| The Cedar Rapids Gazette wrote last year, "The first thing you notice when you walk in [a casino] is that nobody is smiling. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of faces, and not a happy one in the crowd. The people could be automatons, or the not quite perfect replicas of human beings in ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’ They sit there in front of their machines, going through the motions by rote as though hypnotized, trapped in quiet desperation, vacant expressions on their faces, looking for all the world like the victims of a sweat shop in a union organizing film. These mind-numbed, slack-jawed people sitting at the machines aren’t assembly line workers turning out an endless supply of widgets. They are playing slot machines, allegedly having fun, although you’d never guess it by looking at them."21
But what about the glitz and glamour of Nevada? If one scratches beneath the veneer of its gambling-induced prosperity, it becomes apparent that a culture sown on greed and the exploitation of human weakness invariably reaps the social whirlwind. Consider these documented facts: When compared with the other 49 states, Nevada ranks first in the nation in suicide,22 first in divorce,23 first in high school dropouts,24 first in homicide against women,25 at the top in gambling addictions,26 third in bankruptcies,27 third in abortion,28 fourth in rape,29 fourth in out-of wedlock births,30 fourth in alcohol-related deaths,31 fifth in crime,32 and sixth in the number of prisoners locked up.33 It ranks in the top one-third of the nation in child abuse,34 and dead-last in voter participation.35 One-tenth of all Southern Nevadans are alcoholics.36 And as for the moral climate, the Yellow Pages in Las Vegas lists 136 pages of advertisements for prostitution by its various names.37 No wonder they call it "Sin City." George magazine named Las Vegas "One of the 10 Most Corrupt Cities in America."38 Former deputy attorney general Chuck Gardner said, "I don’t know if there has ever been a situation with so much power concentrated in one industry. It is government gone berserk."39
(To be cont.)
21 Mike Dupree, "Are Slots Too Big a Gamble?", Cedar Rapids Gazette, March 9, 1998.
22 U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States 1997, 117th edition, p. 99.
23 Ibid, p. 108.
24 Ibid, p. 161.
25 Sue Glick, "Numbers of Females Murdered by Males in Single Victim/Single Offender Homicides and Rates by States, 1996, Ranked by Rate," Violence Policy Center, Washington D.C., September 1998.
26 Rob Bhatt, "Assigning Responsibility for Responsible Gambling," Las Vegas Business Press, June 22, 1998, p.8; "Gaming Industry 'Amazed' Over Neighborhood Slots Debate," Las Vegas Sun, February 20, 1998; Rex Buntain, "There's a Problem in the House," International Gaming and Wagering Business, July 1996, p. 40; Paul Pringle, "Dealing with Addiction: Las Vegas' Gaming Industry a Backdrop for High Rate of Compulsive Gamblers," Dallas Morning News, May 30, 1997, p. 1A.
27 Source: Mana Zarinejad, Public Affairs Coordinator, American Bankruptcy Institute.
28 U.S. Bureau of the Census, op. cit, p. 87.
29 Ibid, p. 202.
30 Ibid, p. 79.
31 "County Alcohol Problem Indicators 1986-1990," U.S. Alcohol Epidemiologic Data Reference Manual, Volume 3, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, July 1994.
32 U.S. Bureau of the Census, op. cit., p. 202.
33 Darrell K. Gilliard and Allen J. Beck, "Prisoners in 1997," Bureau of Justice Statistic Bulletin, August 1998, p. 5.
34 National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information, "Child Maltreatment 1996: Reports from the States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System."
35 U.S. Bureau of the Census, op. cit., p. 290.
36 Ken Ward, "City of Losers," Las Vegas City Life, October 30, 1997.
37 Barry M. Horstman, "New Vegas: Original Sin City Tries Family Values," Cincinnati Post, September 16, 1997.
38 "Boomtown's Big Landgrab: Las Vegas, Nevada," George, March 1998.
39 Ibid.  |