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new gimmicks and games, the
arnount of revenue generated
is
dis–
appointingly small and tends to
drop after sorne months.
Countlng the Total Cost
And finally, there is the moral di–
lemma of a state allowing, even en–
couraging, people to gamble so that
it may enrich its coffers at tbeir ex–
_pense. Gambling is, after all, a los-
ing proposition for nearly everyone
who participares. The odds are
against the players. The Lucky few
who win jackpots or even a state
lottery worth $1 million do so at tbe
expense of millions of otbers, sorne
who can't afford to gamble at all.
Studies indicate that 1egalized
gambling increases the number of
compulsive gamblers. Membership
in Gamblers Anonymous has grown
dramatically in states that sanction
gambling. Estimares of the number
of compulsive gamblers in the U.S.
range from one to nine million. The
higher figure would put the problem
on a par with alcoholism. The grief
and financia! hardship that com–
pulsive gambling brings to individ–
uals and families should also be
weighed in any decision to permit
legalized gambling, authorities con–
tend.
Psychiatrist Robert Custer, chief
of the Veterans Administration's
mental health programs and an ex–
pert on gambling addiction, con–
tends that if states promote
wagering they should also provide
treatment programs for those who
become compulsive gamblers.
"The states don't want to hear
about that obligation," he says. "Le–
galized gambling is moving mucb
too fast for professionals concerned
with analyzing the potential dan–
gers, but the states aren' t waiting
a round for us."
To those who like the idea of
dropping strictures against gam–
bling, Dr. Craig Walton, professor
of philosophy at the University of
Nevada, Las Vegas, replies: "There
are others who say,
'1
know in my
gut that it's wrong, and don't give
me any of your sociology. l t's bad
and 1 can't tell you why it's bad, but
it is, so don't argue with me.'"
He believes that the argument
The
PLAIN TRUTH September 1978
that gambling is a victirnless busi–
ness is probably wrong. "If you
want a ledger, let's make a realled–
ger, not just the amount of money
that went into casinos and hotels,
and the amount that carne out.
What
if
we pulled back the curtains
and looked at sorne of the other
costs [crime, financia! hardship,
regressive taxation]?"
Unfortunately, measuring the to–
tal cost and impact of gambling on a
comrnunity, such as Atlantic City, is
not easy to do. It's the profit or
losses of the gambling operation it–
self that draw the most attention
and will probably be the decisive
factor in determining the future of
gambling in the New Jersey resort
city and elsewhere.
So far, investing in Atlantic City's
first casino has been a safe bet for
Resorts International. In the first
month of operation the casino had
an average gross take of over
$400,000 a day. Other hotel owners
and investors who have waited to
see how the first casino fares have
begun to move. Less than a month
after the first casino opened, Cae–
sar's World, Inc. , which owns and
operares the Caesar's Palace hotel–
casino in Las Vegas, announced a
lease arrangement with the Howard
Johnson Regency Hotel in Atlantic
City which would make it the sec–
ond casino operator in the New Jer–
sey resort. It plans a $30 million
expansion project to enlarge the ho–
tel and build a 52,000-square-foot
casino. Caesar's also holds a
long~
term lease for the former site of an–
other hotel in Atlantic City, and the
company says it intends to pursue
plans to build a $100 mili ion hotel–
casino there in the next few years.
Atlantic City Mayor Josepb Lasa–
row envisions gambling centers
opening at the rate of one or two a
year until the total reaches 15 to 19
permitted under present zoning
rules.
The apparent success of casino
gambling in Atlantic City will give
added ímpetus to efforts to legalize
casino gambling in other states.
They want that glittering pot of gold
at the end of the rainbow, even if it
means misfortune and financia!
hardship for millions of others.
o
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