60 Minutes Piece on Expanded Slots Gambling

[Zman179]

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7228424n

[BlueShoe]

Typical leftwing stuff that plays the victimology card. As one who has had his feet in both the casino gambling world as well as the horse racing one, must admit to viewing slot players with a certain amount of contempt, and have little sympathy for the supposedly addicted persons. A slot machine provides instant gratification, something that todays society seems to demand, and there is absolutely nothing whatsoever in the area of skill or decision making that can influence the result. Most slot players know and accept this, and expect to lose, and keep their wagering at the recreational level. 60 Minutes, had they wished to do so, could have done a segment about degenerate horseplayers, and filmed and interviewed broken down bums hanging around the grandstands of any track in America, and sensationalized their tales of losing everything. Personal responsibility and proper choices matter. 60 minutes has done some pretty good stuff on occasion in the past, but on this one it gets :ThmbDown:

[lamboguy]

as far as i know casino's are licensed as banks. banks are out to ruin you, and the casino is under the same umbrella.

[bks]

As one who has had his feet in both the casino gambling world as well as the horse racing one, must admit to viewing slot players with a certain amount of contempt, and have little sympathy for the supposedly addicted persons. A slot machine provides instant gratification, something that todays society seems to demand, and there is absolutely nothing whatsoever in the area of skill or decision making that can influence the result

"Supposedly addicted?" Slot machines are reinforcement machines, set to a certain schedule, and nothing else. They condition behavior. You believe in conditioning behavior, don't you?

You're spinning slot machines like casinos are providing a desired service or something. Slots prey on the weak and stupid, and play an obvious role in promoting addiction. Do some people "enjoy" playing them? Of course. It doesn't mean people understand what they're getting into when playing them. I'd like to see the stats that show that most slot players understand that, over time, they stand no chance of winning money save for a fluke of chance. I'd say most people play slots without thinking or knowing about how they operate, and most don't shop for the machines with the highest return. They're passing time in a boring and repetitive way, with little to no social value.

[Robert Goren]

The contempt that horse players have for slot players reminds of how horse people feel about the people who bet on their races.

[BlueShoe]

"Supposedly addicted?" Slot machines are reinforcement machines, set to a certain schedule, and nothing else. They condition behavior.
So does smoking cigarettes, drinking alcoholic beverages in excess, taking illegal drugs, and for that matter, wagering more on horse racing than one can safely afford. All of these practices are destructive behaviors, for which the blame lies with the individual, not on some external influence.
You're spinning slot machines like casinos are providing a desired service or something. Slots prey on the weak and stupid, and play an obvious role in promoting addiction. Do some people "enjoy" playing them? Of course. It doesn't mean people understand what they're getting into when playing them. I'd like to see the stats that show that most slot players understand that, over time, they stand no chance of winning money save for a fluke of chance.
Even a person with only an 8th grade education and an IQ of 85 realizes that the game is rigged against them, and that barring a huge lucky stroke like hitting a progressive jackpot, that they are going to lose steadily over the long run. No person is forced to make the effort required to travel to a casino and drop so much as a single coin into a slot machine, the act is completely voluntary. Is the corner saloon to blame for a man becoming an alcoholic, or the local racetrack at fault because a person is a compulsive gambler? Think not. Remain unmoved by the cries of victimology and finger pointing by those that attempt to blame others for their own shortcomings and lack of discipline.