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Gambling Addictions Worsen Closer to Casinos, Experts Say4 October 2004CHICAGO -- As reported by the Chicago Daily Herald: "Two miles from the bright lights, rolling dice and clatter of slot fortunes at the Grand Victoria Casino, Frank Gotthard sits in his quiet, white-walled Elgin office - and waits. "...Gotthard, a counselor at Elgin's Renz Addiction Counseling Center, routinely sits down with gambling addicts, hooked by the thrill of craps, roulette, blackjack, slots - you name the game - offered by the Grand Victoria Casino. "...Addictions vary, as do the people who have them. "...'It's your mother, father, brother, sister, priest, lawyer, doctor, dentist,' said Cyndi Moriarity, president of the Illinois Council on Problem and Compulsive Gambling and a gambling counselor with the Hoffman Estates-based SHARE program. 'Some people can drink socially, others can't. It's the same thing with gambling.' "Compulsive gambling is just as much a chapter in Grand Victoria's 10-year legacy as is praise for bringing dollars, jobs and investment to Elgin. "...Yet having the riverboat in Elgin's back yard, Gotthard said and research confirms, ups the ante for gambling addiction. "...Studies nationwide shed more light on the problem of gambling addiction. "Living within 10 miles of a casino doubles the odds a person will develop a gambling habit, according to the Research Institute on Addictions at New York's University of Buffalo..." |