It seems like casino gambling (or gaming) is everywhere no days. I use to go to casinos but started to notice the expression of the people sitting at the slot machines. They look so bored!

They are not the beautiful young hip people shown in the advertisements but usually about 75 years old, overweight and smoking up a storm. They seem like they are in a rush to spend their social security checks.

The tables are terrible to. So many people doing risky bad bets. I recent saw some hit a 19 in blackjack with $100 chips, what a waste.

What casinos have you been going to where everyone is 75 years old? Maybe Atlantic City on a weekday afternoon. I see all different types of people at casinos - from twenty years old to eighty, hip and not, etc.

They aren't boring when you are winning....regardless of your age, smoking preference, or weight!

Aren't casinos some of the most depressing places in the World?? No - I would think Ground Zero is. Idiot!

I've never understood why people must tell the world that they don't like something.

If you don't like casinos, don't go. Period. The rest of the world really couldn't care less about your opinion.

It is well-known to economists that gambling, and in particular lotteries, are a TAX on STUPIDITY. Why should I, a non-gambler care? Because my tax money is used by these stupid people to gamble. More than once I've seen people (always women in my case) trade food stamps for 80 cents on the dollar to buy Powerball tickets and/or gamble on Ohio River casino boats.

People who can afford to throw away their money, and do so for "entertainment" purposes, that's their business (and their problem when they get addicted and hopefully join Gamblers Anonymous). But for those who can't afford it, it's society's problem as well.

So, Yes, casinos are very depressing. What a sad waste.

George,
You can't make a simple assessment of the impact of casino's by the observation of that person using food stamps to by lottery tickets.

The revenue transfer issues are fairly complicated and not easily analyzed. For example, don't states receive a portion of the proceeds from lotteries? If so, doesn't that revenue supplement what otherwise would be revenue that needs to come from general revenue taxes? Yes, it is a form of a tax, but a tax on only those who chose to play.

Does casino gambling cause social ills. Of course it does. But does the cost of those issues outweigh the benefits from increased employment and funds being brought into a particular community from those visiting. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. Unless you have seen a comprehensive study, I'm not sure how you can make that claim.

The one example always used is Atlantic City. AC was a dump before gambling and it is still a dump. So in that regard, casino's have not helped. However, what about the surrounding towns? Haven't they benefitted from the wages of casino employees. How about that bus driver from NYC who does 5 runs a week and pays taxes on his income benefit society?

I guess you haven't been to Hard Rock Hotel's casino lately. A casino that caters to the young and single gambling crowd.

Gamblers are just plain stupid. I'm not talking about the people who lose 50 or 100 for entertainment value. I'm talking about people who think they can win in the long run. Anyone with a high school education should know its a losing proposition. Why do you think casinos are filled with white trash?

Let's see . . . casinos bring in organized crime, prostitution, drugs and union disputes. Simply wonderful for their surrounding communities! Talk to anyone unfortunate enough to live in a town near a new casino, and you'll hear the same refrain: Empty promises of fortune and economic development. It's all BS -- the casino operators get rich and everyone else gets screwed.

What gets me about casinos is how bored everyone looks at the slot machines but they will stay at the machine for hours. Ever try to get on a slot machine next to one of those blue haired old women. She will claim she is playing both machines and push you off the machine.

Terrible places!

Gert - if they are such terrible places, why do you even go?

I expected casinos to be home to the rich and glamorous and that I would feel second class there. My first casino trip was to the Trop in AC when I was 17 yrs old and on my way to college (Yes I know you "must" be 21). I found it cool and exciting and was taught the game of craps in a fun and exciting atmosphere, I didn't notice much of what was going on around me.

I live in CT and would take occasional trips to the Native American casinos and found a much different ambiance: destitute looking people with ratty clothes who looked like they were spending their last dollar. I remember when Foxwoods first opened there were many newspaper stories about parents leaving their kids in the car in the parking lot on 90 deg F days while they gambled away their college fund. I think the casino responded quickly and set up some more family friendly activities.

There wree 2 incidents where I was at a table and a fellow player did something depressingly surprising:

1) In AC, a young guy playing BJ next to me said he got in at 2AM and was already down 4 grand (@1PM), it was obvious that he was playing constantly all night long. The kicker: Every 10 minutes he asked the dealer to put a marker down to save his spot and he would leave to go check the college football scores as he had a lot riding with his bookie. From looking at him, he didn't appear to be wasting his proceeds from his latest stock option exercise, and wasn't doing any better at picking football games.

2) At Foxwoods, the guy next to me asked for his place to be held after losing about $500 in the previous hour, losing the last chip he had in front of him. He pulled out his credit card as if he was going to get a cash advance to get more chips. I figured he'd come back with a $500 buy-in but he showed up with a crisp $20 bill which lasted about 4 hands - looked to be last 20 in his bank account or available on his credit card. He left the table after losing it.

I've never been to Vegas but will be going this summer. I like casinos, but my point is: I don't think that the bulk of the handle comes from people who can afford to lose it or from people who can just walk away. I've always thought that addiction was a Darwinian thing - weed out the weak and the strong survive but I've seen some souring sights in casinos and can't help but to feel sorry for people who have lost control. My home, CT, is a real hotbed of controversy right now with alleged "Indian Tribes" popping up all over and fighting their way to the supreme court to exercise their "freedom" to open up casinos on property which they now claim to be "Indian Reservations".

I've seen the worst in people at casinos as well. But I do admit, greed is a crazy thing when it comes to gambling. I've been at the other side of the table where I've been up almost 5 grand after a few hours play and I could have walked out with over 5 grand but instead I lost almost half of it back before realizing by greed was letting me pay the casino back. It is an addiction that feeds on the poor but like any other addiction there is help and we shouldn't mock those that have it.

losers.

Yes, according to stats 80 percent of the people who leave a casino, go away with less money than they came in with.

Can they afford to do so when we are in a recession and losing ones job a strong possibility?

Aren't threads about depressing casinos pretty depressing too? You must be bored out of your gourd.

Actually, there are more depressing places such as the women's department at Wal Mart, a Kia dealer, pawn shops near casinos, Arkansas, eating disorder hospitals, and dinner with my in-laws.

Welcome to the site, Jason - you're making a big splash. Very impressive, working all the boards, and adding value everywhere you go. Keep up the good work, this webiste needs just the kind of help you offer!!! Keep posting dude.

Casinos are depressing? Why then we always laugh there playing those penny slots?