Casinos and other
forms of gambling are popping up in almost every state.
Every other day you hear of a new Indian Tribe that is
looking for recognition. Once they receive their
recognition, investors look to back these people up and
in turn a new Casino is born. People all over the
United States are using their paychecks for a chance to
win big. In turn all of the local businesses are
suffering to the point where they are now starting to
file bankruptcy. Eventually, someone in political power
will finally admit that the amount of money taken in
from taxes on gambling is significantly less than the
hardship created with the economy. Most states take in
millions of dollars from their casinos, scratch tickets
and lotto, but they don’t want to deal with the negative
impact on the local businesses. Everyone knows there is
a problem, but no one wants to face it.
People have no
problem in spending hundreds and thousands of dollars at
the Casino's but will quickly get upset when gas rises
ten cents per gallon or their child needs more school
supplies. One mother told me she was very upset that
the school system did not completely cover a field trip
and that it would cost her $15.00 for each of her two
children. She called the school and complained. This
same person had no problem the night before losing
$1,300.00 at the local casino. There's no logic to this
situation. In another situation, a person would steal
sweet and low, butter and rolls from her local diner.
She had money in her wallet but that was reserved for
gambling. In both of these situations family members
knew they had a gambling problem only after they noticed
their quality of life was changing.
Everyone now knows
someone who has a gambling problem. They don’t
understand how this has happed to a loved one, but they
know something has to change. The same situation occurs
when you find out your brother is an alcoholic. You
can’t close down every bar and you can’t bring back
prohibition. You have to face it head on and look for
alternatives to help your brother.
People now are
beginning to speak out as the epidemic continues. A lot
of people don’t even realize they have this addiction
until their resources run out. Gamblers tell their
friends I won $2000.00 at the Casino on Saturday, but
they neglect to tell them they lost $5000.00 and the
week before. Bad information is being spread in turn
the recipients of this information head to the casino in
an attempt to win big. If everyone won Casino’s would be
out of business.
I have seen
thousands of gambler’s lives destroyed because they do
not know how to quit. Through education we can succeed
at finding alternatives to help these people.
