The "Virtues" Guy: Do you Gamble? Is this OK with you? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

ARTelevision · 05-03-2003, 02:03 PM

William Bennett a Big Gambler

WASHINGTON - William Bennett, the former Cabinet secretary and family values campaigner, is a high-rolling gambler who has lost millions over the past decade, according to published reports.
Casino documents show Bennett is a "preferred customer" in at least four venues in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, Newsweek and The Washington Monthly reported in stories posted Friday on the web. His favorite games: video poker and slot machines. He has a revolving line of credit of at least $200,000 at each casino, the magazines said.
The former drug policy director and education secretary under Republican presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush doesn't have to have money when he shows up at a casino, according to the magazines, which obtained internal casino documents.
Bennett, who wrote "The Book of Virtues," gets high-roller treatment, including limos and tens of thousands of dollars in complimentary hotel rooms and other amenities.
In one two-month period, the documents show him wiring more than $1.4 million to cover losses at one casino. In one 18-month stretch, Bennett visited a number of casinos for two or three days at a time.
Some of his losses have been substantial. According to one casino source, on July 12, 2002, Bennett lost $340,000 at Caesars in Atlantic City and on April 5 and 6 he lost more than $500,000 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Some casino estimates put his total losses over the past decade at more than $8 million.
When reached by Newsweek, Bennett acknowledged he gambles.
"Over 10 years, I'd say I've come out pretty close to even," he said. "You can roll up and down a lot in one day, as we have on many occasions. You may cycle several hundred thousand dollars in an evening and net out only a few thousand."
Efforts by the Associated Press to reach Bennett by telephone were unsuccessful.
During an 18-month period, documents show there were only a few occasions when Bennett turned in chips — worth about $30,000 or $40,000 — at the end of an evening.
"I play fairly high stakes. I adhere to the law. I don't play the 'milk money.' I don't put my family at risk, and I don't owe anyone anything," Bennett said. The documents didn't contradict his points.
Bennett, along with former Rep. Jack Kemp, is co-chairman of Empower America, a conservative public policy organization in Washington.

....................

Personally, I have never bought a lottery ticket.
I never gamble on anything.
Why?
I think it's a waste of money.

I know a lot of good people who gamble a bit.
I also know some for whom it's a problem.

How about this guy? William Bennett.
You know him, he's the guy who preaches values every chance he gets.
He wrote, "The Book of Virtues"

To me, his behavior is over the top
and he is a hypocrite...

What do you think?

maximusveritas · 05-03-2003, 02:13 PM

I don't do it myself, but I don't see anything wrong with other people throwing away their money if they get pleasure out of it. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone else, I can't blame them.

As far as Bennett, he is definitely a hypocrite, but not because he likes to gamble.

Lebell · 05-03-2003, 02:33 PM

If Bennett wants to gamble and has the means to do so, I don't see a problem, any more than a blue collar worker who sets aside 50$ or 100$ a week to gamble.

On the other hand, anyone who gambles to the point where it hurts others has a problem, be it a poor man losing a $1000 or a rich man losing $1,000,000.

nefarious · 05-03-2003, 02:52 PM

Gambling on slot machines or lottery is a waste of money to me. As long as you set a limit for yourself and follow, you're cool..

But when you're gambling the food money away, buying lottery tickets or playing slots instead of buying bread.. that's when it's a problem.

Personally i love Blackjack and Poker, but i've learned that you need to know when to stop.

Loki · 05-03-2003, 03:05 PM

sure fire way to gamble:

walk into a casino with something you can easily afford to lose (say, $20 for a student, etc). go and gamble based on that. if you lose, well, tough, and walk out. If you win, put $20 back into your pocket, and then have fun with the rest.

hm, and as for that guy, im gonna agree with lebell here... but i think that getting a "preferred customer" and 200,000 credit in four casinos is a pretty big indication that you might have a problem =)

Sion · 05-03-2003, 03:15 PM

he says he has come out pretty close to even, despite casino documents showing he has lost $8 million + over the last decade or so. I wonder what a comparison of those casino documents and his tax returns would show.

also, he must be a pretty poor gambler.

and a fool too, for playing primarily slots and video poker. those are two of the worst games to play if you want to actually make money gambling. the only game I play is blackjack, because if you know what you are doing, you CAN make money. the secret to blackjack is the 3 for 2 payout on blackjack.

Mael · 05-03-2003, 03:26 PM

i don't see how he's a hypocrite, unless in his book he preaches against gambling. seeing as how i've never read his book, so i don't know. but unless you know for a fact that he's gone on record to say it's bad to gamble, then you can't call him a hypocrite. but that's just my 2 cents.

WhoaitsZ · 05-03-2003, 03:31 PM

he is no hypocrit _if_ he does not put others down for gambling.

it's his money.

i've grown kind of tired with casinos, but i love a good bet.

some people can't gamble. some can't drink......... it's all in the individual.

Ashton · 05-03-2003, 03:40 PM

I love to gamble.... Slots, Craps, Blackjack. I was in Tahoe a few weeks ago at Harrahs playing the Wheel of Fortune machine at $2 a pull.... I put $100 in and ran it out, then moved to the Red White and Blue Wheel of Fortune machine and put another $100 in..... A few pulls and Ring Ring! $100, I played for awhile winning $20, $50, $100..... Then Michelle caught up to me and with one arm around Her and the other pulling the handle I hit $1000! Ring Ring Ring! After I got my $1000 form the cashier I put another $100 in and played that machine for four hours on that same $100..... All and all at the end I was up $1400. Gambling is great but the thing you have to remember is you gamble for fun, and you can't expect to win unless you're willing to spend......

troit · 05-03-2003, 04:38 PM

Here's an interesting gambling story and how casinos take advantage of an addiction:

In his first gambling experience, Constantin Digalakis amassed more than $10,900 in winnings over two days at Casino Windsor, a Canadian gambling parlor only minutes from downtown Detroit. On the third day of his 1997 spree, however, he lost it all, plus an additional $6,400.

Five years later and after being diagnosed as a pathological gambler, Digalakis has turned to the legal system to recoup nearly $192,200 (all figures in U.S. dollars) in losses at government-owned Casino Windsor -- which gets more than 80 percent of its business from the United States -- and three other provincial properties.

In a lawsuit against the Ontario government, Digalakis, who describes himself as a top Canadian real estate professional, said he was courted with free meals, limousine rides and other enticements even after he signed up for a commonplace industry program in which casinos are supposed to turn away problem gamblers at the door.

The father of two seeks total damages of $2.6 million, claiming negligence, breach of contract and fiduciary duty.

"Defendants knew he couldn't control his gambling addiction," according to the 29-page lawsuit. As a result, Casino Windsor, as well as Casino Niagara in Niagara Falls and Woodbine Racetrack near Toronto, had "fiduciary duties to ensure he didn't gamble," the suit adds. Casino Rama in Ontario also is named in the suit.

While Digalakis' suit has been filed across the border, the U.S. casino industry has been slapped with a small but growing number of related lawsuits. Some wonder whether the industry, like the tobacco and fast-food arenas before it, is ripe for finger-pointing in the courts.

Can it happen here?

Casino Windsor, the second highest-grossing casino in the Metro Detroit region, concedes that Digalakis signed up for the exclusion program, asking that he be refused entry. But the casino said the onus is on the gambler to stay out. His losses are "the result of Digalakis' own actions for which he alone is responsible," Casino Windsor said in its response to the lawsuit that's in litigation.

U.S. casinos fielded their first lawsuits by addicted gamblers in the late 1980s. From 1988-94, there were two cases in which gamblers used alleged addiction to fight collection efforts by casinos. Since then, about 20 alleged addicted gamblers have filed suits against commercial U.S. casinos, according to the American Gaming Association, or AGA.

Reasons for the increase: the march of commercial casinos into 11 states, the recognition of pathological gambling as a mental disorder, and a widespread change in societal norms.

"Forty years ago people wouldn't sue, saying they were compulsive gamblers, but they wouldn't be going on national television saying they were abused as children, either," said I. Nelson Rose, a law professor and gambling law expert at Whittier College in California.

In Detroit, participation in keep-me-out programs rocketed from 56 takers in 2001 to an additional 201 gamblers this year, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

Greektown Casino hasn't been sued by problem gamblers; a MotorCity Casino spokesman said he's unaware of any lawsuits. MGM Grand Detroit Casino referred calls to the AGA.

AGA CEO Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. discussed lawsuits by problem gamblers in a speech last September in San Diego to the International Association of Gaming Attorneys.

But Fahrenkopf, chairman of the Republican Party for six of Ronald Reagan's eight White House years, said while lawsuits by individuals will be decided on a case-by-case basis, he doesn't foresee the casino industry being plagued by class-action suits a la the tobacco or fast-food businesses.

For one thing, the casino industry has done more than the tobacco industry to address addictions through programs and research. Also, with only 1 percent of gamblers pathological, they burden state health systems less than do smokers and overweight people, Fahrenkopf said Friday.

"At this point, the vulnerability that existed for the tobacco industry doesn't exist for the commercial casino industry," Fahrenkopf said. "But I'm a trial lawyer by profession, and I know lawyers like to sue people so that doesn't mean they won't try."

Going to the limit

After his three-day spree at Casino Windsor, Digalakis was hellbent on recouping his losses, frequenting that establishment as well as Casino Niagara and Casino Rama, where he was treated as an "important patron," his lawsuit said. The player of $100 and $20 slot machines and roulette tables soon realized he was a compulsive gambler and signed up for Casino Rama's self-exclusion program, which also would take effect at Casino Windsor and other Ontario casinos.

But he kept getting in. At one point, Digalakis officially asked in the late spring of 1997 to have his lifetime ban lifted. The casinos agreed to do so. Now, in his lawsuit, Digalakis claims that the casinos' lifting of his ban amounts to a breach of the agreement because they knew he had a serious gambling problem.

He eventually filed for bankruptcy and convinced his wife to pledge property as security for a $150,000 credit line that he told her was for business purposes but that was later gambled away, according to the suit filed last year by Ricketts Harris. The Toronto law firm declined comment on the case.

Digalakis gambled at Casino Windsor through 1999 "despite the fact he signed forms similar to those he signed at Casino Rama and Casino Niagara whereby Casino Windsor agreed to exclude him," his lawsuit said.

troit · 05-03-2003, 04:41 PM

Like Ashton -- I enjoy the occasional gambling outing. It is a fun night out. I walk in the door with a set amount I'm willing to lose. Once that's gone -- I leave. I once walked in, sat down at a black jack table, lost eight straight hands, got up and left.

On the other hand gambling unfortunately is also disease and as the story above illustrates -- the casinos are all too willing to take advantage of that fact...

spectre · 05-03-2003, 04:55 PM

I've been out gambling twice. Both times, I decided that it was going to be like any normal night out. Whatever money I brought with me, I didn't expect to bring home. The first time, I came home up $80, second time I had spent what I went with. I spent about as much as I would have for going out for the same period of time, so it wasn't that bad. I also have limits on what I'm willing to spend, once it hits a point where I could've bought something that I wanted, then I stop playing.

greytone · 05-03-2003, 05:23 PM

Gambling does not contradict anything I have seen about the morality that he preaches. He has not put his family in danger. He has not needed a public handout because of this behavior. Therefore, I don't see a problem.

sixate · 05-03-2003, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ARTelevision
Personally, I have never bought a lottery ticket.
I never gamble on anything.
Why?
I think it's a waste of money.

I know a lot of good people who gamble a bit.
I also know some for whom it's a problem.

How about this guy? William Bennett.
You know him, he's the guy who preaches values every chance he gets.
He wrote, "The Book of Virtues"

To me, his behavior is over the top
and he is a hypocrite...

What do you think?

I think we think a lot alike. That's pretty much how I feel about it too.

WhoaitsZ · 05-03-2003, 06:10 PM

call me cruel..... if you are determined to gamble, disease or not, and i advise you to not gamble, you pay me...... you get to play.

it's like alcoholism. if one bar tender turns one down, the drunk will go to the next one.

Sun Tzu · 05-03-2003, 11:40 PM

Gambling is a personal choice; I occasionly buy a scratcher or a Powerball if it gets to some insane amount. The fact with that is someone WILL win.

I HATE hypocracy.

ARTelevision · 05-05-2003, 05:48 AM

Virtues maven may have played last slots
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Elayne Bennett, wife of conservative virtues maven William Bennett, says her husband is "not addicted" to gambling and has not lost millions of dollars at casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
"We are financially solvent," she said Sunday from their Chevy Chase, Md., home. "All our bills are paid."

But expressing annoyance at the attention generated by news about his gambling, she said her husband may have pulled his last slot-machine lever. "He's never going again," she said.

According to Newsweek and The Washington Monthly magazine, the former Republican Cabinet secretary and author of the best-selling The Book of Virtues is a high roller who has lost as much as $8 million over the past decade playing mostly slots and video poker. The magazines reviewed internal casino documents, including some that showed him wiring $1.4 million to cover losses over one two-month period.

There are no accusations that Bennett has done anything illegal. But the story, published on the magazines' Web sites Friday and picked up by news organizations over the weekend, is resonating because of Bennett's long-held reputation as a leading conservative voice on moral issues and family values.

The magazines reported that the former government drug czar and Education secretary is a "preferred customer" with a revolving line of credit of at least $200,000 at each of four casinos. They also said he receives thousands of dollars in free limousines and hotel rooms and has racked up losses of more than $500,000 at a time during trips to the casinos.

Bennett left the government in 1990 after serving as former president Ronald Reagan's Education secretary and former president George Bush's drug czar. He is a founder of Empower America, a conservative, Washington-based think tank, an author and a prolific public speaker who warns of declining moral values.

Bennett told Newsweek that "over 10 years, I'd say I've come out pretty close to even." He disputed claims that he's lost millions of dollars and said he's never put his family finances at risk. "I play fairly high stakes. I adhere to the law. I don't play the 'milk money.' I don't put my family at risk, and I don't owe anyone anything," he said. Bennett and his wife have two teenage sons, John and Joseph.

Bennett did not return calls seeking comment Sunday. But his wife said she'd like her husband to tell his side of the story. She said he gambles three or four times a year. "He's not addicted to it."

hrdwareguy · 05-05-2003, 06:19 AM

I have had the occassion to play some poker. Friendly games though...not in casino's. Only spend what you can afford to loose, and it doesn't hurt when you win.

I don't see anything wrong with frienly games, but I'm not going to go to Vegas and put the house on the table for a wager.

gov135 · 05-05-2003, 07:11 AM

Played alot of 1 3 poker through college.

Just came back from the track a few days ago where I was betting the Kentucky Derby.

I go about three times a year, usually coinciding with big horse races. I enjoy it, I have no problem with anyone who spends their cash this way. Their business.

The only unsettling thing to me about this story is this guy is "family values." Which, means at some level he's being critical of the way people choose to live their lives, as they are not in accordance with his beliefs. But if he's hypocritcal, so be it. Most powerful conservatives are, no shock here.

05-03-2003, 02:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
ARTelevision I change Location: USA	The "Virtues" Guy: Do you Gamble? Is this OK with you? William Bennett a Big Gambler WASHINGTON - William Bennett, the former Cabinet secretary and family values campaigner, is a high-rolling gambler who has lost millions over the past decade, according to published reports. Casino documents show Bennett is a "preferred customer" in at least four venues in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, Newsweek and The Washington Monthly reported in stories posted Friday on the web. His favorite games: video poker and slot machines. He has a revolving line of credit of at least $200,000 at each casino, the magazines said. The former drug policy director and education secretary under Republican presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush doesn't have to have money when he shows up at a casino, according to the magazines, which obtained internal casino documents. Bennett, who wrote "The Book of Virtues," gets high-roller treatment, including limos and tens of thousands of dollars in complimentary hotel rooms and other amenities. In one two-month period, the documents show him wiring more than $1.4 million to cover losses at one casino. In one 18-month stretch, Bennett visited a number of casinos for two or three days at a time. Some of his losses have been substantial. According to one casino source, on July 12, 2002, Bennett lost $340,000 at Caesars in Atlantic City and on April 5 and 6 he lost more than $500,000 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Some casino estimates put his total losses over the past decade at more than $8 million. When reached by Newsweek, Bennett acknowledged he gambles. "Over 10 years, I'd say I've come out pretty close to even," he said. "You can roll up and down a lot in one day, as we have on many occasions. You may cycle several hundred thousand dollars in an evening and net out only a few thousand." Efforts by the Associated Press to reach Bennett by telephone were unsuccessful. During an 18-month period, documents show there were only a few occasions when Bennett turned in chips — worth about $30,000 or $40,000 — at the end of an evening. "I play fairly high stakes. I adhere to the law. I don't play the 'milk money.' I don't put my family at risk, and I don't owe anyone anything," Bennett said. The documents didn't contradict his points. Bennett, along with former Rep. Jack Kemp, is co-chairman of Empower America, a conservative public policy organization in Washington. .................... Personally, I have never bought a lottery ticket. I never gamble on anything. Why? I think it's a waste of money. I know a lot of good people who gamble a bit. I also know some for whom it's a problem. How about this guy? William Bennett. You know him, he's the guy who preaches values every chance he gets. He wrote, "The Book of Virtues" To me, his behavior is over the top and he is a hypocrite... What do you think? __________________ create evolution

05-03-2003, 02:33 PM	#3 (permalink)
Lebell Cracking the Whip Location: Sexymama's arms...	If Bennett wants to gamble and has the means to do so, I don't see a problem, any more than a blue collar worker who sets aside 50$ or 100$ a week to gamble. On the other hand, anyone who gambles to the point where it hurts others has a problem, be it a poor man losing a $1000 or a rich man losing $1,000,000. __________________ "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis The ONLY sponsors we have are YOU! Please Donate!

05-03-2003, 02:52 PM	#4 (permalink)
nefarious Insane Location: Tucson, AZ	Gambling on slot machines or lottery is a waste of money to me. As long as you set a limit for yourself and follow, you're cool.. But when you're gambling the food money away, buying lottery tickets or playing slots instead of buying bread.. that's when it's a problem. Personally i love Blackjack and Poker, but i've learned that you need to know when to stop. __________________ Si vis pacem, para bellum. - Vegetius "Do Re Mil.3, Prol.

05-03-2003, 03:05 PM	#5 (permalink)
Loki Psycho Location: Drifting.	sure fire way to gamble: walk into a casino with something you can easily afford to lose (say, $20 for a student, etc). go and gamble based on that. if you lose, well, tough, and walk out. If you win, put $20 back into your pocket, and then have fun with the rest. hm, and as for that guy, im gonna agree with lebell here... but i think that getting a "preferred customer" and 200,000 credit in four casinos is a pretty big indication that you might have a problem =) Last edited by Loki; 05-03-2003 at 03:08 PM..

05-03-2003, 03:15 PM	#6 (permalink)
Sion Dumb all over...a little ugly on the side Location: In the room where the giant fire puffer works, and the torture never stops.	he says he has come out pretty close to even, despite casino documents showing he has lost $8 million + over the last decade or so. I wonder what a comparison of those casino documents and his tax returns would show. also, he must be a pretty poor gambler. and a fool too, for playing primarily slots and video poker. those are two of the worst games to play if you want to actually make money gambling. the only game I play is blackjack, because if you know what you are doing, you CAN make money. the secret to blackjack is the 3 for 2 payout on blackjack. __________________ He's the best, of course, of all the worst. Some wrong been done, he done it first. -fz I jus' want ta thank you...falettinme...be mice elf...agin...

05-03-2003, 02:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
maximusveritas Winner	I don't do it myself, but I don't see anything wrong with other people throwing away their money if they get pleasure out of it. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone else, I can't blame them. As far as Bennett, he is definitely a hypocrite, but not because he likes to gamble.

05-03-2003, 03:26 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mael Banned Location: The Hell I Created.	i don't see how he's a hypocrite, unless in his book he preaches against gambling. seeing as how i've never read his book, so i don't know. but unless you know for a fact that he's gone on record to say it's bad to gamble, then you can't call him a hypocrite. but that's just my 2 cents.

05-03-2003, 03:31 PM	#8 (permalink)
WhoaitsZ Crazy Location: right behind you...	he is no hypocrit _if_ he does not put others down for gambling. it's his money. i've grown kind of tired with casinos, but i love a good bet. some people can't gamble. some can't drink......... it's all in the individual.

05-03-2003, 03:40 PM	#9 (permalink)
Ashton PORNHOUND Location: California	I love to gamble.... Slots, Craps, Blackjack. I was in Tahoe a few weeks ago at Harrahs playing the Wheel of Fortune machine at $2 a pull.... I put $100 in and ran it out, then moved to the Red White and Blue Wheel of Fortune machine and put another $100 in..... A few pulls and Ring Ring! $100, I played for awhile winning $20, $50, $100..... Then Michelle caught up to me and with one arm around Her and the other pulling the handle I hit $1000! Ring Ring Ring! After I got my $1000 form the cashier I put another $100 in and played that machine for four hours on that same $100..... All and all at the end I was up $1400. Gambling is great but the thing you have to remember is you gamble for fun, and you can't expect to win unless you're willing to spend......

05-03-2003, 04:38 PM	#10 (permalink)
troit Transfer Agent Location: NYC	Here's an interesting gambling story and how casinos take advantage of an addiction: In his first gambling experience, Constantin Digalakis amassed more than $10,900 in winnings over two days at Casino Windsor, a Canadian gambling parlor only minutes from downtown Detroit. On the third day of his 1997 spree, however, he lost it all, plus an additional $6,400. Five years later and after being diagnosed as a pathological gambler, Digalakis has turned to the legal system to recoup nearly $192,200 (all figures in U.S. dollars) in losses at government-owned Casino Windsor -- which gets more than 80 percent of its business from the United States -- and three other provincial properties. In a lawsuit against the Ontario government, Digalakis, who describes himself as a top Canadian real estate professional, said he was courted with free meals, limousine rides and other enticements even after he signed up for a commonplace industry program in which casinos are supposed to turn away problem gamblers at the door. The father of two seeks total damages of $2.6 million, claiming negligence, breach of contract and fiduciary duty. "Defendants knew he couldn't control his gambling addiction," according to the 29-page lawsuit. As a result, Casino Windsor, as well as Casino Niagara in Niagara Falls and Woodbine Racetrack near Toronto, had "fiduciary duties to ensure he didn't gamble," the suit adds. Casino Rama in Ontario also is named in the suit. While Digalakis' suit has been filed across the border, the U.S. casino industry has been slapped with a small but growing number of related lawsuits. Some wonder whether the industry, like the tobacco and fast-food arenas before it, is ripe for finger-pointing in the courts. Can it happen here? Casino Windsor, the second highest-grossing casino in the Metro Detroit region, concedes that Digalakis signed up for the exclusion program, asking that he be refused entry. But the casino said the onus is on the gambler to stay out. His losses are "the result of Digalakis' own actions for which he alone is responsible," Casino Windsor said in its response to the lawsuit that's in litigation. U.S. casinos fielded their first lawsuits by addicted gamblers in the late 1980s. From 1988-94, there were two cases in which gamblers used alleged addiction to fight collection efforts by casinos. Since then, about 20 alleged addicted gamblers have filed suits against commercial U.S. casinos, according to the American Gaming Association, or AGA. Reasons for the increase: the march of commercial casinos into 11 states, the recognition of pathological gambling as a mental disorder, and a widespread change in societal norms. "Forty years ago people wouldn't sue, saying they were compulsive gamblers, but they wouldn't be going on national television saying they were abused as children, either," said I. Nelson Rose, a law professor and gambling law expert at Whittier College in California. In Detroit, participation in keep-me-out programs rocketed from 56 takers in 2001 to an additional 201 gamblers this year, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board. Greektown Casino hasn't been sued by problem gamblers; a MotorCity Casino spokesman said he's unaware of any lawsuits. MGM Grand Detroit Casino referred calls to the AGA. AGA CEO Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. discussed lawsuits by problem gamblers in a speech last September in San Diego to the International Association of Gaming Attorneys. But Fahrenkopf, chairman of the Republican Party for six of Ronald Reagan's eight White House years, said while lawsuits by individuals will be decided on a case-by-case basis, he doesn't foresee the casino industry being plagued by class-action suits a la the tobacco or fast-food businesses. For one thing, the casino industry has done more than the tobacco industry to address addictions through programs and research. Also, with only 1 percent of gamblers pathological, they burden state health systems less than do smokers and overweight people, Fahrenkopf said Friday. "At this point, the vulnerability that existed for the tobacco industry doesn't exist for the commercial casino industry," Fahrenkopf said. "But I'm a trial lawyer by profession, and I know lawyers like to sue people so that doesn't mean they won't try." Going to the limit After his three-day spree at Casino Windsor, Digalakis was hellbent on recouping his losses, frequenting that establishment as well as Casino Niagara and Casino Rama, where he was treated as an "important patron," his lawsuit said. The player of $100 and $20 slot machines and roulette tables soon realized he was a compulsive gambler and signed up for Casino Rama's self-exclusion program, which also would take effect at Casino Windsor and other Ontario casinos. But he kept getting in. At one point, Digalakis officially asked in the late spring of 1997 to have his lifetime ban lifted. The casinos agreed to do so. Now, in his lawsuit, Digalakis claims that the casinos' lifting of his ban amounts to a breach of the agreement because they knew he had a serious gambling problem. He eventually filed for bankruptcy and convinced his wife to pledge property as security for a $150,000 credit line that he told her was for business purposes but that was later gambled away, according to the suit filed last year by Ricketts Harris. The Toronto law firm declined comment on the case. Digalakis gambled at Casino Windsor through 1999 "despite the fact he signed forms similar to those he signed at Casino Rama and Casino Niagara whereby Casino Windsor agreed to exclude him," his lawsuit said. __________________ I've yet to dephile myself...

05-03-2003, 04:41 PM	#11 (permalink)
troit Transfer Agent Location: NYC	Like Ashton -- I enjoy the occasional gambling outing. It is a fun night out. I walk in the door with a set amount I'm willing to lose. Once that's gone -- I leave. I once walked in, sat down at a black jack table, lost eight straight hands, got up and left. On the other hand gambling unfortunately is also disease and as the story above illustrates -- the casinos are all too willing to take advantage of that fact... __________________ I've yet to dephile myself...

05-03-2003, 04:55 PM	#12 (permalink)
spectre Junkie	I've been out gambling twice. Both times, I decided that it was going to be like any normal night out. Whatever money I brought with me, I didn't expect to bring home. The first time, I came home up $80, second time I had spent what I went with. I spent about as much as I would have for going out for the same period of time, so it wasn't that bad. I also have limits on what I'm willing to spend, once it hits a point where I could've bought something that I wanted, then I stop playing. __________________ "Fuck these chains No goddamn slave I will be different" ~ Machine Head

05-03-2003, 05:23 PM	#13 (permalink)
greytone Junkie	Gambling does not contradict anything I have seen about the morality that he preaches. He has not put his family in danger. He has not needed a public handout because of this behavior. Therefore, I don't see a problem. __________________ I was there to see beautiful naked women. So was everybody else. It's a common failing. Robert A Heinlein in "They Do It With Mirrors"

05-03-2003, 06:10 PM	#15 (permalink)
WhoaitsZ Crazy Location: right behind you...	call me cruel..... if you are determined to gamble, disease or not, and i advise you to not gamble, you pay me...... you get to play. it's like alcoholism. if one bar tender turns one down, the drunk will go to the next one.

05-03-2003, 11:40 PM	#16 (permalink)
Sun Tzu Conspiracy Realist Location: The Event Horizon	Gambling is a personal choice; I occasionly buy a scratcher or a Powerball if it gets to some insane amount. The fact with that is someone WILL win. I HATE hypocracy. __________________ *To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.- Stephen Hawking* Last edited by Sun Tzu; 05-03-2003 at 11:43 PM..

05-05-2003, 05:48 AM	#17 (permalink)
ARTelevision I change Location: USA	UPDATE on the questionable virtues guy Virtues maven may have played last slots USA TODAY WASHINGTON — Elayne Bennett, wife of conservative virtues maven William Bennett, says her husband is "not addicted" to gambling and has not lost millions of dollars at casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. "We are financially solvent," she said Sunday from their Chevy Chase, Md., home. "All our bills are paid." But expressing annoyance at the attention generated by news about his gambling, she said her husband may have pulled his last slot-machine lever. "He's never going again," she said. According to Newsweek and The Washington Monthly magazine, the former Republican Cabinet secretary and author of the best-selling The Book of Virtues is a high roller who has lost as much as $8 million over the past decade playing mostly slots and video poker. The magazines reviewed internal casino documents, including some that showed him wiring $1.4 million to cover losses over one two-month period. There are no accusations that Bennett has done anything illegal. But the story, published on the magazines' Web sites Friday and picked up by news organizations over the weekend, is resonating because of Bennett's long-held reputation as a leading conservative voice on moral issues and family values. The magazines reported that the former government drug czar and Education secretary is a "preferred customer" with a revolving line of credit of at least $200,000 at each of four casinos. They also said he receives thousands of dollars in free limousines and hotel rooms and has racked up losses of more than $500,000 at a time during trips to the casinos. Bennett left the government in 1990 after serving as former president Ronald Reagan's Education secretary and former president George Bush's drug czar. He is a founder of Empower America, a conservative, Washington-based think tank, an author and a prolific public speaker who warns of declining moral values. Bennett told Newsweek that "over 10 years, I'd say I've come out pretty close to even." He disputed claims that he's lost millions of dollars and said he's never put his family finances at risk. "I play fairly high stakes. I adhere to the law. I don't play the 'milk money.' I don't put my family at risk, and I don't owe anyone anything," he said. Bennett and his wife have two teenage sons, John and Joseph. Bennett did not return calls seeking comment Sunday. But his wife said she'd like her husband to tell his side of the story. She said he gambles three or four times a year. "He's not addicted to it." __________________ create evolution

05-05-2003, 06:19 AM	#18 (permalink)
hrdwareguy "Officer, I was in fear for my life" Location: Oklahoma City	I have had the occassion to play some poker. Friendly games though...not in casino's. Only spend what you can afford to loose, and it doesn't hurt when you win. I don't see anything wrong with frienly games, but I'm not going to go to Vegas and put the house on the table for a wager. __________________ Gun Control is hitting what you aim at Aim for the TFP, Donate Today

05-05-2003, 07:11 AM	#19 (permalink)
gov135 Junkie Location: Midwest	Played alot of 1 3 poker through college. Just came back from the track a few days ago where I was betting the Kentucky Derby. I go about three times a year, usually coinciding with big horse races. I enjoy it, I have no problem with anyone who spends their cash this way. Their business. The only unsettling thing to me about this story is this guy is "family values." Which, means at some level he's being critical of the way people choose to live their lives, as they are not in accordance with his beliefs. But if he's hypocritcal, so be it. Most powerful conservatives are, no shock here.