casino online online casinos News
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- Albany Card Game Law Changes Rejected
- casino online online casinos: Times Herald | Sun,
Apr 17th, 1:02PM
- As reported by the Albany Democrat-Herald: "For
the second time in eight months, the Albany City Council has refused to
change city policy to allow card games in public places such as bars.
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- New Mexico Official Admits to Embezzlement
- As reported by the New Mexican: "The former chief
financial officer of the Governor's Commission on Disability admitted
she had a gambling problem that led her to embezzle thousands of dollars
from the agency, according to testimony at a public hearing Thursday.
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- Nebraska Patrol Confiscates Illegal Slots
- As reported by the Nebraska State Paper: "The State
Patrol raided several establishments around the state this week – most
of them in southwestern Nebraska – and confiscated some 40 allegedly
illegal video slot machines.
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- Garden Grove Casino Idea Revisited
- As reported by the L.A. Times: "Las Vegas-style
gambling in the heart of Orange County, a long shot
possibility previously dismissed as too controversial, is up for
reconsideration in Garden Grove as a new source of city revenue.
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- New York Smoking Ban Targeted
- As reported by the Syracuse Post-Standard: "Oneida
County Health Department officials have told the Oneida Indian Nation
they will begin enforcing the state's no-smoking law at one of the few
remaining havens for local smokers - the tribe's Turning Stone Resort
and Casino.
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- Penn National Acquisition Vote on Argosy Gaming
Postponed
- Penn National Gaming, Inc. announced today that the
Illinois Gaming Board postponed its August 25, 2005 scheduled vote on
Penn National's proposed acquisition of Argosy Gaming Company. The vote
of the Illinois Gaming Board is the only remaining regulatory approval
required to complete the proposed transaction. The proposed transaction
has been authorized by the regulatory agencies of all of the other
twelve jurisdictions in which Penn and Argosy operate, as well as the
Federal Trade Commission.
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The Bookie of Virtue
William J. Bennett has made millions lecturing people on morality--and blown it
on gambling.
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"We should know that too much of anything, even a good thing, may prove to be
our undoing...[We] need ... to set definite boundaries on our appetites."
--The Book of Virtues, by William J. Bennett
No person can be more rightly credited with making morality and personal
responsibility an integral part of the political debate than William J. Bennett.
For more than 20 years, as a writer, speaker, government official, and political
operative, Bennett has been a commanding general in the culture wars. As Ronald
Reagan's chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, he was the
scourge of academic permissiveness. Later, as Reagan's secretary of education,
he excoriated schools and students for failing to set and meet high standards.
As drug czar under George H.W. Bush, he applied a get-tough approach to drug
use, arguing that individuals have a moral responsibility to own up to their
addiction. Upon leaving public office, Bennett wrote The Book of Virtues, a
compendium of parables snatched up by millions of parents and teachers across
the political spectrum. Bennett's crusading ideals have been adopted by
politicians of both parties, and implemented in such programs as character
education classes in public schools--a testament to his impact.
But Bennett, a devout Catholic, has always been more Old Testament than New.
Even many who sympathize with his concerns find his combative style haughty and
unforgiving. Democrats in particular object to his partisan sermonizing, which
portrays liberals as inherently less moral than conservatives, more given to
excusing personal weaknesses, and unwilling to confront the vices that destroy
families. During the impeachment of Bill Clinton, Bennett was among the
president's most unrelenting detractors. His book, The Death of Outrage,
decried, among other things, the public's failure to take Clinton's sins more
seriously.
His relentless effort to push Americans to do good has enabled Bennett to do
extremely well. His best-selling The Book of Virtues spawned an entire cottage
industry, from children's books to merchandizing tie-ins to a PBS cartoon
series. Bennett commands $50,000 per appearance on the lecture circuit and has
received hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants from such conservative
benefactors as the Scaife and John M. Olin foundations.
Few vices have escaped Bennett's withering scorn. He has opined on everything
from drinking to "homosexual unions" to "The Ricki Lake Show" to wife-swapping.
There is one, however, that has largely escaped Bennett's wrath: gambling. This
is a notable omission, since on this issue morality and public policy are deeply
intertwined. During Bennett's years as a public figure, casinos, once restricted
to Nevada and New Jersey, have expanded to 28 states, and the number continues
to grow. In Maryland, where Bennett lives, the newly elected Republican governor
Robert Ehrlich is trying to introduce slot machines to fill revenue shortfalls.
As gambling spreads, so do its associated problems. Heavy gambling, like drug
use, can lead to divorce, domestic violence, child abuse, and bankruptcy.
According to a 1998 study commissioned by the National Gambling Impact Study
Commission, residents within 50 miles of a casino are twice as likely to be
classified as "problem" or "pathological" gamblers than those who live further
away.
If Bennett hasn't spoken out more forcefully on an issue that would seem
tailor-made for him, perhaps it's because he is himself a heavy gambler. Indeed,
in recent weeks word has circulated among Washington conservatives that his
wagering could be a real problem. They have reason for concern. The Washington
Monthly and Newsweek have learned that over the last decade Bennett has made
dozens of trips to casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, where he is a
"preferred customer" at several of them, and sources and documents provided to
The Washington Monthly put his total losses at more than $8 million.
"I don't play the 'milk money.'"
Bennett has been a high-roller since at least the early 1990s. A review of one
18-month stretch of gambling showed him visiting casinos, often for two or three
days at a time (and enjoying a line of credit of at least $200,000 at several of
them). Bennett likes to be discreet. "He'll usually call a host and let us know
when he's coming," says one source. "We can limo him in. He prefers the
high-limit room, where he's less likely to be seen and where he can play the
$500-a-pull slots. He usually plays very late at night or early in the
morning--usually between midnight and 6 a.m." The documents show that in one
two-month period, Bennett wired more than $1.4 million to cover losses. His
desire for privacy is evident in his customer profile at one casino, which lists
as his residence the address for Empower.org (the Web site of Empower America,
the non-profit group Bennett co-chairs). Typed across the form are the words:
"NO CONTACT AT RES OR BIZ!!!"
Bennett's gambling has not totally escaped public notice. In 1998, The
Washington Times reported in a light-hearted front-page feature story that he
plays low-stakes poker with a group of prominent conservatives, including Robert
Bork, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
A year later, the same paper reported that Bennett had been spotted at the new
Mirage Resorts Bellagio casino in Las Vegas, where he was reputed to have won a
$200,000 jackpot. Bennett admitted to the Times that he had visited the casino,
but denied winning $200,000. Documents show that, in fact, he won a $25,000
jackpot on that visit--but left the casino down $625,000.
Bennett--who gambled throughout Clinton's impeachment--has continued this
pattern in subsequent years. On July 12 of last year, for instance, Bennett lost
$340,000 at Caesar's Boardwalk Regency in Atlantic City. And just three weeks
ago, on March 29 and 30*, he lost more than $500,000 at the Bellagio in Las
Vegas. "There's a term in the trade for this kind of gambler," says a casino
source who has witnessed Bennett at the high-limit slots in the wee hours. "We
call them losers."
Asked by Newsweek columnist and Washington Monthly contributing editor Jonathan
Alter to comment on the reports, Bennett admitted that he gambles but not that
he has ended up behind. "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." The documents offer no reason to contradict Bennett on these points.
Bennett claims he's beaten the odds: "Over 10 years, I'd say I've come out
pretty close to even."
"You can roll up and down a lot in one day, as we have on many occasions,"
Bennett explains. "You may cycle several hundred thousand dollars in an evening
and net out only a few thousand."
"I've made a lot of money [in book sales, speaking fees and other business
ventures] and I've won a lot of money," adds Bennett. "When I win, I usually
give at least a chunk of it away [to charity]. I report everything to the IRS."
But the documents show only a few occasions when he turns in chips worth $30,000
or $40,000 at the end of an evening. Most of the time, he draws down his line of
credit, often substantially. A casino source, hearing of Bennett's claim to
breaking even on slots over 10 years, just laughed.
"You don't see what I walk away with," Bennett says. "They [casinos] don't want
you to see it."
Explaining his approach, Bennett says: "I've been a 'machine person' [slot
machines and video poker]. When I go to the tables, people talk--and they want
to talk about politics. I don't want that. I do this for three hours to relax."
He says he was in Las Vegas in April for dinner with the former governor of
Nevada and gambled while he was there.
Bennett says he has made no secret of his gambling. "I've gambled all my life
and it's never been a moral issue with me. I liked church bingo when I was
growing up. I've been a poker player."
But while Bennett's poker playing and occasional Vegas jaunt are known to some
Washington conservatives, his high-stakes habit comes as a surprise to many
friends. "We knew he went out there [to Las Vegas] sometimes, but at that level?
Wow!" said one longtime associate of Bennett.
Despite his personal appetites, Bennett and his organization, Empower America,
oppose the extension of casino gambling in the states. In a recent editorial,
his Empower America co-chair Jack Kemp inveighed against lawmakers who "pollute
our society with a slot machine on every corner." The group recently published
an Index of Leading Cultural Indicators, with an introduction written by
Bennett, that reports 5.5 million American adults as "problem" or "pathological"
gamblers. Bennett says he is neither because his habit does not disrupt his
family life.
When reminded of studies that link heavy gambling to divorce, bankruptcy,
domestic abuse, and other family problems he has widely decried, Bennett
compared the situation to alcohol.
"I view it as drinking," Bennett says. "If you can't handle it, don't do it."
Bennett is a wealthy man and may be able to handle losses of hundreds of
thousands of dollars per year. Of course, as the nation's leading spokesman on
virtue and personal responsibility, Bennett's gambling complicates his public
role. Moreover, it has already exacted a cost. Like him or hate him, William
Bennett is one of the few public figures with a proven ability to influence
public policy by speaking out. By furtively indulging in a costly vice that
destroys millions of lives and families across the nation, Bennett has
profoundly undermined the credibility of his word on this moral issue.
Reporting assistance provided by Robert W. J. Fisk, Soyoung Ho, and Brent
Kendall.
* misstated in original version as April 5 and 6
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Joshua Green is an editor of The Washington Monthly.
