I used to think gambling was a tax on people who can't do math, too.Now I certain it is instead a tax on people who have no hope.

"Makes you wonder what some people are giving up to gamble..."

how bout' heat?

I fear that with the advent of Powerball and now slots more and more people that are historically bad at math and can't risk being negatively affected by anything financial will pay a great price this winter

Detroit has the highest unemployment in the nation and the lowest average income. They also have 3 casinos and each one takes in 1 million per day. They have been open about 3-4 years, and in that time crime has tripled and increased to bank robberies rather than muggings, murders rather that just hold ups,etc. Also mortgage foreclotures, suicides, and business closings are up. And a huge increase in membership at Gamblers Anonymous. The "powers that be" say it is a coincidence. That is, no doubt, because of the tax revenue they get from the casinos. Along the same line, however, the sales for Powerball lottery have also tripled.

I fear that with the advent of Powerball and now slots more and more people that are historically bad at math and can't risk being negatively affected by anything financial will pay a great price this winter

Which means they'll have to sign up for heating oil assistance programs, paid for by you and me.

Nice.

I grew up listening to family members that always said that because of their fixed (AKA retired) income they couldn't afford to buy presents for family at Christmas time or for birthdays. But at the same time they were playing slots, bingo, and picking up a handful of scratch tickets on the way home at least 5 days a week.

It would be interesting to know how great of a percentage of the gamblers are getting, or will be applying for, some sort of government assistance for things, like heat or food. I am all for capitalism, but I don't want to see our tax dollars indirectly helping pay for someone elses gambling problems so that Hollywood Slots can get rich. That isn't capitalism, that's working the system.

The problem with legalized gambling is that it isn't reall legalized, merely controlled by small but powerful interest groups that reap vast profits off of the populace.

If the usual forms of gambling were truly legalized, i.e. anyone who wanted to own and operate slot machines/video poker/craps table/etc., could do so then people would still gamble, but the open marketplace would at least ensure that the wealth could be dispersed back into the communities from which it came.