When Maryland voted to legalize slot machines, officials opted to acquire the games of chance themselves so that the state would be responsible for the integrity of the gambling. This however is causing more problems than expected. Maryland, being one of the few states where slot machines are purchased by the state, is now facing tens of millions of dollars in costs that will cut into proceeds for years to come.
Maryland faces millions in costs after paying more for slot devices than expected
The Carleton University Gambling Laboratory, a think-tank deciphering what makes gamblers keep coming back, says slot machines are nearly four times more addictive than regular card tables. Head researcher, Prof. Michael Wohl, said that’s because players can sit for long periods of time in a relatively low-stress situation and can cash in their winnings without leaving their seats. It’s also due to grave misconceptions about how slot machines work.
“A lot of people think that every time you spin a slot machine you’re getting closer and closer to a win,” Dr. Wohl explains. But that’s simply not the case, he says. He describes them as a mixed bag of marbles. Within it, there’s one “jackpot” marble combined with hundreds of losses. When you play a machine, one of those losses falls out of the bag. But what many people don’t understand is before your very next spin, that dud marble goes right back into the bag. The odds of winning or losing are always exactly the same.”
According to the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse, 80% of problem gamblers in Ontario cite slot machines as their problem. The largest percentage are seniors and low-income earners.
Below is a compelling, hard-hitting column by Esquire’s Charlie Pierce about what it means to turn America into a casino republic, declaring “The United States of America is now nothing more than a place where you gamble.”
Casinos often hand out empty promises during their beginning stages to gain citizen approval, as is the case with the state of Ohio. Ohio was promised new textbooks, increased funding for the arts, and economic development when the casino development campaign was approved by voters in 2009. However, the projected estimates of casino revenues fall far short of reality, making many of Ohio’s plans to use the money for education and economic development unrealistic. Ohio has quickly learned that casino revenues are doing far from helping to improve the state.
While the United States continues to ignore its public health problem of gambling addiction, the first national study of the gambling habits of Australia’s youth has found a tenth of kids aged 10-14 fit definitions of ‘‘at-risk’’ or ‘‘problem’’ gamblers. And a third have adults willing to place bets on their behalf. Almost a third of kids aged 10-14 said they had played electronic gambling machines in the previous year, more than half had purchased scratch tickets.
According to FBI crime numbers and the district attorney of Luzerne County (the location of a casino owned by Mohegan Sun), crime has actually gone up in several categories since the casino opened in 2006. From 2005 to 2010, larcenies shot up 20 percent, property crime jumped 13 percent and aggravated assaults increased 12 percent. “I believe it’s just increasing,” said Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis. “Yes, homicides may have gone down, but every year is different with homicides and rape. The burglaries, the property crime — those things I don’t think have gone down. … We get approximately 5,000 cases a year, and it’s been increasing.”
In Bethlehem, a casino opened in July 2010. While FBI statistics are not available for 2011, the bureau’s numbers for Bethlehem from 2009 to 2010 show a 6 percent increase in violent crime and a 7 percent increase in property crime, as well as jumps in robbery and larceny. Burglary in Bethlehem rose 20 percent over those two years.
2012 Suffolk CEO says casino will reduce crime in Eastie but numbers don’t add up
This article provides a window into how casinos like Caesars squeeze the maximum revenue out of customers. The software described here has increased Caesars revenue by $50 million per month (even while room occupancy rate actually declines.) The article concludes: “Filthy, you say? Maybe so. But Rainmaker has more than two dozen customers in the casino business so it’s not out of the question that the company has helped customers to the tune of billions of dollars.”
A look at “The Profit Optimization suite” software used by casinos to squeeze the maximum profits
Despite claims from casino operators that people go to casinos to have fun and for entertainment, this study proves winning money is the most important reason why people say they visit a casino. Three in four casino patrons say they go primarily to win “a really large amount of money,” according to a Roper survey referenced in the article below, yet it is a mathematical certainty that players will ultimately lose to the casino.
Free play offers are luring in millions of citizens into Pennsylvania casinos with the promise of free games. It’s a predatory practice used to get people hooked on the machines and to keep playing, and ultimately losing, their own money.