Articles
A Losing Hand
Casino gambling can bring financial problems - especially to those who can least afford them. Add bankruptcies to the impact of an army of low-wage workers on the local economy, and you've got ...
By Jeff Benedict
May 8 2005
No personal assets are safe once a person develops a gambling problem. Pensions, college savings funds, life insurance policies, even homes - anything that can be converted to cash - can be lost to the casinos. But the first asset to disappear is often the savings account. Casinos make it easy for customers to tap into their bank accounts while gambling. There are ATM machines for debit card withdrawals and credit card cash advances, and the casinos will cash personal checks.
But a more perilous way that casinos can reach into customers' bank accounts is by extending lines of credit. Southeastern Connecticut's Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino have credit offices. A person seeking a $5,000 line of credit simply fills out a credit application, authorizing the casino to check his credit and gambling history. click here for more
Raw Deal
Measuring The Toll Of Connecticut's Casinos
By JEFF BENEDICT
May 1 2005
$400 million. That's about how much Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun paid the state last year in slot machine revenue. It's the result of a deal struck in 1993. In exchange for the right to operate slot machines, the Mashantucket Pequot tribe offered the state 25 percent of the slot revenue from Foxwoods. In 1996, Mohegan Sun opened under the same arrangement.
The casinos have not stopped adding slot machines since. Payments to the state have gone up for 10 straight years, making legislators increasingly dependent on the slot revenue to balance the state budget. Today, the two casinos have 13,732 slot machines between them - nearly 5,000 more than five years ago.
Legislators and most taxpayers probably see this as a painless way to raise revenue: All the money comes from people who choose to play. But 12 years into the deal, the state doesn't really know what social cost it's paying. click here for more
Wright calls for gambling probe
Lottery asked to look at Quick Draw
by Chris Garifo , Times Albany Correspondent
First published: Tuesday, February 8, 2005
ALBANY - State Sen. James W. Wright has asked the state Division of the Lottery to look into allegations related to a Quick Draw scandal involving millions of dollars taken from supermodel Maggie Rizer, a 1996 Watertown High School graduate, to fund her stepfather's gambling addiction.
"First of all, there's no denying what has occurred there in the north country in Watertown in this specific case, which also involves other factors over and above gambling," the Watertown Republican said. "Having said that, we have an obligation to take a look at the details of the case and review those with the (Lottery Division), which is in fact what I'm already doing." click here for more
Editorial - Watertown Daily Times Gambling addiction
State bears part of blame in Breen fiasco
First published: Tuesday, February 8, 2005
Lives ruined. Families destroyed. A fortune squandered. Those are the destructive consequences, too often unseen and unheard, of addictive gambling as revealed in a Times' expose on compulsive gambler John Breen.
Mr. Breen abused the power of attorney and trust placed in him by his stepdaughter, supermodel Maggie Rizer, to gamble away millions of dollars in her personal fortune. He also betrayed his wife and son to feed his addiction fostered by the state's Quick Draw lottery program played throughout the day in bars, restaurants and other small businesses throughout the state. click here for more
State probed high Quick Draw sales figures, found no contract breach
by Chris Garifo , Times Albany Correspondent
First published: Sunday, February 6, 2005 ALBANY -
State lottery officials investigated the owners of the Speak Easy and Kegler's Lounge during the period John R. Breen Jr. was spending his stepdaughter's money to play Quick Draw, but found nothing that would breach their contracts, a government source says.
The state Division of the Lottery studies data from all of its games on a daily basis, so the unusually high Quick Draw sales figures being posted by the local taverns in 2001 and 2002 were investigated, said the source on condition of anonymity. click here for more
Game-Anon helps relatives hurt by loved ones' gambling
by Ed Perkins , Times Staff Writer
First published: Sunday, February 6, 2005
Times Staff writer
Compulsive gamblers flock to the third floor of Trinity Episcopal Church on Sherman Street on Tuesday nights for Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
Down the hallway in another room, their victims - husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends - gather at a Game-Anon meeting to share the lies and betrayals they've endured because of a loved one's gambling addiction.
The Watertown Daily Times recently attended meetings for Gamblers Anonymous and Game-Anon and heard the following stories. Names have been changed to protect identities. click here for more
Gambling addicts often wait too long to seek help
by Norah E. Machia , Times Staff Writer
First published: Sunday, February 6, 2005
Thomas J. Spaulding has heard a lot of desperate people over the phone who have gambled away everything.
"I've gotten calls from people in their 20s through their 70s," said the director of the Northern New York Center on Problem Gambling, Watertown. "By the time they come to us, they have exhausted every resource and they are desperate. They are looking for immediate help."
And that's not easy to find since the north country has no treatment facilities for problem gamblers, he said. click here for more
All Bets Are Off
Times Staff Reports
First published: Sunday, February 6, 2005
Swilling free vodka, John R. Breen Jr. played piles of Quick Draw tickets from bar stools morning to night.
Running out-of-control gambling tabs at several taverns, he wrote checks that he knew would bounce if they were immediately deposited. Instead, bar owners held them for up to a week while Mr. Breen scrambled to find more money to put in his bank account.
Then one day his money was gone. Creditors hounded him. His wife, Maureen, wanted to know why their Flower Avenue West home was listed on the unpaid tax rolls in the newspaper. He lied, saying he paid the bill but was too late to prevent publication. click here for more
Ex-rink star a captive of gambling
Suicide of former Clarkson player leaves family wishing more help was available
by Norah E. Machia , Times Staff Writer
First published: Sunday, February 6, 2005
Tracy S. Green believes her late husband, Mark R. Green, might be alive today if there were more treatment options for compulsive gamblers.
"He was too far into gambling and he didn't know how to get out of it," said Mrs. Green.
Mr. Green, a Massena native who was a star hockey player at Clarkson University, Potsdam, and played in the minor leagues, committed suicide last October at the age of 36 after being charged with theft in August. Mrs. Green found his body hanging in the garage at the family's Potsdam home. click here for more
Gambling-Related Academic Articles in Journals and Law Reviews, Professor John Warren Kindt March 2004
NYCPG RELEASES STARTLING HELPLINE RESULTS FOR THE YEAR
New York Is In The Mist Of An Escalating Public Health Crisis The New York Council on Problem Gambling (NYCPG) today releases shocking Helpline results revealing that New Yorkers are struggling with dangerously high levels of problem gambling.
The Council reveals a 39.6% increase in immediate calls for help between 2003 and 2004. This increase can be attributed to the proliferation, availability and acceptance of gambling opportunities included but not limited to 4 casinos, 4 racinos, MegaMillions, expansion of QuickDraw, round-the-clock Internet gambling, and Texas Hold'em poker. click here for more
New York State Catholic Conference Statement On Expansion of Legalized Gambling
In recent years, New York State has dramatically increased access to legalized gambling in an effort to raise revenue. Since 2001, sanctioned gambling in the state has become a favorite revenue enhancer for elected officials, beginning with Indian compacts allowing casinos in Western New York and the Catskills, the approval of video lottery terminals (VLTs) at eight race tracks (“racinos”), and the state's entrance in the Mega Millions multi-state lottery. And the state continues to up the ante. In each subsequent year, Governor Pataki has proposed further increasing state-sponsored gambling, particularly by dramatically increasing the number of “racinos,” as well as permitting VLTs at Off-Track Betting parlors. click here for more
You Bet They're Against It
Coalition forms to halt spread of gambling across state Monday, December 20, 2004
By Erik Kriss
Albany bureau, The Post Standard
Some say it's immoral or unconstitutional. Some say it's bankrupting their communities. And others say it's bankrupting their neighbors.
Whatever the reason, gambling is the common enemy of the members of a new statewide coalition.
Sparked mainly by the prospect of a proliferation of Indian-run casinos in the Catskills and Western New York, the Coalition Against Gambling in New York says it wants to provide a unified counter-voice to pro-gambling interests. click here for more
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/sports/10236215.htm Posted on Sun, Nov. 21, 2004
Over his head: A tale of gambling addiction
By Phillip Ramati Telegraph Staff Writer
Ex-Whoopee star Mark Green always presented a pleasant public face. But it was his inner demons that led him to a baffling and deadly decision. Mark Green always seemed to make a good first impression, with a flair for the dramatic.
As a rookie in the East Coast Hockey League in 1991-92, he became the first Johnstown Chief ever to score 50 goals in 50 games, scoring two goals in the contest that "brought 4,040 fans to their feet, with some of those dancing in the aisles as the loud horn blared in the background," according to The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat.
In his first game with the Fayetteville Force, a more veteran Green introduced himself with a four-goal performance that sparked his new team to 10 wins in the next 12 games. click here for more
Backlash on betting — Addiction is only part of gaming's heavy social cost
Susan Gluss
San Francisco Chronicle, Page E - 1
Sunday, October 24, 2004
"They built casinos on the backs of guys like me." So begins the remorseful tale of Frank, a 53-year-old college-educated health care professional in the South Bay who has tossed away $500,000 in a lifetime of betting.
And he's right: The gambling industry earns from 60 to 80 percent of its profits from the 10 percent of players who are heavy bettors.
"When you gamble, you lose," Frank says, and the odds back that up. But it doesn't stop the insidious obsession. Frank gambled away the rent, mortgage, car payments and two marriages. He lives hand-to-mouth, paycheck to paycheck. He says he's hit the bottom of the barrel.
And this is gambling's promise? Granted, only 3 to 5 percent of players become problem gamblers who can't stop, or pathological gamblers who lie, cheat or steal to keep playing. But we all pay the social and financial consequences. Dearly. click here for more
SENECAS NEEDN'T APPLY FOR SOME CASINO JOBS
By Mike Hudson
Al Jacobs is a veteran of more than 30 years in the casino business.
He's worked as a blackjack, roulette, baccarat and Caribbean Stud dealer and served as table game manager at some of the top casinos in Las Vegas, including the Horseshoe, Riviera, MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay.
He has a degree in hotel and restaurant management and served as a consultant for the private developers who launched the Majestic Star riverboat casino in diana.
He's also a registered member of the Seneca Nation and a 1972 graduate of Salamanca High School.
So when Jacobs heard that the Senecas were going to open a casino in Niagara Falls, he jumped at the opportunity to come home. He personally handed his resume to then-casino personnel director Mary Beth DeFazio and was called back for an interview by casino official Mike Spiller. click here for more
City judge has gambling addiction
Neal already is subject of ethics probe
By JOE LAMBE
The Kansas City Star
A municipal judge already under investigation by a judicial ethics commission for her mental fitness and accepting loans from lawyers also has a gambling addiction, her attorney confirmed.
The Kansas City Star also has learned that FBI agents spoke to Kansas City Judge Deborah Neal's staff last week. U.S. Attorney Todd Graves and FBI officials declined to comment on whether agents are examining if Neal granted favors to lawyers who loaned her money.
Neal has said no lawyer tried to exert improper influence on her and that all her decisions were based on evidence and the law. Legal experts, however, said lawyers who made loans to Neal could face disciplinary action from the Missouri Bar Association. If those lawyers received preferential treatment from Neal, it could be a federal crime.
Neal, 54, has been on paid leave since Aug. 16 and remains hospitalized for treatment of depression. click here for more
Queens pol: Pull plug on 'illegal' vid poker
BY DONALD BERTRAND
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
August 26 2004
Calling them "clearly illegal," a Queens state senator is demanding that video poker machines be withdrawn from Saratoga Gaming and Raceway and any other video lottery racinos."Video poker machines require a player to use skills to increase the chances of a payout and are clearly illegal in New York State," Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) said in a letter to Nancy Palumbo, director of the state Lottery Division.
Padavan said that the video poker machines are among the most popular machines at Saratoga.
The poker machines are based on five-card draw poker, in which the bettor first gets to see the cards dealt and then picks which ones to hold before taking a second spin. click here for more
Outlook: Slots of Trouble?
William N. Thompson
Professor, University of Nevada/Las Vegas
Monday, July 19, 2004; 11:00 AM
Can it be true that every slot machine installed in the District of Columbia could cost the local economy a job? It's true that slot machines and other forms of gambling can provide a revenue source for cash-strapped state and local governments. But William N. Thompson, a professor and gambling researcher at the University of Nevada/Las Vegas suggests that it's equally true that the regional economy as a whole -- not just the government budget item -- almost certainly will suffer when slots are installed. In Sunday's Outlook section, Thompson tracks where the money comes from and where it goes, using data he collected to help Pennsylvania legislators make their decision.
Thompson was online Monday, July 19, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss his article, Bad Bet, and the possible ramifications of bringing slot machines to Washington, D.C. click here for more
Bad Bet With Slots, the Budget Wins -- But the Economy's a Loser By William N. Thompson
LAS VEGAS
Washington Post, Sunday, July 18, 2004; Page B01:
As a professor and gambling researcher here in the Oz of odds, I've done many studies on the gaming industry and its economic impact around the world; as you read this, in fact, I'm on my way to Japan and Macau for some summer research into the casinos there. And so, last year, when Pennsylvania lawmakers began considering whether to allow slot machines at racetracks and other locations around the state, two interested parties sought my advice. Gov. Ed Rendell's office asked me to estimate the volume of state revenues that could be generated by the machines, and a citizens group asked me to analyze the potential wider economic impact. click here for more
Review and Outlook
Political Gambling
Wall Street Journal
July 19, 2004; Page A10
Pennsylvania passed legislation this month authorizing 61,000 new slot machines, and thus extending the list of states trying to gamble their way to fiscal health. Odds are, it won't work.
Politicians are tempted to see gambling revenues as a cure-all because it allows them to grow government without raising taxes directly. But to the extent that state-sponsored betting obfuscates a chronic spending problem -- and it usually does -- lawmakers aren't doing taxpayers any favors. The additional revenue just gives politicians more money to use irresponsibly. click here for more
Editorials:
Too dependent on gambling
Now is the time for West Virginia to deal with its own addiction
Monday July 19, 2004
West Virginia was founded at the height of the Civil War. State officials soon decided to ban gambling altogether, in the hope of making society better.
More than 100 years later, the idea of encouraging people to seek a more industrious way of life seemed quaint, and state officials decided to loosen up a little.
West Virginians told themselves there was nothing wrong with a few bingo games and raffles for charity.
In 1984, voters approved a lottery amendment to allow a few scratch-off games. By law, the money was supposed to be split equally among education, senior service programs and tourism. click here for more
Bolivar Herald-Free Press
Editorial
Hamilton: Conflicting principles muddy riverboat gambling issue
07/21/2004
The riverboat gambling is about as murky as the big rivers which the floating casinos are supposed to ride on.
In a 1992 referendum election, 63 percent of Missourians who bothered to go to the polls favored riverboat gambling on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Language of the ballot conjured images of Brett Maverick-style riverboat gamblers gathered around card tables in the parlors of 19th Century sternwheelers on "excursions" up and down Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.
What emerged as the vision became reality, however, were floating casinos permanently moored on the rivers or in basin pools. A decade after the first such casino opened, the Missouri Gaming Commission has issued 12 licenses to 11 casinos in Kansas City, St. Louis, St. Charles, Boonville, Caruthersville, La Grange, Maryland Heights, North Kansas City and Riverside. click here for more
Gambling is a game for losers
by Marsue Harris01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, June 19, 2004
The Providence Journal
Uncle Harry was a gambler. Not the glamorous outlaw romanticized in country song and film that always wins, but the kind preyed upon, prone to losing his paycheck. Married to my dad's sister, he was a steelworker and a mild-tempered father of five. Walking home from work, he would stop in the bars lining the street outside the mill. After a few beers and poker games and playing what were then illegal "numbers," my aunt, of necessity, was often forced to rely on her two brothers to pay for food and rent.
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Shlichter owes $500K, but likely won't pay
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Art Schlichter, whose NFL career was ruined by his addiction to gambling, was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison.
The latest conviction resulted from a scam to sell tickets to high-profile sporting events. Marion County (Ind.) Superior Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt accepted the terms of a plea agreement in the case and ordered Schlichter's sentence to run concurrent to a 60-month stretch in federal prison for money laundering.
The judge ordered Schlichter to pay restitution of $500,000 to 22 victims. Prosecutors acknowledged, however, that his victims are unlikely to ever receive restitution, given the state of Schichter's finances and pending prison time. click here for more
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/9093287.htm
Posted on Tue, Jul. 06, 2004
Lawyer Admits Embezzling From Bar Assn.
Associated Press
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - A lawyer has admitted embezzling nearly $824,000 from the Beverly Hills Bar Association to support his gambling habit.
David Alan Wolfe, 36, faces 2 1/2 years in prison when he is sentenced in federal court next month under a plea agreement with prosecutors. click here for more
Utica Observer-Dispatch
State high court: Oneida gaming compact invalid
Tue, Jun 29, 2004
R. PATRICK CORBETT and MEGHAN RUBADO
The agreement that allowed Turning Stone Casino Resort to open 11 years ago is invalid, state Supreme Court Justice James W. McCarthy has ruled. While Oneida Nation leaders downplayed the ruling's impact, Nation foes and local political leaders rejoiced in what they saw as a significant step toward resolving issues including the land claim and taxation of products sold by American Indian businesses. The Oneida case was brought by Scott Peterman and United Citizens for Equality, which said the casino has had a negative effect on the non-Indian community, including an erosion of non-Indian businesses that have trouble competing with the tribe. click here for more
Is a gambling casino a good idea for anyone?
06/18/2004
To the editor:
The experience of Connecticut as the home of two full-scale casinos shows that a casino in Rhode Island will do far more damage to the state and its residents than any illusory benefit from tax receipts.
Unfortunately this experience has been ignored in the debate over whether a casino should be allowed in Rhode Island.
Both the claim by casino promoters that Connecticut's treasury is being enriched by the millions of dollars gambled away at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun and that residents and businesses in the communities that host these casinos are happy to have them fail under even the most cursory examination. click here for more
Gambling's Crack Cocaine
Saturday, June 12, 2004; Page A20
THERE IS NO mystery to why some experts on gambling addiction call "video lottery terminals," or VLTs, the crack cocaine of gambling. According to one source, VLTs are the most addictive because they provide a "very fast, highly stimulating, rate of play." These contraptions are nothing more than video-based versions of slot machines. With their flashy lights and comfortable chairs, they are designed to lure players into making bets repeatedly in a matter of seconds, exposing them to "near-wins" and hooking them into a system that they can't beat. That kind of compulsive gambling could be the tragic result if D.C. businessman Pedro Alfonso and his attorney, former council member John Ray, are successful in bringing video lottery terminals to the nation's capital. click here for more
Researcher Decries Teen Gambling
Video Games, Lottery Tickets Linked To Growing Problem
June 10, 2004
By RICK GREEN, Courant Staff Writer
MYSTIC -- Playing too many video games, scratching instant lottery tickets and the allure of casinos probably contribute to the disturbing number of teenagers who are problem gamblers, a Canadian researcher told youth workers and counselors Wednesday.
Rina Gupta, a child psychologist and assistant professor at McGill University in Montreal, said 3 percent to 6 percent of adolescents in North America are pathological or problem gamblers. Boys have always been more likely to develop a problem, but more and more girls now are becoming addicted, she said. click here for more
Mandating a ‘reality check’ for gamblers
Rick Green
The Hartford Courant
6/1/2004 09:36 pm
When provincial leaders in Halifax, Nova Scotia, discovered their video lottery terminals might be too addictive, they did something no government or casino in North America has ever done.
They made it harder for people to gamble away all their money.
The decision three years ago stemmed from a growing belief that problem gambling isn’t only about the gambler. It’s also about the machine.click here for more
Japanese firm sues president accused of pocketing $2.5 mil.
June 7, 2004
BY NATASHA KORECKI Staff Reporter
Chicago Sun Times
For years, Hisashi Shimizu was the trusted president and treasurer of the Schaumburg-based company Toda America Inc.
Company leaders, based in Japan, had so much faith in him they gave him sole power over the company's financial accounts in Schaumburg.
In 2000, Shimizu handed out a directive that only he open mail, including anything regarding those accounts. Now company leaders say he concealed his actions so well that no one figured he really was pocketing $2.5 million and using the money to nurture a gambling addiction. click here for more
Casavant rolls snake eyes for casinos
Catholics must walk their spiritual talk no matter what the cost
Mustard Seed
By GLEN ARGAN
State deputy Mickey Casavant deserves high praise for telling the Knights of Columbus in Alberta that their casino fundraising days are over. To some, it might seem obvious that the Knights should pull the plug on casinos. After all, the Alberta bishops six years ago wrote that "anything that contributes significantly to addictive forms of gambling . . . should be banned or substantially altered in order to diminish the addictive power." It is only reasonable that the Knights, who frequently proclaim solidarity with our priests and bishops, should put an end to their involvement in casinos. One may ask why it took six years to do so. click here for more
Missouri Mayor's Bet On Gambling Takes An Unexpected Toll Riverside Got Streets, Sewers, But Her Family Paid a Price
RIVERSIDE, Mo. -- One evening in 1993, town leaders weighed whether to welcome a riverboat casino to this blue-collar town on the outskirts of Kansas City. Mayor Betty Burch, a former Bible-school teacher, was the lone dissenter. "I had a moral problem with gambling," she says.
Within weeks, though, Mayor Burch changed her mind and was campaigning door to door for the casino, exerting the same power of persuasion that has earned her six terms in office. click here for more
RISKY BUSINESS — GAMBLING ADDICTIONS CAUSE WIDESPREAD DESPAIR
This October, area residents witnessed firsthand both the agony and the ecstasy of gambling.