The Luck Business: The Devastating Consequences and Broken Promises of America's Gambling Explosion
- ISBN-10
- 0029124832
- ISBN-13
- 9780029124833
- Category
- Games & Activities / Gambling / General
- Pages
- 273
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1995
- Publisher
- Free Press
- Authors
- Robert Goodman, Ph.D.
Description
Legal gambling, once little more than a tourist attraction in New Jersey and Nevada, spread throughout the United States in the early 1990s and today generates over $35 billion in yearly revenues. Under the sponsorship of state and local governments, gambling enterprises - lotteries, riverboats, and casinos - have been growing at an explosive rate, with casino revenues alone almost doubling in the last six years. But as Robert Goodman shows in this compelling new book, the first authoritative and accessible account of the new gambling enterprises, this bonanza comes at a substantial cost. Drawing upon the results of the landmark United States Gambling Study (which he directed), as well as interviews with politicians, industry leaders, and experts, Goodman shows that the frantic bidding by states for gambling enterprises has failed to provide them with the new revenues and jobs they so desperately need. On the contrary, The Luck Business shows that an increasing proportion of casino patrons consists not of out-of-state tourists, who ordinarily would also spend money on local restaurants, hotels, and shops, but of local residents, whose betting actually leaves them with less money to spend locally. What the states and localities are stuck with are the horrendous costs of the new gambling enterprises as they try desperately to cope with the bankruptcies, broken families, and petty crime that a growing population of problem gamblers inevitably leaves in its wake. Indeed, as state governments increasingly see themselves as promoters rather than regulators of gambling, they (together with the gambling industry, one of this country's most powerful lobbies) are actively fostering - throughadvertising campaigns directed at the financially vulnerable, through new legislation setting aside betting limits, and by other means - addictive gambling behavior.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
Finding the Edge: Mathematical Analysis of Casino Games
By William R. Eadington, Olaf Vancura, Judy A. CorneliusThis text gives information on the current status of gambling and the issues that arise with the existence of legal commercial gaming.
-
Internet Gaming Law
By I. Nelson Rose, Martin D. OwensInternet Gaming Law
-
Inside Las Vegas
By Mario PuzoInside Las Vegas
-
24/7: Living It Up and Doubling Down in the New Las Vegas
By Andres MartinezIn the spring of 1998, mild-mannered, Ivy League-educated Andrés Martinez took $50,000--most of the advance his publisher was paying for this book--and headed to Las Vegas for thirty days, ten...
-
24/7: Living it Up and Doubling Down in the New Las Vegas
By Andres MartinezIn April 1998, Andrés Martinez withdrew fifty thousand dollars from the bank--most of the advance he was paid for this book--and boarded a plane to the fastest-growing metropolis in America:...
-
Indian Gaming Law and Policy
By Kathryn R. L. Rand, Steven Andrew LightIn just over two decades, Indian gaming has become big business throughout the United States. Over 300 tribal casinos in 30 states generate billions of dollars in gambling revenue. The...
-
Gambling and the Law
By I. Nelson RoseDiscussions in this book include taking gambling losses and expenses off your taxes, how to avoid paying gambling debts, what to do if you feel you are cheated, whether a...
-
You Bet: The Betfair Story and how Two Men Changed the World of Gambling
By Colin CameronThe fascinating story of a huge international business success story, and how one company has created legions of new gamblers and changed the worlds of gambling and sport forever. A...
-
Legalized Gambling: A Reference Handbook
By William Norman ThompsonABC-CLIO's Contemporary World Issues series comprises comprehensive, balanced, one-volume reference handbooks on important topics related to science, technology, and medicine; the environment; society; politics, law, and government; criminal justice; and...
-
Dice Games
By John Belton, Joella CramblitIllustrated instructions for ten dice games.