thomas McDermott, mayor of Hammond, Ind., which is home to the expanded Horseshoe Casino, the largest riverboat casino east of the Mississippi River. "It definitely affects business negatively."

State Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), the measure's sponsor, says additional gambling could generate an extra $1 billion per year for the cash-strapped state, which faces a $13 billion budget deficit. The sites selected for the four casinos - Chicago, Ford Heights, downstate Danville and north suburban Park City - were chosen in part because they lie in economically depressed areas, said Link, chairman of the Senate Gaming Committee.

Ford Heights' average annual income is $20,000 and more than half of its residents live below the poverty level. But experts caution the weak economy, coupled with lenders reluctant to loan out cash, could quell any new casino plans.

"(Illinois' lawmakers) are about 15 years too late," said Ed Feigenbaum, a gambling industry expert and editor of Indiana Gaming Insight, a bi-weekly newsletter. "Anytime you're seriously looking at this, in an economic time like this, it just strains the bounds of credulity."

Indeed, gambling revenue is down in Illinois - mainly because of a drop at riverboat casinos.

A new report from the Legislature's Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability found Illinois' share of overall gambling revenue was at a 10-year low because of a sagging economy, a smoking ban on riverboat casinos and competition from other states. Illinois' total gambling revenue - from horse racing, the lottery and riverboat casinos combined - was down ... 4.5 percent, in the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to the bi-partisan panel's findings.

Local governments' share of gambling revenue also has dropped.

Harrah's Casino in Joliet turned over about $2 million less to local governments in the last fiscal year than it did the previous year, the report said. Empress Casino in Joliet was up, but a fire had temporarily closed it the year before.

Indiana's nearby casinos aren't performing well either.

The Gary casinos, adjacent Majestic Star I and II, are in bankruptcy, Feigenbaum said, and two horse racetracks with gambling terminals near Indianapolis are struggling to remain afloat.

"The real strong wave of casino gaming in terms of being able to help sustain a community and provide a steady diet of good-paying jobs has apparently passed," Feigenbaum said.

"I'm always pointing out to the governor, if you take away the incentive, the money, there's no reason to have a casino," McDermott said. "In a lot of respects, we are lucky to have a casino. But you hear about the neighbor down the street, how they lost their home because they gambled, and you kind of understand its not all roses."

"I don't want to say we've reached our market saturation, but there are a number of gaming options around the region," he said. "To say, 'Put a world-class casino in Ford Heights' challenges the illusion of credulity."

CONTRIBUTING: AP

GAMBLING BY THE NUMBERS

Illinois government took in $398.4 million from riverboat casinos during the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, a 10.3-percent drop from the previous year. It was also the lowest haul in 10 years.

Casino revenue has dropped nearly 30 percent since the indoor smoking ban took effect in January 2008.

"Cha Ching" Murray: SLOTS suck $$$ from economy

USS Mass has called on Beacon Hill to set aside the flawed casino legislation, focus instead on important business that effects the daily lives of residents and appoint an Independent Commission to study the issue of the costs of expanded gambling.

Beacon Hill continues to cater to vested interests.

From SHNS:

Advocates for other issues have grown frustrated, and many observers, both on and off Beacon Hill, have criticized what seems like a singular focus for the state's lawmakers.

"If you're on Beacon Hill and you have issues pending ... certainly you're paying attention to what's happening with the gambling bill because that's having an impact on a whole lot of other activity," said Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, which is pushing both a change in the health care law and a sales tax holiday for mid-August.

John Rosenthal, president and founder of Stop Handgun Violence, which is championing a measure to restrict gun purchases, called the focus on the casino bill "a shame."

"It seems like this gun violence prevention legislation is taking a back seat to, frankly, a casino bill which could lead to more crime and gun violence," he said. "It's ironic."

And advocates for changing the criminal records law, who have won support from the House and Senate, are suddenly concerned that victory may be slipping from their hands. Tomorrow, they plan a rally on the State House steps in an effort to call attention to their cause.

"We want to make sure that the Legislature is reminded that this is an issue that is impacting people on a daily basis," said Aaron Tanaka, executive director of the Boston Workers Alliance, who is part of a larger coalition that favors a change in the criminal records law. "It would just be a shame for the Legislature to let politics get in the way."

Murray, meanwhile, told the Cape Cod Times over the weekend that she believed slot machines "suck all the economic environment from within 20 miles, and you really don't get any jobs from it."

DeLeo denied that the casino debate is holding up other issues, saying, "Each individual piece of legislation is separate form the other."

Still, when Murray was asked today about a sales tax holiday proposal, she conceded that "I haven't thought about it today."

Republicans, who were not invited to the casino talks today, say it is important for the public to see the Beacon Hill impasse, which they blamed on Democrats.

"I think it's good that people are actually getting to see the dysfunctionality of this building," said Senator Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican.