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 | | From: | Chadwick Stone© | | Subject: | Convict Kazoo not alone when it comes go gambling away government hand-out | | Date: | Thu, 20 Jan 2005 08:57:41 GMT |
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http://www.indystar.com/articles/4/210774-6864-047.html
As many as 11 percent of senior citizens who gamble say they spend more than
they should at the casino or on some other form of gaming, a study issued
Wednesday says.
Those seniors may be the latest addition to the growing ranks of problem
gamblers: An estimated 4 to 8 million people in the United States fall into
that category, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling.
Seniors may be particularly vulnerable to the lure of casinos, says study
author David Oslin of the University of Pennsylvania. Seniors who do not get
out much may enjoy taking a day trip to a casino with other retirees. In
fact, 70 percent of the 843 people age 65 and older in this study said they
had gambled at least once in the past year, and going to a casino was one of
the most popular ways to gamble.
Oslin and his colleagues interviewed seniors by phone, asking them about
their gambling habits. They found that 92 of the 843 seniors were at-risk
gamblers: They said they recently had laid down more than $100 in a single
bet or said they often bet more than they could afford to lose. None was
considered a pathological gambler, a person who spends huge sums of money
and develops a compulsion to gamble. Still, problem gambling can lead to
financial disaster for seniors who are living on a fixed income, Oslin says.
At-risk seniors also had health issues that often accompany a gambling
problem. The study found they were more likely to drink four or five
alcoholic drinks a day, which could lead to dangerous falls for seniors.
"This study raises some serious public health concerns," says Dan Blazer, a
geriatrics psychiatrist at Duke University. Blazer worries about seniors who
already have developed bouts of forgetfulness. Seniors in this group might
lose track of how much they are spending and gamble away huge sums, he says.
Gary Thompson, a spokesman for Harrah's Entertainment Inc., the largest
operator of casinos in the United States, says the study shows that most
people who enjoy gambling do not have a problem. Thompson said that his
company supports any study that helps identify problem gamblers. Harrah's
employees, when confronted with problem gamblers, give them information on
how to get help, he says.
--
Chadwick Stone©
Formerly the AFA-B Sovereign Sockpuppet©
"No longer anonymous but still immune"
Usenet's most helpful netizen
SovereignSockpuppet at Yahoo dot com
Benevolent Order of the Pointy Stick
Skepticult® ID: 581-00504-208
A mean and nasty bastard
I am the New World Order
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| | From: | Don Homuth | | Subject: | Re: Convict Kazoo not alone when it comes go gambling away government hand-out | | Date: | Thu, 20 Jan 2005 01:08:33 -0800 |
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| On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 08:57:41 GMT, "Chadwick Stone©"
wrote:
>X-No-Archive: YES
>
>http://www.indystar.com/articles/4/210774-6864-047.html
>
>As many as 11 percent of senior citizens who gamble say they spend more than
>they should at the casino or on some other form of gaming, a study issued
>Wednesday says....
There's reason to assert that 100% of all citizens who gamble spend
more than they should on it.
But if it's entertainment, what the hell anyway.
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