What if Frank Purdue didn’t eat chicken? Or if Sam Walton didn’t shop at Wal-Mart? Or if Henry Ford drove a Toyota? Customers probably wouldn’t trust the product.
That same logic doesn’t apply to gambling industry titans. Our friends at Stop Predatory Gambling have put together an impressive list of casino owners and elected officials who don’t gamble. The list is a who’s who of the gambling industry, and includes casino magnates like Donald Trump and Steve Wynn.
Wynn rightly says the only way to win at a casino is to own one. He should know. His casinos and others make money from losers. The casino owners clearly know the deck is stacked against their customers and that they are taking advantage of desperate people, often living on the edge.
Many gamblers visit a casino dozens or hundreds of times a year, hoping to get lucky. In fact, a good chunk of the casino industry’s business model depends on catering to addicted gamblers who often play until they are broke or worse. Some are driven to steal money in order to feed their gambling habit. That is why studies show crime, bankruptcy and suicide increase wherever casinos locate.
Casino owners know this. So do their government partners. Even worse, lawmakers should not enable such an insidious business that thrives off of the destruction of the citizens they are elected to protect.
