Just Ask Scobe and AP

Dear Scobe and A.P.:

Don't you think that magazines such as the ones you write for encourage people to gamble? Don't we have enough problem gamblers in the country without giving tacit approval in such publications? Would you want your children to gamble? I realize that there is very little chance this letter will wind up in your publication as I've sent similar ones to other gambling magazines and I have been ignored. Gambling has ruined many people. Casino gambling should be banned as should magazines that cater to it.

Sincerely,
Ruth S.

Dear Ruth:

Gambling has ruined some people or, rather, some people have ruined themselves by gambling. There are certain types of people who take their pleasures to excess. Gamblers who throw good money after bad because they crave "the action" and who will lie, steal and cheat to get a stake which they proceed to blow on ill-conceived bets. There are drinkers who can't stop until they are unconscious. Drivers who speed for the thrill of it--on highways where they endanger everyone around them!

Still, there are magazines and newsletters for people who love wine and spirits and for those who love cars. The magazines we write for are not geared to "problem gamblers" because problem gamblers aren't interested in the advice given in their pages--to play within your means, never over-bet, learn the best strategies for the games you enjoy, and treat the games as a hobby. The other advice that we give in those pages goes even further--only play games where you can get the edge, reduce the edge or the speed to a reasonable level and play these games expertly and wisely.

We recognize that a small percentage of people who engage in any activity will take it to an extreme. Even something as simple as eating has become a source of anguish for sections of our population--anorexia and bulimia are rampant among some high school and college students. Yet, we would never consider banning cooking magazines, or restaurants. People who eat to excess, and who threaten their health by so doing, are not a good enough reason to ban all-you-can-eat buffets.

As far as we're concerned, gambling has been a great recreational pastime for us. We practice what we preach by playing the best strategies at the games we love, such as blackjack and craps. At the present time our children are not interested in gambling but if they were--and if they followed our advice--we would not be the least concerned about them.

However, we are not making light of those individuals who cannot control their urges but we are totally opposed to banning an enjoyable activity such as casino gambling because a small percentage of people can't handle it. Think of how many things we would have to ban if such were the case! (Marriage for one, since 50 percent of married people are in "problem" marriages--a monstrous percentage compared to problem gamblers.)

In fact, no one reads these magazines looking for an "encouragement" to gamble. They already enjoy going to the casinos and they want to explore the best possible methods and approaches to the games. If we encourage anything, it is to play smart and know the nature of the games before risking your hard-earned money.

There is always a tendency to want to blame a "problem" gambler's problem not on himself (where it belongs) but on casinos or magazines that publish information about casinos. Food and restaurants and gourmet magazines are not the reason an anorexic is an anorexic; liquor stores and wine connoisseur magazines are not the cause of alcoholism; and casinos and magazines about gambling are not the reason some people become "problems." Individuals who know they have a problem should exercise their free will and turn off the road that says: "This way to the casinos." The rest of us can continue merrily on our way!