Family of 91-year-old who lost almost $300K gambling oppose idea of new Greater Victoria casino

The BC Lottery Corporation is considering putting a casino in Saanich or Victoria

By Gavin Fisher, CBC News Posted: Jun 26, 2016

The adult children of 91-year-old Elfriede Lippa (left) say 

she developed a gambling habit at a Victoria casino that 

caused her to lose close to $300,000. 

(Left image courtesy Tom Lippa/Right: Getty Images)

Tom Lippa says his elderly mother Elfriede was once "a vibrant woman" who was living in her own condo in Victoria and would visit his sister every day to walk her dog.

But unbeknown to Lippa and his sister, their mother, now 91, would go to the View Royal Casino after those walks with the dog, hiding a gambling problem that caused her to lose what they estimate to be close to $300,000 over a seven-year period.

"We can go back to some of her bank records and can see where she's withdrawn the money, like $200, 300, 500 all in one day," said Lippa, who added that his mother is now bankrupt and living in a care facility.

Lippa and his sister Sue Yacubowich are sharing their family's story because they are opposed to the possibility of a second casino coming to the Greater Victoria area.

But the B.C. Lottery Corporation, which is considering building a new casino in either Saanich or Victoria, say there are measures in place such as a voluntary self-exclusion program to help people whose gambling has become problematic.

At 85 years old, she remortgaged her condo

Lippa said he and his sister only learned of their mother's gambling habit after she developed dementia — and they are now trying to retrieve records from banks and credit card companies to figure out how much money she lost (Some of Elfriede's friends told the family that she went to the casino because she felt lonely).

The View Royal Casino in Victoria where, according to her 

family, Elfriede Lippa gambled away hundreds of 

thousands of dollars.

He said at 85 years old she remortgaged her condo for about $140,000, and then went to additional banks to get even more money for her mortgage. She even took out a $200 payday loan when she was 90.

Lippa said he believes his mother became addicted to gambling, but is not sure when dementia set in and what role that may have had on her choices. But he said there are "no checks or balances" at casinos to prevent vulnerable people from indulging a problematic gambling habit.

"There's nothing there to protect the elderly. They use cards, they know how much they spend, they don't stop them," he said.

There are protective measures: Gaming Corp.

A spokesperson from the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, which operates the View Royal Casino, said there are measures in place.

One of those is the BCLC voluntary self-exclusion program, in which people can choose to exclude themselves from a variety of gaming facilities, giving security staff the authority to remove them from the facility if need be.

"All of our staff as a pre-condition of employment are trained to identify red-flag behaviour," said Chuck Keeling, vice-president of stakeholder relations and responsible gaming.

He said that the types of behaviour that they look for are those who increase the frequency of their visits, increase the amount they gamble, and show high levels of distress while playing and after playing.

"So in this case of this gentleman's mother, if this individual was showing signs of at risk behaviour our staff are trained to identify that and to also intercept that to see if they need help."

Across the province, 13 per cent of those who participate in gambling are 65 years of age and older, while the average age is 49, said Angela Koulyras, spokesperson for the B.C. Lottery Corporation.

Across the province, 13 per cent of those who participate in 

gambling are 65 years of age and older, while the average 

age is 49, according to the BCLC. 

(AP Photo/Wayne Parry) (Wayne parry/The Associated Press)

However, she said the crown corporation knows from research that there are factors that could increase the risk of this population developing a problem with gambling.

"Because we recognize this is a very unique demographic, we launched a Game Sense for Seniors campaign last year to help people identify a problem with gambling," she said.

She said a marketplace assessment showed BCLC there was potential for revenue in the Greater Victoria region that wasn't being solely met by the View Royal Casino. The BCLC said a new facility would generate up to $2.5 million a year for the host local government.

Victoria mayor says city is not 'the morals police'

Speaking to On the Island earlier in June, Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said she finds the conversation about whether or not casinos should be allowed because of gambling addictions to be "really tiresome."

"I don't know when local governments started getting into — or why we would want to get into — being the morals police," Helps said.

"There are bars in downtown Victoria and some people have addictions to alcohol and some people just go and have a beer, so I really strongly feel that it's not our role as a local government to regulate morality.

"Casinos don't create addictions."

Lippa, who is still trying to figure out how much his elderly mother lost through gambling, doesn't buy that explanation.

"To say that they have no responsibility is like feeding a person behind the bar a bunch of drinks and letting them drive home. It's absolutely disgusting. You do have a responsibility."

With files from CBC's On the Island

---

To hear the full interview with Tom Lippa listen to the audio labelled: Bankrupt senior's son warns against casino expansion

To hear the full interview with the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation VP Chuck Keeling listen to the audio labelled: Gaming corp says casinos not taking advantage of seniors

To hear the full interview with Lisa Helps listen to the audio labelled: Should Victoria's Crystal Gardens become a casino?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-lottery-seniors-addiction-gambling-1.3652984

It’s Not Just a Penny Slot Machine: Gambling Addiction in Seniors

Posted On 22 Jun 2016

By : Angel Ridout

On a recent trip to the coast, a friend and I stopped into a casino for a quick break from our travels. When I walked in the door I was startled by the noise and my eyes were immediately drawn to the rows of flashing screens on the glittering slot machines. As I looked around, I noticed that the majority of the other patrons were senior citizens. This surprised me, because seniors are generally known for being cautious and frugal with their hard earned savings.

The experience led me to ask: Why are senior citizens risking their money in a game of chance? Why are there so many seniors in casinos?

Learn more about gambling amongst seniors, as well as what to do if your parent develops a gambling addiction later in life.

Gambling and Seniors

Casinos have changed alot over the last 20 years and are drawing seniors in by offering personalized discounts, free transportation and an environment that is very easy for those with disabilities to navigate.

Many casinos offer mobility devices such as scooters or wheelchairs and some even offer oxygen for their older clients. Seniors receive mail from the casinos on their birthdays or “we have missed you” cards if they have gone longer than usual between visits. Slot machines have evolved from a simple screen of rolling numbers to full sensory experiences including animation, flashing lights and vibrating chairs which draw attention to a win and not so incidentally to the senior sitting at the machine.

All of these perks add to the allure of gambling, and it can be easy for a parent to develop a need for the excitement and sense of belonging that casinos offer.

You may think that your parent is too cautious or rational to be caught in the gambling trap but the reasons for seniors playing slots in casinos or other games of chance are as varied and individualized as the seniors themselves. Some seniors are hoping for the “big win” to supplement their meager retirement savings, some seniors are distracting themselves from physical ailments and losses and some become addicted to gambling because of underlying health issues. For some seniors, out of character gambling may be an early symptom of dementia or other cognitive issues. Seniors who are on certain dopamine antagonist medications for Parkinson’s Disease and other movement disorders may be at risk for behaviors such as compulsive gambling.

Gambling Addiction in Seniors

Gambling addiction can be difficult to recognize, but if you feel your dad or mom may have a gambling issue, than ask yourself these questions about your parents:

• Are they repeatedly asking for loans because they have lost their wallet, someone made a mistake in their bank account, etc.?
• Are you seeing more doctor visits or hospitalizations?
• Has your parent dropped other hobbies or recreational activities?
• Have you noticed a change in hygiene or self-care?
• Is there less food in their refrigerator or cupboard than is customary?
• Is your parent receiving calls regarding past due utilities or other bills?
• Is your parent showing poor decision making skills in other areas of their life?

Parents may not be willing to discuss gambling due to embarrassment at their inability to control their gambling, fears about losing respect of others, or worry that they will further lose their independence. Your parent may also not want to deal with the emotional and stressful issues which led to their behavior and deny that they have any sort of problem, gambling or otherwise. If your parent has cognitive issues – which cause lack of foresight – or no longer understand consequences, they may not even realize the significance of their financial losses.

Gambling is an even bigger financial issue for seniors than it is for younger gamblers simply because a senior isn’t going to have time to rebuild their retirement funds. Health issues can arise if a senior is gambling away money that should have been spent on medication or is spending too much time in a smoke-filled casino. Depression and shame are common with senior gamblers who feel they should be able to control their gambling or who are becoming alienated from family due to arguments about gambling.

If you recognize problem gambling symptoms in your parent, there are steps you can take to help them recover and still enjoy their retirement.

Treatment options for senior gamblers should take into account the emotional reasons behind their gambling. In case of seniors with cognitive issues or dementia, it may be beneficial to have a trusted family member or friend manage finances in addition to limiting the senior’s spending money.

There are many resources for seniors seeking help with problem gambling as well as information for their family members who are affected. The National Council on Problem Gambling has a list of programs and treatment options in the U.S. and the Problem Gambling Institute of Ontario has a list of Canadian resources.

Has your family had any issues with gambling addiction in seniors? Share your experiences and stories with us in the comments below.

http://www.aplaceformom.com/blog/6-22-16-gambling-addiction-in-seniors/

Day 15: 20 winning casino repeal arguments in 20 days

Casinos Prey Upon the Poor, the Desperate and the Weak:

Casinos prey disproportionately upon the weakest, poorest and most desperate members of our communities. 

 

They make their money by luring gamblers to the brink of addiction. Some people are able to avoid it. But far too many succumb to the temptation, with entire paychecks sometimes gambled away in a few hours. Experts predict that in the first year after casinos come to Massachusetts, over 8,000 residents will have lost their jobs, their businesses, their homes, or their families due to casino gambling. Others will have become victims of crime. Within 5 years over 40,000 residents will have been harmed. Allowing casinos to put our most vulnerable citizens into harm's way is not "the right thing to do".

On November 4th, Vote YES to Repeal the Casino Law

Vote YES on #3

Vote YES to STOP the Casino Mess

Elderly hit to support Gambling Addiction

Elderly hit for pokie money

By John Maslin

6:30 AM Monday Jun 16, 2014

Punters are emptying the accounts of elderly relatives to feed their gambling habit. Photo/File

More elderly people are being used as cash cows for family members feeding their own gambling addictions and it has to stop, according to credit union NZCU Baywide.

On World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, Gavin Earle, NZCU chief executive officer, said financial exploitation of the elderly by children addicted to gambling was a growing problem in New Zealand.

Mr Earle said his company was calling for families and friends to safeguard older people to ensure their funds stay in their accounts and don't end up down pokie machine slots.

He said in New Zealand, the impact of elder abuse was felt throughout the community in a number of ways, including instances of older people being used as a source of money by their children to feed their gambling habits.

He said according to the Te Rangihaeata Oranga Trust, a leading provider of gambling services, addiction to pokie machines is the problem they see the most of in their work.

"Gambling is a huge problem in our communities and it is up to each and every one of us to do what we can to help.

"In the space of only three months, more than $2.2 million was spent in pokie machines in Wanganui, This is a shocking amount of money in anyone's language," Mr Earle said.

NZCU Baywide recently invited the Te Rangihaeata Oranga Trust to speak to its team leaders about the growing problems of gambling.

"We all need to become more vigilant and investigate unusual behaviour, such as a young person accompanying their older relative to the bank to withdraw large sums of money, or withdrawing money on a regular basis from an account they have access to. We owe it to our older people," he said. The United Nations designated June 15 as a day to encourage communities to recognise the problem of elderly abuse and focus global attention on the problem of physical, emotional and financial abuse of elders.

The UN estimates indicate that by 2050, the global population of people above the age of 60 will exceed the number of younger people. These changes have led to a worldwide recognition of the problems and challenges that face the elderly.

Research has shown that elderly abuse, neglect, violence, and exploitation are some of the biggest issues facing senior citizens around the world.

World Health Organisation data suggests that four to six per cent of elderly suffer from some form of abuse, a large percentage of which goes unreported.

- WANGANUI CHRONICLE

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503426&objectid=11274715

Thomson ReutersJune 6, 2014 5:35June 6, 2014 5:35

How to know when a 'gray gambler' is a problem gambler

By Mark Miller

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Once upon a time, bingo was the biggest game in town at the local senior center. But you're far more likely to find today's seniors manning a slot machine at the local casino - and some have become gambling addicts.

Problem gambling among older people is on the rise. Seniors have time and money on their hands, and the proliferation of casinos in most regions of the country has made gambling more convenient.

“What we are seeing is that seniors are the backbone of the modern casino industry,” says Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), a non-profit organization that advocates for programs and services to help problem gamblers and their families. "The marketing and promotion to seniors is light-years from what it was."

Experts say gray gambling addiction will become more prevalent as the baby boomers age. “Boomers are the first generation that grew up in a culture where gambling has been fully accepted,” says Dr. Timothy Fong, co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program. “We’re going to see problem gambling becoming a bigger problem as they get older.”

I can already see my email in-box filling up with notes from angry gray gamblers and concerned spouses and children. So let's agree on an important caveat: Not all senior gambling is addiction. As Fong is quick to add, recreational gambling can be OK for older people. More than OK, in fact.

"There are social aspects of game playing at a recreational level that can be good for an older person's physical and cognitive health," says Fong, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA. "The best parts of gambling are very interesting for people when they're tied into a larger recreational activity. It means seniors are using their minds and staying active. They're going with friends to play the slots, eat and laugh together. It's a bonding experience, and it can improve health."

The problems crop up when recreational gambling turns into an addiction. It's still more prevalent among young people than old, experts say, but seniors are most vulnerable.

"It doesn't take as many gambling losses before they start developing problems," Fong says. "It's the same as vulnerability to alcohol or drugs. By the time we see them for treatment, the damage already is extensive, and that's why it is so difficult to deal with. They've gambled away their life savings and there's no way to recoup."

Some seniors use gambling as a form of emotional escape, something women can be especially vulnerable to, Whyte says. "For women, getting involved often is precipitated by grief or loss and they're seeking escape.

They can go from having no problem at all with gambling, or just being a recreational gambler, to hitting bottom in just a few months."

Slot machines are far and away the most popular gambling option at casinos, and the latest generation isn't your father's machine with spinning lemons, cherries and melons. Today's machines offer intense sensory stimulation with large video screens, music and vibrating, ergonomic chairs. They are proving highly addictive for seniors, Fong says.

"We study the patterns of seniors coming in with addictions, and slots are far and away the preferred form - and the addiction is deeper."

How to know if your spouse or parent has a gambling problem? Whyte points to three measures of that can help with an evaluation:

- Preoccupation. "Is the person constantly talking about gambling? Is there a preoccupation there that wasn't present before?"

- Tolerance. "Does the person need to bet more and more to get the same level of excitement? If the amount they are gambling is jumping, that's a sign of addiction."

- Loss of control. "The easiest warning sign is a person who can't set a limit of time and money to be spent in the casino, and then stick to it."

Fong asks seniors to evaluate whether gambling is helping or hurting their quality of your life. "If it's just something to do with friends and your spending is in control, then it's just a form of recreation - even if you are going every day. But it shouldn't be used as an escape from life - to avoid feelings of sadness, despair or loneliness.

The NCPG has a problem gambling hotline (800-522-4700), which can direct you to resources in your state, including counselors who have been trained through the National Certified Gambler Counseling Program.



http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/thomson-reuters/140603/how-know-when-gray-gambler-problem-gambler

Gambling can be a big problem for seniors

LETTER: Gambling can be a big problem for seniors

"It's something to do."

That's the response you often get when asking a senior citizen about gambling. With more free time on their hands, gambling has become a more popular activity for older adults. Many retirees see gambling as a way to pass time while other say it helps them, at least momentarily, to forget the grief, losses and other challenges that come as part of the aging process.

At the Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling, we've also found that seniors are less likely and less willing to seek help if the level of gambling progresses to become a problem. There's a tendency for them to hide possible gambling issues because of embarrassment, so they are reluctant to reach out for help. And for seniors, particularly those on fixed incomes, the financial impact of a gambling problem can be quick and devastating.

So what are the signs that you should be looking for if you suspect that mom, dad, grandma or grandpa might have a gambling problem? The signs most often associated with problem gambling include:

• Loss of interest and participation in usual activities with friends and family

• Unaccounted blocks of time

• Secrecy

• Changes in attitude or personality

• Cashing in stocks or other investments or pawning family valuables, antiques or collections

• Neglect of personal needs (food, utilities, medical)

• Depression

For any senior heading down the path toward a gambling problem, or problem gamblers of any age, help is available. Contact the Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling at 800-426-2535. The helpline is answered 24 hours a day and provides a valuable link to resources for those dealing with problem or compulsive gambling.

Seeking help early is important for anyone facing an addiction, whether it's gambling, alcohol or drugs. For seniors, early intervention can be lifesaving when retirement savings are threatened by a gambling problem.

Rose Gruber is executive director of the Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling.

http://lacrossetribune.com/courierlifenews/news/opinion/letter-gambling-can-be-a-big-problem-for-seniors/article_6ef6a5cf-d0b1-5d61-a7cf-62f519ab7c28.html



 

....gambling is the equivalent of financial strip mining

Lure of casino gambling remains fool’s gold

Anybody with even a basic knowledge of finance or the casino industry knows that gambling is the equivalent of financial strip mining

By Tom Sedoric

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Published: 04.04.14

 

 

Yet another round of the apparent endless gambling game may be upon us. Even with the House’s recent rejection of a bill to allow a single casino in New Hampshire, it looks like the issue may again be resurrected in the Senate.

State-sponsored gambling is an issue of enormous proportions and considerable significance that deserves the understanding and participation of every citizen. Far from addressing our long-term fiscal challenges, the adverse financial, social and regulatory consequences of casino gambling would merely exacerbate them.

Anybody with even a basic knowledge of finance or the casino industry knows that gambling is the equivalent of financial strip mining – much is taken, but only deep scars are left behind. Much of the promised financial bonanza is never delivered because the partnership between the state and the gambling industry is a flimflam played on the public. Most of the real financial benefits will go to out-of-state casino interests who do not have our state’s interests at heart.

Despite the fact that a major, comprehensive gaming study was done only a few years before, a dark-of-the-night addition to the biennial budget bill spent $250,000 of taxpayer money to “study” this issue once more last year and created the New Hampshire Gaming Regulatory Oversight Authority.

 

This was a rigged game because it simply confirmed the standing recommendation for one casino, presented by the team of Gov. Maggie Hassan and Senate President Chuck Morse. How convenient.

It is curious that not one member of the lobbyist-enabled and taxpayer-funded “authority” met with or requested information from the blue ribbon and bipartisan commission set up under a prior administration – and equally curious why New Hampshire has become such a focus for the casino industry.

The gambling industry loves senior citizens with plenty of time on their hands and some additional disposable income. New Hampshire provides a proverbial jackpot, almost 15 percent of the state’s population being 65 years or older in a state with incomes above the national average. Why should the gambling industry subsidize buses to Connecticut, Rhode Island or Massachusetts when they can fleece the boomers and seniors closer to home in New Hampshire?

During her State of the State speech earlier this year, Governor Hassan warned lawmakers that “our state will begin to lose $75 million per year to new casinos right across our border in Massachusetts.

 

Developing New Hampshire's own plan for one high-end destination casino will create jobs, boost our economy, and generate revenue to invest in critical priorities.”

 

That is one hopeful, but perverse, way to look at it. As The Economist magazine recently reported, the worldwide gaming industry had revenues of more than $440 billion, with our fellow citizens’ losses in the United States leading the pack at $119 billion.

Though there might have been a strategic revenue and gambling option along our southern border years ago, in the same way we once sold cheap cigarettes and liquor, that opportunity has long since evaporated. New Hampshire lawmakers should understand the significance of their actions before they take the gambling plunge and sanction a fleecing of our fellow citizens.

 

Tom Sedoric of Rye is a nationally recognized financial advisor and serves as chair of the advisory commission to the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development.

 

This article appears in the April 4 2014 issue of New Hampshire Business Review
Did you like what you read here? Subscribe to New Hampshire Business Review »

http://www.nhbr.com/April-4-2014/Lure-of-casino-gambling-remains-fools-gold/

‘The New Senior Centers’

As Seniors Gamble for Fun, Some Find Only Trouble

Part 1

Buffalo News/New America Media , News Feature, Melinda Miller , Posted: Apr 05, 2014

BUFFALO, N.Y.--After skipping doctor’s appointments for months, Gina’s father was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in January. That’s when she realized he had other problems, too.

While helping arrange her dad’s medical care, Gina obtained power of attorney to manage his finances during his hospitalization and recovery.

Parkinson’s Drug Feeds
Gambling Addiction

The study of Parkinson’s disease, and how the brain sends signals for movement and mood, also is shedding light on the physiology of gambling.

When patients being treated for Parkinson’s developed gambling addictions, it didn’t take long to find the link.

“There are many groups of dopamine receptors in the brain,” explains Jian Feng, a neurologist and professor in the University at Buffalo’s School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences: “One type controls locomotion, one controls the normal cognitive state - when that is not working right, you might see schizophrenia - and the third group affects reward behavior.”

Parkinson’s results from the death of dopamine neurons in areas associated with locomotion. The illness is commonly diagnosed when people are in their 60s, Feng said, although its onset could be earlier.

Drugs called dopamine agonists, such as pramipexole (brand name Mirapex) and ropinirole (Requip), help restore connections in those receptors, calming the tremors associated with the illness and giving the patient more movement control.

But they affect the entire brain, not only the locomotion areas, which is why, Feng said, they can have unwanted side effects on personality.”

Feng said that when a person experiences an unexpected reward, like a $50 slot machine win, dopamine triggers a pleasure response. The brain wants to repeat that experience, so it signals the impulse to keep gambling. The very randomness of the reward is what heightens the pleasure, and medication that enhances a patient’s reception to dopamine heightens that pleasure even more - it can make him crave it.

“It’s addictive behavior,” Feng said. “The other aspect is gambling itself. It is basically an addictive thing.”

Mayo Clinic researchers in 2011 estimated that more than 20 percent of patients on Parkinson’s medications also experienced problems with impulse control - including a sudden, compulsive urge to gamble. (Other problems could be hypersexual behavior, binge shopping or overeating.) Indications are that the higher the dose of medicine, the greater the chance a patient will experience the side effects.

--Melinda Miller

Gina’s full name is not being used to protect her father’s privacy.

“So, I’m going through his papers and his bank accounts,” Gina said, “and I see he has $18 in the bank, and ATM withdrawals showing he was going to the casino every three or four days.”

Risked Income—and Home

In one week in January, her 83-year-old father gambled away his entire monthly income from Social Security and a small pension.

And that still wasn’t the worst of it. It looks like he will lose his home.

“He hadn’t paid his mortgage payments for 16 months, and his house had gone into foreclosure,” Gina said.

Gina doesn’t know when her father started casino gambling. She gets no answers from him, she said.

“He just fluffs it off.”

Problem gambling, while affecting a small percentage of total gamblers, is growing among people age 60 and older, a key customer base of the burgeoning casino gambling industry in Western New York. With bus trips from senior centers and casinos opening not just here, but across the country, gambling is easier than ever for retirees to pick up and, for a vulnerable minority, a hard habit to quit.

Seniors may not be more likely than other age groups to have a gambling problem. A 2012 study in Ontario indicated seniors are somewhat less likely to get addicted than younger gamblers. But they are not immune, and as more casinos create more gamblers, they also create more problem gamblers of all ages.

“Not everyone develops a problem, but for those who do, it can be quite devastating,” said David M. Ledgerwood, a researcher at Wayne State University and a clinical psychologist who has seen firsthand the harm of gambling gone wrong with several casinos in the Detroit-Windsor, Ont., area.

“And a big factor I’ve found is bereavement. An older gambler who has lost a loved one might play for hours so they don’t have to think a lot. It’s soothing, in a way.”

‘The New Senior Centers’

Some people refer to casinos as “the new senior centers,” and a visit to the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino might show why.

It was a recent Wednesday afternoon, but the casino was so full you might have thought it was a busy Saturday night.

The gambling tables were buzzing and the rows of slot machines were chiming as the credits rang off. Almost all of the folks at the slots and half those at the tables would qualify for AARP membership.

When asked, many seniors say they would like to win but don’t count on it. One after another, they say they go to the casinos for “something to do” and a chance to have a little luck.

But they also make grim jokes about what the casinos take.

At the Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel, the morning gamblers – almost all seniors – pile into the lunchtime buffet and say they plan to “eat up” their losses. A gray-haired woman whose jacket bears the casino’s logo laughs when asked if it was free.

“Ha! Free! I’d say I only paid about the price of a car for it over the past two years,” she said.

In 2008, Wayne State researchers found the prevalence of problem gambling in 10.4 percent of people older than 60 in the Detroit-Windsor area, where they have easy access to four casinos. The study concluded that gambling could become a serious health problem for seniors, particularly those who are alone and have incomes below $20,000.

“With the recently retired, or those in their late 70s, there are a few things that stand out as risks,” Ledgerwood said. “One, exposure to gambling, which happens as more casinos open; two, they may or may not have things to fill the free time of retirement; three, if there is a decline in health, going to a casino and gambling is easier than other activities.”

What’s more, medications may also increase the propensity for gambling. Some medications for Parkinson’s disease – mostly prescribed to seniors – can trigger obsessive behavior, including gambling addiction, in 10 percent or more of those who take it.

No Refunds Allowed

Losses can be hard to comprehend for consumers accustomed to legal protections when they overspend. Laws give people a “cooling off” period to back out of contracts, and stores let shoppers with buyer’s remorse return their purchases.

There is no procedure allowing a gambler to get a refund from a slot machine.

“They don’t realize that you can spend a lot more money than you think you’re spending, very easily,” said Renee C. Wert, a Buffalo therapist who treats addiction problems of all kinds.

Most clients she sees thought they were just having a little fun before their gambling habit went south, she said.

But when they do overspend, regret kicks in, and the hole keeps getting deeper the more they dig.

“A lot of people think, ‘If I just keep going, I can win the money back,’ ” Wert said. “And they might win it back and then walk away thinking, ‘OK, that’s how to do it!’

“But the next time, and the time after that, it doesn’t work.”

Admitting to gambling away money you couldn’t afford to lose is never easy, and for seniors it can be especially hard. The players can feel like losers personally as well as financially.

“It can be difficult to ask for help. They’re pretty embarrassed about it,” Wert said. “For all their lives, they’ve been responsible and handling their money, and all of a sudden they find themselves in debt because of gambling. It can really sneak up on them.”

Only Did Scratchers Before

That’s what happened with Gina’s father.

“He was a mechanic his whole life,” Gina said. “He worked until he was, like, 70. He didn’t gamble. Just scratch-off tickets. I would see those sometimes.”

Her parents divorced when she was a child, and Gina didn’t see her father often, but she tried to stay in touch. Recently, he was making that harder, not answering his phone, not wanting her to visit.

When she forced the issue around the holidays, she found out why. His life revolved around gambling. His house was unkempt, he had no food, and he had a pile of overdue bills.

“He never told me anything about this,” Gina said. “Anytime I called, he said everything was fine.”

That first doctor’s visit in January was only the beginning, Gina said. Her father was ignoring other health problems, too. She found overdue bills for medical co-pays and presumes her father was avoiding doctors because he didn’t want to pay the $45.

“He would rather spend it at the casino,” she said.

This is Part 1 of a series. Melinda Miller wrote this article for the Buffalo News with support from a MetLife Foundation Journalists in Aging Fellowship, a program of New America Media and the Gerontological Society of America.

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http://newamericamedia.org/2014/04/as-more-seniors-gamble-for-fun-some-finding-only-trouble.php

New Jersey Woman Stole $1.8 Million to Gamble as [sic] Sands Resort Casino

Casinos have access to your financial information.


They KNOW when patrons are spending more than their assets, yet casinos are able to keep their  ill-gotten gains. What other business can do that?

New Jersey Woman Stole $1.8 Million to Gamble as Sands Resort Casino

Nelann Quigley Lost $770,000 at Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Casino in Bethlehem

 

By Steve Larson

 

 New Jersey woman is charged with stealing nearly $2 million from her employer in Allentown to fund her gaming habits at the Sands Casino. Over a 6 year period, Nelann Quigley of Watchung, New Jersey stole $1.8 million.
Records obtained from the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem indicate Nelann Quigley’s alleged crimes were committed to pay off gambling debts incurred at the Sands Casino. Over a 16-month period, she wagered nearly $800 thousand at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It was in this time she stole over $700 thousand from her employer, a surge of theft which attracted the attention of her boss.

The investigation into Quigley’s alleged crimes began in January or early February 2014, when James Weppler, the owner of the victimized company, told authorities that someone had stolen $700 thousand from Aetna Felt Corp’s bank account. It originally was thought the crimes occurred between January 2012 and January 2014. When investigators began to look more closely at the bank account, they realized that $1.8 million had been stolen in all, in crimes dating back to 2008.

In all cases, unauthorized checks had been signed with the name Nelann Quigley. Such withdrawal slips require the signature of two Aetna Felt Corp. employees to authorize the withdrawal, but “Nelann Quigley” was the only authorizing signature. The checks were cashed using a bank account Aetna Felt Corp. had with a local financial institution in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Details of the Alleged Crime

In all, 267 checks were cashed in Nelann Quigley’s name at First Niagara Bank in Allentown, totalling some $1,851,423 stolen. The illegal checks endorsed by Quigley were written to a number of different entities, including credit card companies, car finance companies, and insurance firms.

The dates of the suspicious activity ran from January 9, 2008 until January 24, 2014. The checks were filled out to Allstate Insurance, Bank of America, a local Jared Galleria jewelry store, Discover Card services, and Toyota Financial. Some of the checks were made out to herself.

After the Aetna Felt Corp. learned who was responsible for the embezzlement, Nelann Quigley was fired from her job with the company. According to Allentown’s district attorney’s spokeswoman, Debbie Garlicki, Quigley turned herself in on Friday, April 4, and was arraigned on a felony charge of theft in the court of District Judge Ron Manescu. Judge Manescu set an unsecured bail of $25,000.

New Jersey Resident

The alleged perpetrator, who is 65 years old, lives in Watchung, New Jersey. Watchung, a town of 5,613, is in Somerset County, New Jersey. Watchung is located along Interstate 78 between Allentown and New York City, just over an hour by car to Allenton.

Gambling Addiction at Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem

The investigation also showed that Nelann Quigley had a Sands Casino players card from October 2012 until February 2014. Records of that account show that Quigley lost around $770 thousand playing at the Sands Casino Resorts in Bethlehem during that time.

The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is found in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania which is about 10 miles away from Allantown. The casino is owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the largest gaming enterprise in the world. Its CEO is Sheldon Adelson, who wants to end legal online gambling in the United States, because he says it encourages the kind of problem gambling which Nelann Quigley exhibited.

Online Gambling and the 2016 Presidential Campaign

Last week, Sheldon Adelson met with four potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates in Las Vegas. He donated $90 million to Republican campaigns in 2012, hoping to see Barack Obama defeated in his reelection bid. He’s also vowed to spend whatever money is needed to see regulated Internet gambling ended in the USA. Adelson’s stated reason for doing so is the issue of gambling addiction, which he says is encouraged by the nature of online and mobile gaming.

Sheldon Adelson has stated that gambling addiction is less of a problem in land-based casinos, because it is less convenient for the gamblers. He argues that brick-and-mortar casinos cannot be accessed as often as a personal computer in the privacy of one’s home, so traditional gaming ventures simply cannot victimize their customers they way an online website could. According to the Las Vegas Sands CEO, his casinos therefore are more responsible in dealing with their customers. At present, no spokesman for the Las Vegas Sands Corp has made a statement on the Nelann Quigley case.




http://www.legaluspokersites.com/news/new-jersey-woman-stole-1-8-million-to-gamble-as-sands-resort-casino/3324

Casinos are financial equivalent of strip mining

Predatory Gambling sucks discretionary income from the LOCAL economy.

Fools' Gold? Yup!

REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL is the only sensible solution!

Casinos are financial equivalent of strip mining

By Tom Sedoric

March 30, 2014 2:00 AM

 

Editor's note: This column was written before the House rejected all casino bills on March 12. It became timely again on Thursday when the Senate passed a bill for two casinos that now will go to the House.

 

Yet another round of the apparent endless gambling game is upon us. Despite the high stakes on the table, this isn't a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. More importantly, it is an issue that strikes at the heart of what "We the People" want for our state and our citizens.

 

I rarely intervene in policy debates but state-sponsored gambling is an issue of enormous proportions and considerable significance that deserves the understanding and participation of every citizen. I previously put aside my professional role and wrote a column titled "Fool's Gold." I argued that far from addressing our long-term fiscal challenges, the adverse financial, social and regulatory consequences of casino gambling would merely exacerbate them. Moreover, I questioned the long-term economic assumptions provided by the lobbyists who supported expansion. I wondered why New Hampshire should feel the urgent need to embrace gambling when so many surrounding states have or will soon have casinos and when so many earlier casinos have gone bankrupt. In addition, expanded gambling will introduce a host of other problems.

 

Do we really believe we will compete against a multimillion-dollar casino just a few miles south of us?

 

I also asked whether lawmakers understood the potential for corruption in a state with little or no regulatory framework to handle such a sophisticated industry. For those lawmakers seduced by the lure of seemingly easy revenues to shore up our perennially strapped state budgets, it's important to remember that most of that money coming into state coffers will be in the form of a regressive tax on state residents. This is a cold hard fact — not just an opinion. What reason is there to believe that expanded gambling will enhance the New Hampshire advantage and improve the quality of life in our state?

 

Anybody with even a basic knowledge of finance or the casino industry knows that gambling is the equivalent of financial strip mining — much is taken but only deep scars are left behind. Much of the promised financial bonanza is never delivered because the partnership between the state and the gambling industry is a flimflam played on the public. Most of the real financial benefits will go to out-of-state casino interests who do not have our state's interests at heart. This might explain why opposition to expanded gambling in our state has stirred so many bipartisan activists.

 

I did some additional research and one trend struck a powerful chord because of the financial challenges facing so many seniors and aging baby boomers. Most have simply saved too little for their financial security and are looking for a quick fix. The gambling industry loves senior citizens with plenty of time on their hands and some additional disposable income. New Hampshire provides a proverbial jackpot with almost 15 percent of the state's population being 65 years or older in a state with incomes above the national average. Why should the gambling industry subsidize buses to Connecticut, Rhode Island or Massachusetts when they can fleece the boomers and seniors closer to home in New Hampshire?

 

The casino industry was ardent in drawing on ever-younger customers in larger numbers. Yet since the 1970s when gambling began to expand beyond Las Vegas with casinos in Atlantic City and the emergence of Native American casinos, senior citizens have proven to be a consistent cash-cow market. Given our society-wide addiction to small-screen electronic devices, it's no surprise that the casino industry targets senior citizens who are drawn to the visual allure of the video poker screens and the slots. Regional reports of gambling related debts and foreclosures are on the increase as a result.

 

A 2008 Wayne State University study looked into the growth of the addictive problem of gambling in older adults and reported:

• Seniors are drawn to casinos for both extrinsic and intrinsic reasons — the thrill of gambling and a positive environment that welcomes them.

 

• Researchers found that casinos were becoming the new senior centers — and the industry was doing its best to keep these elderly customers coming back for more with added amenities including oxygen tanks.

 

• In addition to financial challenges, older adults with gambling issues can also have unique risks such as reduced cognitive capacity that the casino industry can profitably exploit.

During her State of the State speech earlier this year, Gov. Hassan warned lawmakers that "our state will begin to lose $75 million per year to new casinos right across our border in Massachusetts. Developing New Hampshire's own plan for one high-end destination casino will create jobs, boost our economy and generate revenue to invest in critical priorities."

 

That is one hopeful, but perverse, way to look at it. As The Economist magazine recently reported, the worldwide gaming industry had revenues of more than $440 billion, with our fellow citizen's losses in the United States leading the pack at $119 billion. The casino always wins. How much will the people of New Hampshire lose in their pursuit of fool's gold?

 

Though there might have been a strategic revenue and gambling option along our southern border years ago, in the same way we once sold cheap cigarettes and liquor, that opportunity has long since evaporated. New Hampshire lawmakers should understand the significance of their actions before they take the gambling plunge and sanction a fleecing of our fellow citizens.

 

Tom Sedoric of Rye is a nationally recognized financial adviser and serves as chair of the advisory commission to the state of New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development.

 

 

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20140330-OPINION-403300323