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Quebec Gambling Addicts Embrace New Cashless Casino

TERREBONNE, Quebec – As reported by the Canadian Press: "When Serge Sigouin first dreamed up a business venture to help himself and other problem gamblers, he devised a unique way to raise capital.

"He bought his own video slot machine, turned it into a piggy bank of sorts and spent 10 years playing, and saving.

"The countless coins he plunked into the machine helped create Cafe Mini Casino, a new cashless casino believed to be the first of its kind in Canada.

"In the small building that once housed a convenience store on a rural highway north of Montreal, about 140 problem gamblers, many with their own keys, drop by whenever the mood strikes.

"…But the only jackpot at this casino comes from the satisfaction players get from knowing their chips and tokens cost them nothing more than the coffee or hamburger on the cafe's menu.

"For their $1 cup of coffee, a gambler gets 100 credits for the machines or $100 in chips. Likewise, a $3 hamburger results in 200 credits or $200 in chips.

"No other money is spent or won and that's the way everyone likes it, says Sigouin.

"…Sigouin, whose addiction started as a child playing marbles in the schoolyard and progressed to criminal activity to support his habit, said his primary aim is to help addicts, not make money.

"But his cafe differs from traditional gambling treatment programs. It embraces a philosophy of playing for fun and truly understanding the odds rather than quitting cold turkey.

"…While Sigouin readily acknowledges he's not trying to run an official treatment facility, those experts who are involved in more traditional assistance still question the cafe's effectiveness in permanently steering gamblers away from real casinos…"

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