Atlantic City, New Jersey boasts fabulous amenities for America’s senior citizens. See the broad boardwalk, perfect for fresh air and exercise. Notice the limited-mobility seniors rolling along on rented scooters and the wheelchair-bound joining the fun at easily accessible slot machines and blackjack tables. http://www.alternet.org/economy/gambling-and-seniors
Thats one reason we go to The Golden Nugget They do cater to seniors during weekdays. We keep most golf courses in business too. Luckily we still get around under our own power,I can walk a few miles daily when I get a chance and Mrs. does Aorobics,Zoomba,Kick Boxing a few days each week so the scooters will have to wait. TOO cold to walk today but not too cold to drink.
Thanks for the link Joe. That article is making us question if we should ever go back, let alone why we ever went to begin with!
The article is highly slanted against gaming. While I agree it could be dangerous to an elderly person just entering the gaming world and new to the excitement and not knowledgeable to money management or know the odds to make safer or smarter bets, many of us who are entering those years have been gaming for quite some time and have survived all these years and no reason not to believe those practices will be with us the rest of our lives. My mother loved gaming, visited AC at least 1 a month until she passed, was a seasoned Vegas vet throughout her younger years, and still never got into any financial trouble and left her 3 sons with a nice savings of assets. This writer only sees the evils of what happened to some and generalizes it for all seniors. Problems disappearing? Everyone is friendly and cheers you on? Drinks keep flowing? Adrenalin keeps pumping? Grandma feels young again? WTF is wrong with any of that? When I'm old and there isnt much time left, I sure as hell will want all those things in my life. But to this author these are evils. I've always said a casino resort (not just the casino but a resort with the service, food, room, experience) is the elixir of life, the fountain of youth. When I walk into a casino I am no longer a father, an employee with deadlines, a homeowner and bill payer and all the other stresses in my life. When we walk into a casino my wife isnt a mother, or homemaker, or office manager. When we walk into a casino I'm just Nick and my wife is just my girl and we are treated with respect and ass kissing, and it's wonderful. We are suppose to be free to live how we want, and that comes with duty to conduct ourselves with responsibility. Once we put that responsibility on the Govt to make sure we don't screw our lives up, we cede our freedoms. Grandma has been making her own decisions who whole life, it's up to her and her kids to continue to make those decisions and stop blaming others when those decisions are wrong.
I agree with NickyDim's take. The article was slanted and weak, IMO. Seniors are the fastest growing segment of the population due to demographics. Problem gambling impacts a few percent of the population and age is not a factor. Adults should be able to participate in reasonable activities. Proposals to correct a "problem" typically make the problem worse. When the mafia ran the numbers racket, they returned 75 cents on the dollar, and winners didn't have to pay tax on their winnings. Now, the mostly low income people who participate in the numbers racket get less than 50 cents on the dollar. Physician heal thyself. [YOUTUBE]TKUy6ygUgP0[/YOUTUBE]
Theres people in all age groups that should not be gambling If you spend enough time in Casinos you know the drill ,they'll gladly take every penny you have if you let them. We do enjoy just going to AC ,playing bartop vp having a few drinks etc but at the same time we're not spending 10k on a big European River Cruise or renting in FL all winter like a lot of people here.
Knagl's website has an interesting discussion of this topic. The article is slanted, overstated, and a little naive, but that doesn't invalidate its point.
I think this is a problem with all local casinos, they are too convenient which can lead to gambling additions which in turn impact family values. It's not just seniors, gambling addition impacts all walks of life which is why I rarely visit the local casinos and limit my gaming to Vegas. That being said it's hard to paint with a broad brush because a vast majority of seniors gamble responsibly so they shouldn't be regarded as problem gamblers. I read somewhere that seniors and baby boomers control 70% of disposable income so what else are we supposed to do with it?
I guess I am somewhat fortunate in that I don't care for the casinos that are the closest to me (about a 1 hour drive). The 2 that I prefer are almost a 2 hour drive, and that reduces the temptation to go to often. I get to them about once a month, sometimes longer.
My family members are gambling addicts I am addicted to cruising on ships and have been real busy cruising on the Princess cruise ships because they have been giving me future cruise credits that help me to pay less money for a cruise. My Senior Mom who is 93yrs. old is super sharp when it comes to gambling. She loves to talk high finance eventhough she doesn't have much money to gamble. LOL. She never gets demented when gambling but in her personal life she repeats info. over and over.lol. She is doing great. My sister is a big time gambler that treats money as if it is just play paper money. It is shocking to see her throw her money away on the machines. I am a young senior that loves to visit Vegas just for fun and entertainment. LucyR.
I absolutely agree with this! Well written, Sir! I LOVE your last paragraph! Makes me want to make copies of this and cram it into the mouths of the complainers and say "Here...read this..."
It is true that we should all be responsible for ourselves. However, it is dangerously naive to think that nobody ever needs help or protection from corporate scum or individual slimebags. This is especially true of older people with diminished mental capacity. I have seen it happen, and it's not just the gaming industry that takes advantage of such people. Theory sounds great. I like to think of myself as having fairly strong libertarian leanings. Yet any theory needs to be tempered by reality.
Well stated! I posted the original article as a FYI, not that I thought all seniors were ruining their lives gambling.
A tangential thought, but we need to reconsider the typical set of assumptions surrounding what constitutes a senior and what is "proper" for them to do and where and how they should live. By AARP standards, I'm a senior, and while I'm not there yet, my thought is when I'm 80 I'll feel no more like a "senior" than I do right now when it comes to likes and interests and what I want to do and how/where I want to live. Oh, and it's not "gaming." It is gambling. And, yes, shock of shocks, (some) for-profit entities do prey on consumers, as do (some) religions and (some) socio-politidal movements and most anything else out there that says "you need this."
Beg to differ. I game not gamble. Yes each bet I make is a gamble, but I don't set out to the casino floor to concentrate on my won/loss. I'm there to play, have fun, enjoy myself without worry if I'm going to win or lose. If I win, great, if I lose, ok I expected it. We play the games to play the games. We game. It's gambling if you have financial purpose for your actions. I do not, I have an entertainment budget of money designated just for that and use it to get entertained, there is no risk. If it's your mtg/rent, food or car payment money, then it's taking a gamble.
Yes, like the telephone soliciting dirtbag who sold my mother an extended warranty on her Crown Victoria car, a 9 year old car with 32k miles. However, I wish the author of this article would have used a bigger net and not have attributed so much hate in Atlantic City. I have been to many of the Philly area casinos and there were plenty of grey haired patrons and scooters blocking the aisles. As someone else mentioned, you will have more seniors in local casinos than in the LV Strip casinos.
Thank god no one gets high in a casino and losses suction. :evillaugh Perhaps just different words, Nicky. I don't gamble in the market, and I most decidedly have financial purpose in that endeavor. And back when I was playing VP at what I considered a high-level of accuracy, on full-pay machines and an eye toward promotions or what not, I wasn't going in to leave it all behind, and while that could happen, I had a financial purpose along with my entertainment purpose. It is possible to be entertained and have the money to do so and still be gambling. Even w/o a house edge, it remains gambling. Problem is, the folks who get in trouble are just that much more susceptible when the industry has convinced folks that it is a "game" and not a gamble. I read through the piece again, and it is obvious the writer and the outlet had an agenda. Much of writing is just that. It's called news channels with a political agenda. In the old days of Jefferson and the Boys it was called pamphleteering … and often dueling. It's called the OP/ED page or the SPCA Monthly Flier or the NRA Quarterly. While there seems to be merit in many of the points -- and diatribes -- the pandemic aspect of it certainly was over the top.
It is different words or different thoughts. Each instance I lay the money down is technically a gamble, but the entire experience of playing machines, or some hands of Ultimate texas holdem, drinking, laughing, having a good time with others and so forth is gaming in my mind. I guess one is the act, one is the experience. A broadway show, dinner and top rated hotel suite in NYC costs me $1000 for the evening. A free suite, free dinner and gaming may cost me the same in Atlantic city(I didn't use vegas...includes costs like airfare and car). I expect no return on either. However, the beauty of gaming is there is a chance I come home with some portion of it, all of it, or more of it. But, and a big but, I budgeted $1000 for a fun evening regardless of which evening I choose. THERE IS NO RISK. And that's just my reasons why I consider it gaming and not gambling.
If you aren't betting enough to feel.painful regret you might be gaming rather than gambling. I think you can both be right. I see the point that the industry is using the gaming term to legitimize what I believe overall for society is probably a really bad vice. But for the multimillionaire who is playing nickels, it probably is just "gaming".
Casinos can be extremely sleazy with their promotions and there needs to be a safety valve to help prevent abuse, especially when its targeting the elderly or poor people. Those promotions some local casinos have where they cash your paycheck and give you some bonus are sleazy beyond hell. They're aimed at going after the type of people who don't even have bank accounts and cash their checks at check cashing places. People who can afford to gamble the least. I remember in poor neighborhoods around here I used to see ads on bodegas and bus stops for free bus rides to AC along with food and what not if they cash their payroll or benefits checks at the casino. I don't expect the casinos to take a moral stand against doing things like that, I'm not that naive. But I'm in favor of a safety valve on the other end to provide some balance.