The Greenbrier, an upscale resort that has hosted presidents and other major figures, has transformed itself into a convenience casino. The move begs the question: What’s next, a casino at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan? How about slots at the Beverly Hills Hilton?

Down market, up market. When it comes to gambling, no place appears to be off limits. The Greenbrier used to be an exclusive enclave that attracted tourists from all over the country to golf, hunt, hike and relax and billed itself as America’s Resort. But the resort has struggled in recent years and has now turned to the desperate casino play.

Bus companies are bringing scores of day trippers to the Greenbrier mainly to gamble. The casino opened two years ago and was billed as an upscale attraction. But it has morphed into an Atlantic City-like attraction that buses in locals to gamble. The West Virginia Lottery Commission ordered the Greenbrier to stop busing in gamblers, but apparently that hasn’t happened.

The Greenbrier casino underscores the broader shift across the country to turn to gambling as an answer to every economic problem. More and more states are turning to gambling as way to solve budget woes. Many struggling towns and businesses are eager to use slots to lure in customers. The upshot is a country that is quickly becoming hooked on gambling at every turn.

States and cities that bet on casinos to boost the local economy should take a look at Macau.

The Chinese enclave is about the third of the size of Manhattan and generates more gambling revenue than Las Vegas. The gambling boom has transformed the city in many ways: the streets are clogged with buses transporting gamblers to casinos. Housing prices have doubled along with food prices. Crime is up. Gangs do business inside the casinos, as do prostitutes. While there are 36 casinos, there is only one public hospital, and it is a dump, reports Reuters.

Macau, just like Atlantic City, has failed to improve the quality of life for most residents. Yet, the casino operators are raking in billions of dollars. Other cities and states in the U.S. that have bet on casinos are also hard-pressed to show how gambling has been a good economic or social policy. Yes, the casinos create jobs and generate tax revenue, but schools, poverty rates, tax rates and other key measures have not improved.

The only real output is that many residents are a lot poorer after wasting their time and money inside the casinos.

When state lawmakers talk about casinos, they often highlight the jobs, tax dollars and benefits of building a “world-class” tourist resort, which are usually nothing more than local slots barns. Lawmakers argue that gambling is all about fun and entertainment, but this first-person account offers some insight into what is really like inside a casino and who the customers are that keep the casinos humming along.

“In gambling narratives, the bottom is followed by the fantasy and the fantasy is followed by the bottom. The high is always the pain and the pain is always the high,” Jay Kang writes in this personal essay from 2010.

This vivid portrait is worth reading and remembering as lawmakers in state after state tout casinos as an answer to the budget and job woes. Keep in mind who casinos cater to and where the money comes from. Kang’s essay shines a light on the lives that are impacted, and often destroyed, by casinos and the elected officials who enable gambling. 

“I could tell you that during a 36-hour period in July of 2006, I lost $18,000 in Las Vegas,” Kang wrote. “Or I could tell you I once picked through every corner of my car, including the grating underneath the spare tire, for five dollars of spare change so that I could make the minimum bet at a blackjack table (a bet I lost). And my interest in divulging these details would not be to instruct or to edify, or even to elicit empathy from fellow addicts. My interest would be to rip open my suffering heart and show you its beautiful beating, and in this way, I might think of myself as having been more alive than you, my hopefully horrified reader, were at a similar age and time.”

A recent poll found the majority of residents were opposed to a second casino in Philadelphia. But since the will of the people doesn’t matter to elected officials when it comes to gambling, the poll results are unlikely to stop the state from moving forward with a plan to award a second casino license in the city.

The Inquirer Pennsylvania Poll found 45 percent of likely voters in the city and the four surrounding Pennsylvania counties opposed building another gaming hall, while 33 percent support it. The poll shows that many voters understand that insidious gambling is not a smart public policy when it comes to funding government operations.

There are two money quotes in the story, both by Paul Boni an attorney and board member of the national group Stop Predatory Gambling:

1. “With casinos now so pervasive, Pennsylvanians are experiencing firsthand the
damage of this government program: state-sponsored gambling houses preying on
human weaknesses,” Boni said. “People realize these aren’t the entertainment and
tourist destinations the politicians described.”

2. “This isn’t simply a matter of not in my backyard,” Boni said.  “Pennsylvanians are saying they’ve had enough of casinos, anywhere. When Mayor Nutter sings the praises of a second casino here in Philadelphia, who exactly is he representing?”

Recall that Nutter, who opposed casinos in Philadelphia as a candidate, now supports casinos. Boni’s point underscores Nutter’s transformation from representing taxpayers to representing the casino interests. Sadly, that is a well-traveled path by many elected officials who lack ideas when it comes to smart economic policy that actually generates wealth for residents rather than strip it away.