Stop Predatory Gambling

This teenager’s rating was E for “Expendable”

by spgadmin

Our country’s core democratic principle is equal citizenship. All blood is royal in America. Below read today’s news from Atlantic City and while you do, remember New Jersey state government is a full-fledged partner in these practices: 

“He liked playing blackjack, poker, roulette and Spanish 21. He would also try his luck on the slot machines. Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort considered him a “rated player” and even comped him with a hotel room.

But this would-be high roller actually was a teenager whose gambling spree between March 2007 and April 2008 cost Hilton a $115,000 fine Wednesday in one of the most egregious cases of underage gambling in Atlantic City’s 31-year history of casinos.

Hilton’s underage gambler was a 19-year-old man from Brooklyn, N.Y., identified publicly only by the initials “M.R.” Authorities finally caught up with him at Hilton in April 2008, when a gaming investigator spotted his name on a list of hotel guests and knew him to be an underage patron who previously had gambled at another casino.

Kassekert said the penalty against Hilton was so severe because the casino ignored warnings from the state Division of Gaming Enforcement that the teenager was gambling there. Investigators tipped off Hilton on April 7, 2008, but the casino allowed him to gamble the following day.”

A person becomes a rated player when they lose a lot of money and this teenager was a rated player. Casinos like the Hilton make 90% of their money from 10% of the players, rated players just like M.R.

A fine of $115,000 is pennies to a casino like the Hilton. The amount of money M.R. lost at the casino was likely significant. How many other teenagers like M.R. are rated players, losing thousands of dollars? The financial gain enabling out-of-control teenage gamblers far outweighs the risk of a small fine from the “regulator” who is also its business partner. Hilton clearly knew he was underage yet let him continue to lose money. Why wasn’t Hilton stripped of its casino license?

Because New Jersey state government, in the name of funding public services, also has its own ratings system for teenagers like M.R. His rating is “E” for Expendable.