Rolling the Dice with Quality of Life

Will New Mexico Follow The Fate of Other States That Have Lost to Gambling?

Recently, the University of New Mexico and the state Department of Health did a study on the effects of gambling in the state, which found that already 40,000 New Mexicans are pathological gamblers-that's 5 percent of the population of our state hooked on gambling. Terrence Brunner, a gambling expert and executive director of the Better Government Association (BGA), visited Albuquerque recently and says New Mexico is in danger of following Illinois and New Jersey into the over-whelming economic and social costs of widespread casino gaming.

In 1996, professors William N. Thompson and Ricardo C. Gazel of the University of Nevada Las Vegas conducted a BGA study on the effects of riverboat gambling on the state of Illinois. Thompson and Gazel found that the social costs of one pathological gambler is $10,000 a year; this includes the economic cost of debt, insurance, crime, incarceration and clinical treatment. At this figure, which Brunner said is quite moderate New Mexico can expect to spend $400 million a year in social costs.

BGA is a citizens' watchdog that conducts public policy research. Though the group does not openly dispute the morality of gambling, like many anti-gambling and Christian coalitions do, BGA does argue that it is immoral for a government to set up a tax system that depends on people losing their money.

Summing it up, Brunner said the chief economic analyst of the Nevada Gaming Commission told him: Gambling's nothing but a very regressive tax on the poorest people in society.... The people who are hooked are the politicians; they're hooked on the money".

In Wisconsin, Thompson and Gazel did a study of Indian gaming, and they concluded that there was no net economic impact-none whatsoever. Brunner said: AII that was happening was poor people, the players, were losing their money, the poor players-the Indians.... They're paying your taxes" With local players instead of new tourists, Brunner says, there is very little, if any, job creation; gambling simply initiates a massive transfer of money from the Bʙ_M -NW@}*jS] UiԞHqܵGz mC:tШ!ZNcƒ}FNѺ¯d:EhzܜOϊystms vAegCH'5D!=y#9O4·ykjn@1mr7Ȅn L}jI9(OP-.p>E\A90[\s.Le_71kMxGL&5ACm2 w=idgL8K[rơ ==u!n/!t F%sVE$QO0^*VͲa5%$nx]:A^D\YNve5>H~ɱQe413$>*^*q ttX IiyEfU ZPxWyƩ׹FD{ZZ$ EH)υzaSWHK?12XS&X"oup0DP7%y3殕9$ʶ'`y1#v4-4[//Чi0(c& z"S o,Z1&?-޺!֚19W <{lB'_͂߬RI٘Cc /O Gb6X"=Zs;{SoV!,8vgP-~ 3 f5Q/p;Hia} x| &ΙTw?=_绸oD ]i,ޠc;9DW7!/),xc1N1l2m8DW< u P[ LK@dg]1p.f\_D)k x%=Fh6_g?oO_˝WXGMjߣw{`J]^Kp%fm&VKwsPK($TLn ֯n,jz:DG Cդˆ} A s+g/dM;fg@s.pq#&/% b`L F0ܙ[c_*zG3S!0lvU}a<,;Km3B`N4/?Η!8AG "2PHɻݪHtID/0vl8̺(Lb EjU3aD LnLnM,6j6 ihK-|"d[,Cp!4KcϘќa.@FШ?\6d$b~,xmߕeۙ60$+u,Zqƃ[}&\j3n9J:w4}ħحr3% h^G"5R6kbskLmAKE-rc Nb&J$B=TˢJ/\<чMBL2Կd`4tY̍&OΖTMmp4zk<~9\MQ\In؊}ZEY؞8ɰBǹg3;_{z\>_>(Ox]TnK3!䴻{wmP"ae15s=9 0NAA@m奫eu!Pa߷⤞0z&W㊓AC8/tM-I< 7xn.7gU#&ˮ`^ӝ4 _M@-_ޑ٢ɿcv? (=[\QGEg'~~L NVr ֧xd&!Yz Qv2U/Q6<+f`Ka(X!aQ[cVl(Iɭ#+f\ .|)Nn'qb ֲ֣ā0deh8|}࣡RdRzOsAuS GkN!vWpda'Kbd[a?H ! ֮;BH5,pf,v88yu ^IV뼟 X{lkw"SlmD;Wh덧aFO}܏(Knrm1ITh)wA\sŸ t kxڴrqK!gF]mdE衒w`6.HE*:fp9+0(9>b'P I/CAnent[LT>|t{ T980Cؿpkާ#؝<|D{~lP{/H5Grfpt N'=DT~`#uj<l=gL`W(k|؂I5eF~;?"Rg  $:1ϕv3s/y(ψa8%'c7M2U__47% [JWMV01݈n+ Weph%6aHD,(o7H _]^X#'|>iTf p y;Cpp -TXƂh\p>c%Wpq BlKԇ栌ErhMݥ P;{]|iE8"i{gzُ1VG.@0s7&SNG1,x魹LA;R]$H=S&\j Y1yxЅ}~O¸c, +^9GY oycogL"U7mGӶwZyx4@|:d DO4T,="0; 8 g"e 4:!:lm,+"Ԡo >kxӥxil~ˉHr  U~Sd7`?1IGמy6*\ɀp{00 #ҤED4:jT2: Qg=Gge?:odg M"#mêNq82',;tUZ޳]4m6-MhINz\7X_C꧘=)|; 3aC[]ڣsQ [ N) Z?>$77/7 JQn_^:OmƮl((1/cX3_,9s]{fL4[0A~RoKv[)7l5D~A9|R:s",U!fdv[Rᓭ`)S_/W1^>P2vqaJ},& oIgģ2rAvf]#:d?q3I 4@u|K z5%]zM ȍy .e3kgƀ2~D(gF.dkG8"d>͉Ka(,엮e`8*EFb |z0'2waVB+ޗi~Eyc΀: -?lS+|C1K M N6N>HڮUSvoO>(ށB.cEG2vh]Vms60\9xҗdӞ4erUH0C%BWjZJZ(_"5P Uan#YRYBcLgJBe'LB! j̻WjnE꓁yYxגdoz_L_=H[@YpS\9Rfs۔ă/M u⅑2vF[kՇe'޵WY-AڿgK+yp@: W3]D4j$ h&zSy#䩮 nu *5Am諨 I$)ȌRF W{1-t쇏X7J`m1,]WLz+I[s5Gcy*<21K֘KkR+]Z\'hmJ1c]9_? H_{=둰Y=8g>`b)?뿾;i+~,˨.KmҜeef,/J;] >>"Ք9R'xJn%( # {lRpHa.?m\o7Xadm*4d} o~|?獝X1%8ݾ\]XEY 2kHw9(!wJz1@,@siƀu n\kO;Vl<^#|W&q:G+ 7VM]347T-YꬃDbDQ'HjƑZ : ;2/&Ikn^Ez(^J% P"~Ba0`}<+!e~{0S^`5 ,LTaFvg8aQp75B-^㝩IsL{s't۬;5b`tP|Fj#VwNkټwZADCGhLmeR2|نW9VM"UBO$Fdߝe"9́IGP8R*ǻC%bת]`ZV`{H^ Y_UިgMud R*g닊`@8QRm{UbuH*݌!!Cgצ " TS j>w CKi.oJf]U8BOydn C^\epe?hiw|6} 8Z` gBՅ e6y"TsE^NK|3%Q~ *+|nn0nKHf^wrƝ8,Аo8!Pbq  D E}l#d3%kr*ldz#Sb*%"3kq3 I4`?)_ nf=P&pAgb?Ԏ 9 +(e\p?w<J\(-%Nu'8EpÑ;kn f!}#n``цE /ݳף |aJ!?(YAnn9zG>ňY8j?OǏoXP'/r,3f{5& 2njDGq 7AFRXTy~X2(#[!dA3^''~8lgҟ(PxQ4>bB7u1qZ{6MB&ȵܶx6iJᩉBrݑ~w'x~v>5$AVthCW*DK9\'E$rdgZapVɧsi]00V#jGv27zqf1#+ /vhv <p!|9 cA@?JAn J`ҋO@>3٥e4T>44!.2SU9x?Ȯ;`Rڴnz9gfQ&+Xp(.-bM_ᾮ^Qn^r:Jq`Xe d-7**mtS ; G)&vYKHb>հa8Ӧ7^E( `bwj-%?KFlU%XI>JsZ8JfAg q^ 9:wP2BNݽ:ʎ0#j\8zP2L7I#t;gV{Dj~ -U@%-qVm_UamtPnqҎ|key~yVdZ$|ثn]knwFAdgs OB*tz({+ pݪyF?-I<ޯ+?rygadR\uwťsc< oNCkYڴ5ޡԮCj7Ap!]V쭏j\O` p>XTri R(, v$5H]] ŒWޑNdr*1{[J-;+8}e52p>Gt 6&x4#NNec |lfqnCwmKG88!(j}:iF7FnGXEN4k @̰fuD1uԔJ}U?g o(iÌpC)~$Q,TZ#b}c>e#͟$- K<p?!0 5o&=^QZΧd!ٖXسS!700asHD's!`a(<ǥ|mg-) ̕N@ -9CPDA$?{10̪LXʼnss&lZ䀕E7%_RtUrfJ靑H<"!"]Cqv V/Oɪaªo' ͉ rF]#4vr$(̒uh(RC>-^L"yF_- yF^AH0.eB7G鵝m5"*J7E].} c |"?Gͭ>y>4s_INru[??nj%r-HËcl]L@iaO[2^@o ~89"=t2S3UWK8g)T+8cǭ1lEڛXo EV0ƀVM )+3,.? JqMV8]T.řY3Lfɲ=-Іb91^"̼hNp$s s$Dq*q̮7 c?o3Y8a*> ؘ,Ac/3e{*:|IuܤJ{ُNc-P@XWzOx+=ڜ CM\_`S{R@e=|=_7LQ[,cx&1k4-'&3|m˶cuvQO$ЄHI=AN9ټ9` ӊB/݈ݬ$N;}k-1 Pb+pM7I .E00gf:""8@jM45ݷb6fƂ=9z[aw8A|i WW,@S+k3";+Z{Ul``)a1mƸ, ]k!?dW6[;x5,2 n#V;dD ߱0"T;Ll}6V )L(8ʕwnu۷m.y'}F *ֿ3Lc1%5 ]B{҄]Qq>vd~Y"l?R _fA