Gambling

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Recommended: Merits and demerits of gambling

Win Some and Lose Some

One hour away. Sloan, Iowa. Winna Vegas Casino. We like to say it’s a fun way to get away from college life, hang out with friends, and attempt to add a little extra to the pocket books. Many kids attending Buena Vista University have made at least one trip to the Winna Vegas Casino. This casino is 70 miles from Storm Lake and the age requirement to gain admittance is only eighteen. As an alternative to drinking or the bar scene, individuals view gambling as a relaxing and entertaining past time. However, we recently encountered an article by Pathlights entitled “The Case Against Gambling”. Apparently what we thought was a fun night out, is causing otherwise good citizens to perish under the gambling system. Are we looking at gambling the wrong way?

In Gambling There Are No Winners

In the article by Pathlights it is made quite clear the major claim is that gambling is impoverishing America. We are told that money spent on gambling could be used for beneficial needs of society rather than throwing it away. In 1984, Americans spent $177 billion dollars on gambling. This amount was twice the amount spent on education and 150 times the amount spent on churches. Pathlights continues providing shocking statistics about gambling. Slot machines take in over three billion dollars of profit for Los Vegas casinos. The average slot machine only pays off $5,888 for every $8,000 put in them (PATHLIGHTS). More statistics show that it is hard to win gambling. The math department of Miami’s Barry University stated that the odds of winning a single lottery are 7.5 billion to 1. In a recent Pennsylvania lottery, the odds of winning were less likely than those of surviving eighty-eight rounds of Ru...

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...lved; however, sometimes the good outweighs the bad. The next time someone sees a new highway being paved, a young child going to school, an adult going to work, remember, casinos are a big part of keeping those things working.

Works Cited

North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries. "Where the Money Goes." In NASPL [online]. 30 June 2002 [cited 5 November 2003]. Available from: http://www.naspl.org/benefits.html.

Anderson, Shirley, Biermaier, Rosalyn, and Syverson, Sandra. "Gambling: A Challenge for Youth." In Southwest Minnesota Gambling Survey [online]. 1995 [cited 3 November 2003]. Available from: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/youthdevelopment/DA6291.html?o=0.

PATHLIGHTS. "The Case Against Gambling." In PATHLIGHTS [online]. 3 November 2003 [cited 3 November 2003]. Available from: http://www.pathlights.com/Gambling.htm.

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