Michael Vick, NFL quarterback, recently pled guilty to charges stemming from the financing of dog fighting and the gambling operations that took place in one of his homes in Virginia. He has thrown away a lucrative career and the income he was going to receive from several endorsement deals. Along with that, he also killed the animals that would not fight and make him money. This case is very extreme.
However, many people in this country throw away their families and friends to gambling.
Tim Donaghy, NBA referee, plead guilty to charges stemming from point shaving by call fouls at the end games thus letting one cover the spread. This occurred because of Donaghy getting into debt with a "crime family" in Philadelphia because of his own gambling.
According to FBI statistics, wagers on the NCAA men's basketball tournament reach over $2.5 billion every year. With the emergence of Indian Casinos all across Southern California, including Hawaiian Gardens and the City of Commerce, people that live there no longer have to travel for hours in order to place bets. This makes it easier for people to become addicted to gambling by giving them a place to go that is only a few miles away. Casinos are full of loud noises and flashing lights, the senses are overloaded. It almost puts people in a state of disorientation and contributes to the loss self control.
They are also dark with no windows or clocks; 12 hours can seem like 20 minutes.
When someone is gambling, he or she loses all sense of time and, with most casinos, there is catering for the gambler by bringing food and drinks to the table. The only time people have to leave the tables is to use the restrooms and even those are hard to find.
The Internet gives a venue for people where they never need to leave their homes in order to partake in gambling. It allows people to not only place bets online, but many web sites out there allow people to practice card games and help hook them into the world of porker, craps and blackjack.
While gambling can be fun there is a line that can be crossed and the mass media needs to curtail programming that glorifies gambling.
Michael Vick, NFL quarterback, recently pled guilty to charges stemming from the financing of dog fighting and the gambling operations that took place in one of his homes in Virginia. He has thrown away a lucrative career and the income he was going to receive from several endorsement deals. Along with that, he also killed the animals that would not fight and make him money. This case is very extreme.
However, many people in this country throw away their families and friends to gambling.
Tim Donaghy, NBA referee, plead guilty to charges stemming from point shaving by call fouls at the end games thus letting one cover the spread. This occurred because of Donaghy getting into debt with a "crime family" in Philadelphia because of his own gambling.
According to FBI statistics, wagers on the NCAA men's basketball tournament reach over $2.5 billion every year. With the emergence of Indian Casinos all across Southern California, including Hawaiian Gardens and the City of Commerce, people that live there no longer have to travel for hours in order to place bets. This makes it easier for people to become addicted to gambling by giving them a place to go that is only a few miles away. Casinos are full of loud noises and flashing lights, the senses are overloaded. It almost puts people in a state of disorientation and contributes to the loss self control.
They are also dark with no windows or clocks; 12 hours can seem like 20 minutes.
When someone is gambling, he or she loses all sense of time and, with most casinos, there is catering for the gambler by bringing food and drinks to the table. The only time people have to leave the tables is to use the restrooms and even those are hard to find.
The Internet gives a venue for people where they never need to leave their homes in order to partake in gambling. It allows people to not only place bets online, but many web sites out there allow people to practice card games and help hook them into the world of porker, craps and blackjack.
While gambling can be fun there is a line that can be crossed and the mass media needs to curtail programming that glorifies gambling.
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