Should Gambling Be Legalized? :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Should Gambling Be Legalized?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over the past twenty or so years, great wealth and improved economic and social conditions have been promised to the communities that have embraced legalized gambling. However, with twenty years of experience it is time to look back and analyze whether this is true or not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It could easily be said that gambling is as American as apple pie. Gambling has shaped American history since its beginning. Lotteries were used by The First Continental Congress to help finance the Revolutionary war. Many of our founding fathers, such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, have sponsored private lotteries. It has been said that "Our founding fathers were just numbers guys in wigs" At one time baseball would have seemed to be the American pastime. This is not so now. In recent years, the attendance at casinos has nearly doubled the attendance at all major league baseball games, with close to 130 million people visiting casinos every year.1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With so much money at stake, the average gambler does not stand a chance against this big business. The casinos go to every length to analyze what makes a gambler bet, stay longer, and loose as much money as possible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gamblers who come to casinos with the intention of winning money are habitually disappointed. As casino crime lord, Meyer Lansky's universal gambling truth states; "Gamblers never win, the house never loses"2 Slot Machines and most table games allow players to make bets where the probability of winning is relatively high. Frequent wins are characterized by low payouts. These frequent wins encourage further gambles with low payouts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Frequent winning, low paying games are not the only way casinos get people to keep playing. Nothing less that psychological warfare is going on at casinos across the country. "The days of shaved dice, missing face cards and rigged roulette wheels are long gone. But the pursuit of profitability in the corporate era of gambling has turned the average casino into a financially hazardous place for betters"3 The casino's beliefs are all based on the fact that since the house has an advantage over the player, the longer the house can keep the player playing, the more money the house will make. The gambling industry spends millions each year to whether wider isles, fresher air, and back rests on the chairs at slot machines make a player stay longer.4 And why would the casino care if somebody is comfortable? Because if each better stays for just a few more minutes, it could mean millions for the casinos.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Casinos have false ceilings with rooms above them where some people