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“I would go to bed at night hoping the next day would be different … but it was never different.”
by Les
Sharon Oczkowski, a former bookkeeper at Eastern Star Home & Campus in Oriskany, New York, said in court Tuesday that the lure of gambling at the Turning Stone Resort Casino was too much for her, and she spent more than three years stealing more than $617,000 from Eastern Star to throw it all away on slot machines and casino tables.
“I was raised to know right from wrong, and I never even had a parking ticket,” Oczkowski said as she pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny in Oneida County Court. “I would go to bed at night hoping the next day would be different … but it was never different.”
It appears officials at Turning Stone Casino were not asked why they took no action to stop this incredible gambling addiction binge while it was in progress. Do 58 year-old bookkeepers from the local assisted living facility typically have more than $600,000 to lose inside a casino? Is there any law enforcement official who thinks Turning Stone did not know this woman’s work history? Is there any public health official who thinks Turning Stone did not know this woman was suffering from a full-fledged gambling addiction?
Turning Stone Casino has been operating almost twenty years in the name of lifting the Oneida Tribe “out of poverty.” During that time, the tribe has collected hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. How can poverty still possibly exist
Since the mid-1980′s, well-intended people have been talking about alternate economic solutions for Native American tribes. Yet there is no sense of urgency for these Native American tribes to change their predatory business partnerships and, as evidenced by their entrance into the payday lending arena, the situation is getting worse.
The Oneidas and every other predatory gambling tribe must transition away from running the most destructive business in the country and if they don’t, the federal government needs to aggressively step in and shut them down. It is time the next day was different for citizens like Sharon Oczkowski.
Turning Stone should return the stolen money to Eastern Star Home & Campus – otherwise, Eastern Star should sue. We will volunteer to serve as a witness to the extreme predatory practices used by casinos to exploit Americans everywhere.
Casinos need to be held accountable.
Considering the amount of data that casinos collect on their patrons (rewards cards that track slot machine play and purchases, facial recognition technology, etc). It is outrageous that casinos can turn a blind eye to the evidence of pathological and problem gambling in their establishments.
Just as a bartender or restaurant owner can be held responsible for over-serving someone alcohol, casinos should be held accountable for obvious instances of problem gambling. This woman came to the same casino on a regular basis for over three years and gambled over half a million dollars and none of the employees or the management even noticed? That seems unlikely. Despite all of the money the gambling industry gives to problem gambling organizations (as if this is somehow evidence of their deep commitment to helping problem gamblers), casinos owners profit off of exploiting the gambling addicts for everything they’re worth and then turning their back on them once they hit rock bottom.
Casino Fraud & Unethical Practices
Sharon is just one of thousands with the same story, and there seems to be no aggregate will to hold the casinos responsible. I know for a fact that Turning Stone ignores the compulsive gamblers who sign themselves out of that casino by continuing to mail flyers to the people enticing them to “come back” with $50 vouchers, etc. I am sure this is true of other casinos as well! They prey on the gamblers who are addicted, because they can’t make much money off the person who gambles with $20 and leaves–win or lose! Most of the research “out there” says that the casinos make from 48 percent to 90 percent of their revenue off of the addicted gamblers who will beg, borrow, or steal to continue in their addiction while the casino who tracks almost everything about each patron who enters their doors pleads ignorance about anyone who is obviously betting more than a usual amount!ar
TURNING STONE
They are the worst casino in the world. I’ve been to many. Any addiction is a terrible thing, no matter what it is. I know I was one of them. I never stole any money, but I am in bankruptcy, losing my home and my wife. That is the worst sentence as far as I’m concerned. Strange thing is the vouchers and dinners and rooms used to be flowing. They are even cutting that off now, really pounding me into the ground. If even one person benefits by staying away from there it would be worth it. I wish I was in “poverty” like the tribes still are now.!?!? Sad.