Slot Machines

New Research Project

Donte — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:43:20 +0000

I suppose, with all of my ranting about people keeping themselves informed, it is my job to look this up, but I am baffled as to how Nevada became so brilliant on the subject of handling vice. There is a habit of many states and even or federal government of attempting to legislate morality. This is not something that is possible. There are some moral decisions that the government has to influence, like murder, but that is necessary to somewhat insure the citizens of this nation that if a person is to harm them or their loved ones the law will enact retribution for those actions. This just to help people sleep at night. But there are somethings that people find morally questionable that do not really harm people that some governments attempt ban.

Nevada was ahead of the curve on two big morally questionable industries. The main one is of course gambling. Nevada was the first state to offer legal slot machines and table games. Prostitution is yet another industry that Nevada decided to regulate instead of prohibit. While many people do not agree with these activities, people are going to do them and have been doing them since the dawn of civilization. Nevada decided not to fight the uphill battle that most states continue to fight and instead regulate these industries. By regulating, not only does the state turn a profit from it through taxation, they have also managed to make those industries safer for both the workers and the customers.

Lifting Gambling Prohibition With Slot Machines

Donte — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:42:34 +0000

What people do not realize is that during the Prohibition era America’s alcohol consumption actually went up. This is no surprise when you realize that people, especially in this country, are more likely to do something when they are told not to. It is part of the rebel spirit of this country that has allowed us to do so many ground breaking things. This same point was touched on in a season of one of my favorite television shows of all times: The Wire. A police captain struck a deal with drug dealers essentially making the trafficking of drugs legal. The term he used was taking the heart out of the game. No surprise, there were a lot of positive side effects to this risky experiment, including the fact that crime virtually disappeared from the streets.

What is happening now with casinos is that states are starting to realize all of the earning potential that slot machines and table games have. So they are essentially lifting their individual prohibitions on gambling in order to take part of a lucrative industry that pays off big for everyone. There is a part of our country that is still very Puritan and naive, but slowly we are waking up. I suppose that is what will happen when you are suddenly thrust into the roll of the only super power. Eventually slot machines will be sort of a common place thing that may not be confined to just casinos and racetracks. You might find them in the grocery store, just like in Nevada.

The Great Unwashed

Donte — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:41:38 +0000

I had a discussion with a woman that runs the theatre I am currently working at. The best way to sum up the discussion is that it was on the topic of why people are so stupid. Plan and simple, people do not take the time to inform themselves of what is going on around them. We discussed things like insurance companies and how there business model is designed not to help people. Sure that is the reason they are there, but what people do not understand is the only way these companies make a profit is if they can receive more payments from their clients than actual claims they have to shell out. So you had better believe if there is a large claim they are not going to want to pay that money and will look for ways not to pay that money. Whenever big business makes a decision you find confusing, the best thing to do is to follow the money.

So why does the United State government continue to fight a useless battle against online casinos? Simple, this country invested in brick and mortar casinos and is continuing to do so and there is a fear the the overseas companies that got into the online casino business first will injure the potential earning that comes from the several states that offer legal slot machines and table games. Since the recession there have been several states that have decided to legalize slot machines in order to receive tax revenue. Their ultimate fear is that with legalized gambling online, fewer people will come out and spend money at their venues.

Do Unto Oneself

Donte — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:41:09 +0000

I am not saying that everything people seemed determined to do should be legalized. Obviously, it seems that no matter how much the world continues to evolve there will always be murder and theft. These to crimes are committed by people of all demographics. While one group might shoot a store clerk for a few dollars at a convenient store, another will murder their wife and rob thousands of people in a Ponzy scheme. However, the reason we need to stop things like this is because this affects other people. We, in order to function as a society, have to do what we can to prevent people from disrupting the lives of others. If not the total chaos will be allowed to ensue.

But, we cannot stop people from doing what they are going to do to themselves. There is not a soul in this country that does not know that smoking will tear your lungs apart and kill you when you get old, but people are going to smoke. There are very few people that do not realize your odds of winning millions of dollars from slot machines are very slim, still there a people that are going to spend their entire paycheck on slot machines hoping each day will be their day. People are so determined to do these things they will usurp the law in order to have there demands met. This is the reason things like online casinos need to be regulated. It is going to happen anyway and no one is actually being hurt.

In The First Place

Donte — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:40:14 +0000

I suppose the Federal Government likes to to do things the hard way. I hate to act like a know it all but I am pretty sure I know how this whole online casinos thing is going to turn out. Right now most states are in the process of expanding their gambling offerings and gambling is being expanded in a way in this country that has never before been paralleled. However, there is also a group of people trying to legalize online casinos. These people that are trying to regulate online casinos know very well that this is something they government is eventually going to have to get around to. There are just something that people are going to do regardless of the law. Going online is one thing and gambling is another. These things combined makes for the multibillion dollar business that is the online casino industry.

For now there are all sorts of laws and investigations going on with the hope of discouraging foreign sources to provide online casinos to people in the United States. However, while online casinos are illegal in the United States, the United States remains the biggest market for online casinos. As long as their is earning potential like that in this country, there will always be someone to provide the service. The government will eventually realize they are spending all of this money on stopping something people seemed determined to do and eventually online casinos will be regulated… as they should be in the first place.

That Prohibition Way of Thinking

Donte — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:39:47 +0000

Hearing people talk about slot machines reminds me of the stories you hear from the prohibition era. There was good cause for people to campaign against the legal sale of alcohol in the United States. Women did not feel safe in their homes because of their abusive husbands that would waltz in drunk after hours at the saloon. The women’s suffrage movement was a big part of the Prohibition movement. Men were simply a terror to their families. However, that was not the majority. As a matter of fact there are still drunken men that come home and beat their wives. This is an unfortunate situation, but making alcohol illegal did not solve the problem. In fact making alcohol illegal created more crime. Crime even more regrettable that women being assaulted by their husbands.

When you hear about slot machines now, especially since more and more states are choosing to legalize them and create state operated gaming venues, the same stories pop up. Only this time it is about the grandmother that spends her entire social security check on slot machines and steals money from her grand kids. These things happen. People are a little nuts, but prohibition is not the answer when it is something that most people are going to do and something most people do with healthy discretion. While it is a tragedy that some people cannot handle their compulsion to gamble, most people seem to handle it just fine. Making it illegal only makes the industry less trustworthy.

Know Your History

Donte — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:38:54 +0000

I swear people never seem to learn their lesson. I was talking to my kid brother this past weekend. He has hit that special age of 14 where he seems to get super lazy and super distracted. He went from being an A student to getting Ds and Fs. It maybe partially my fault that he has become obsessed with guitar at the expense of his homework. But sat him down recently to get the point through his lazy skill that there is no excuse for dipping out on your education. It does not matter what you choose to do with your life it is important to have as much knowledge as you brain can possibly handle. Simply due to the fact that knowledge is a powerful tool. I also stressed the knowing history is another important form of information he must familiarize yourself with. Much of life repeats itself and knowing history helps one avoid those pit falls.

Someone needs to tell the governments of the United States the same thing. I do not know how they can look at something like gambling, I’m including brick and mortar casinos but mostly talking about online casinos and not realize that it is just something that people are going to do. This is exactly like the prohibition era when they tried to outlaw drinking. The bill was doomed from the start. Legalizing slot machines and building commercial casinos is a great start, but I have a strong feeling Nevada was way ahead of the game.

No Surprise to Me

Donte — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:38:29 +0000

I do not know why it comes as such a surprise to some people that the United States has become more accepting of gambling. Slot machines have emerged in almost every state and more states are changing their laws in order to include gambling, particularly slot machines, as a part of their state revenue. There are a lot of things that people do that other people do not agree with. Smoking is a terrible habit that kills millions of people every year. In the city of New York the government simply hikes up the tax to both encourage people to do it less and also to make more money off of the vice. There are some people out there that do not know when to stop drinking and will operated a car, becoming a hazard to innocent commuters. But even if you were to outlaw these vices, people would find a way to do it.

There are just some things that people are going to do, regardless of the law. People will probably always smoke, regardless of the risks. People will always drink regardless of their irresponsible behavior. And people will always gamble regardless of whether they can control their impulses at the slot machines. To pretend otherwise is to live in denial. The fact that casinos are becoming more common and commercial is no surprise to me. That is just the end result of the government coming to terms with the behavior of the people the govern. If they are going to do it, do not make the criminals, make them revenue.

We’ve Seen This Before

Donte — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:37:58 +0000

Its all just a little bit of history repeating. I know I have said this before but I think the issue deserves a revisit. In the early part of the 20th century the United States Government thought it would be wise to outlaw the sale of alcohol. This was a measure that was unpopular with the entire world and actually increased the problems that alcohol caused in the United States. Not only did it increase alcohol consumption — and it did — it increased crime. Now the majority of the adult population in the United States had turned criminal just to consume beverages that they and their ancestors had enjoyed with out anyone batting an eye. In addition to that the people that provided the service that was so in demand were obviously the the shady criminal type. Sound familiar?

This is the exact same pattern that happened to gambling. Gambling has always been slightly frowned upon, but everyone had done it at some point in time in their life even if they are not playing slot machines. However, there was a time in the United States where the only places you could go to play poker, blackjack, or slot machines were run by the mob. That is no longer the case. In fact the states are in a place where they realize the enormous money making potential from slot machines in particular. Casinos are becoming a lot more common and they are no longer the shady little pleasure that can only be found in Nevada and New Jersey.

Changing Attitudes

Donte — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:37:20 +0000

Attitudes on gaming have changed dramatically in the United States. It is still not the most warmly accepted of industries. Gambling is still very much associated with sin and vice and all the things that people thought alcoholic cowboys of the old west would do in the saloons of days gone by. If not that then there is the notorious mob era of casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gambling has a long history of being associated with shady characters because it was never fully embraced by the state of Federal government. At long last the states came to same realization about gambling that they did about alcohol during the Prohibition years in the United States. People are going to be doing this anyway. We may as well make some money off of it.

It seems to have taken the recession to make that point clear finally. States were tight on cash and slot machines, if they do nothing else, they make money. Lots of it and fast. During the recession several states either changed their gambling laws or strongly considered it. The East Coast saw a serious flourish of casinos like never before. Before the recession New Jersey was still king of casinos on the East Coast. Now Atlantic City is just one of the many options people have in the northeast if they want some gambling action. Pennsylvania made the message loud and clear to other states that not only could Atlantic City be challenge, but they could be surpassed.