Saturday, November 18, 2006

With the opening of the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Pennsylvania's
slot-machine era is officially underway. For better or for worse, the
Poconos racino proudly announced "Phase One of casino project is now open."
It features two floors packed with nearly 1,100 slot machines, from the
popular Wheel of Fortune to Double Diamonds to the brand spanking new Deal
or No Deal. For more than a few gamblers, however, the availability of slots
will prove to be a bad deal.
We've all heard the stories. Stories told by the likes of Billy Maguire, a
Louisville, Ky., resident who lost all his money, his wife and almost his
life. After years of video gaming losses, divorced and bankrupt Maguire put
the business end of a shotgun in his mouth and prayed for the courage to
pull the trigger. He managed to develop a different kind of courage instead.
He picked up a phone and called a gambling-addiction hotline for help.
Experts say that about one in 15 people who play slot machines will develop
a gambling problem, if not a full-blown addiction. Pathological gambling has
ruined countless lives. And yet, so has alcoholism and we allow people to
drink in this country. The social costs are huge but then so are the social
costs of trying to outlaw such behaviors. Slot machines have come a long way
since the first one was invented by Charles Fey in 1887 in San Francisco.
Rarely anymore do you hear the sound of real coins hitting a metal tray,
even if you are lucky enough to hit a jackpot.

Today it's all sound effects, beeps and boops! And machines pay out in
vouchers instead of cash. As the Mohegan Sun points out, it makes for a
"more hassle-free gaming experience."

Anything that takes the "hassles" out of gambling is a good thing,
especially for the casino owner. The fewer the hassles, the faster players
can slide their hard-earned money into the bill slot. But don't take us for
bunch of blue-nose scolds.

Better all those who would travel to Atlantic City or Delaware to lose (or
win) a few bucks, did it here instead. That way, at least, the money stays
in state to help pay for the sort state programs taxpayers have come to want
and expect.

Yes, gambling is a regressive way to tax citizens. And yes, a certain number
of people will end up like Billy Maguire or worse.But, in the long run, the
jobs the gaming industry will provide, plus the entertainment value for
those of us who will never gamble away our mortgage payments, will make it a
bet worth taking.

Besides, as Eddie Felson said in "The Color of Money," "Money won is twice
as sweet as money earned."

There is a perverse truth in that.

For better or for worse gaming is here to stay in Pennsylvania.

Make that for better and for worse. And it's soon to be at a racino near you
(in Chester).

In the 1930s, it was the New Deal.

Today, it's the Deal or No Deal era.

Just remember, you don't have to play.