Letters - Jan. 7

A loser who gambled discovered his friend had the power of levitation. He took his friend to a casino to manipulate dice in the game of craps and the ball on roulette tables, amassing one million dollars. During his last bet, while betting all of his one million dollar winnings on one roll of the dice, he lost all of it, because he couldn’t stop.

The second episode was about a pool shark who gambled that he had to win at all cost. He ended up playing the dead world champ that came to earth, and ended up winning by one shot. Only to discover upon his death that by winning he ended up in eternity obsessed with being the best. In conclusion, no gambler ever wins in the end.

After thorough examination of the gambling industry, we find that it is not in the best interest of anyone for numerous reasons. For starters, it is not good for the individual because the legalization of gambling is closely related with the increase of many compulsive gamblers. It is also unfavorable for the individual, because it will lead a person who would never commit a crime on their own to steal to finance their habit.

Gambling is also not very prudent for the families of gamblers. Many gamblers are also alcoholics who would beat their spouses and neglect or abuse their children. The community that the casino resides in is also hurt. Money that could have been spent on goods from local stores was gambled away in the casinos. Finally the state and local governments lose on this deal. Compulsive gamblers cost the state an enormous amount of money each year, and with the number of problem gamblers growing with the casinos, this is a problem that will not go away.

It is probably put best in the quote “once gambling starts, it does not slow down and there can be no standing in its place for those who would stop its spread.”

Richard Randall

Cascade Locks