DOUBLING DOWN, DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT IT WOULD WORK!

DOUBLING DOWN, DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT IT WOULD WORK!

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(ALL THE NEWS THAT NOBODY ELSE WILL PRINT)

 

I can remember when casino gambling was first proposed when I was just a shaver of 21 or 22, and the proposal met with stiff opposition, probably because of the time, early to middle 60’s. In examining the history of gaming or gambling here in North America, there seemed to be suggestions that when states or the federal government needed a quick infusion of cash, issues were sometime tabled for what could only be termed for the greater good.

 

The early colonies had different attitudes towards gambling, historians have classified the early settlers into loose groups, the English who brought along the English traditions and beliefs, and the puritans. Although the Puritans came from England, they came to the new world to create a better society, and discard the values of their mother country. To say the least, Puritans and gambling did not go good together and large swaths of New England, where attitudes and in fact laws towards gambling were adopted, in addition to cards, dice and gaming tables (even in the privacy of one’s home) were outlawed. So, too, was dancing as well as singing in public, I’m not sure how these people felt about dancing, or singing in the privacy of their own homes.

 

As the country grew, attitudes changed, governmental services were desired, and financial burdens became a heavy burden to these hardy pioneers. Even before the establishment of the 13 colonies and the Revolutionary War, both colony and business conducted state approved lotteries to help bail these early people out of their financial maladies.

 

These early lotteries were relatively sophisticated, included instant winners, were well received by most of the citizenry, and helped these early settlers achieve their goals for many worthy causes. Eventually the Crown (England) banned the lotteries because of complaints that they were robbing England of their share of the proceeds; in short order the lotteries were dissolved.

 

There were different eras of gambling here in the United States, just like any other enterprising ideas that’ll come and go as the country grew. Of course after the Puritan attitude of unsavory and sinful was probably the crime element that seemed to co-exist with the very essence of what gambling seems to stand for…..the easy buck, and an unhealthy atmosphere that seemed to permeate gambling houses in the early history of gaming.

 

CRACKDOWN ON ORGANIZED CRIME PUSHED THE MOBSTERS WESTWARD

Pressured by law enforcement agencies in New York, New Jersey, and Chicago left organized crime little choice but to move their operations towards the west coast, with a stopover in an area that was nothing more than desert property in 1905, and helped the area grow to more than half a million people by 2014.

 

The infamous Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel moved to the west, expanding the role that gaming and bookmaking would play in the evolution of the city of Las Vegas into one of the premiere tourist locations in the world today.  

 

Gambling became so pervasive in Nevada that most forms were legalized by 1931, the states Legislature motivated by the tremendous amount of money that was brought into the desert community…..even during the depression years.

Gambling in Nevada, even though it was legalized struggled from its 1930’s inception until after World War II, when the prosperity of post-war America started a boom in the fledgling industry. Nevada seemed to be a natural for gambling pretty much because the state already had a flourishing illegal gaming industry that was rife with the usual corruption by law enforcement and key political figures.

 

GAMING/GAMBLING AND INDIANS IN THE 21^ST. CENTURY

This morning in my local newspaper, the Green Bay Press Gazette, Green Bay, Wisconsin, which was authored by Kathleen Foody. The piece is entitled Humble Beginnings, and she talks about the squalid and poverty that the Wisconsin Indians have lived in.

 

Not everybody that is Indian, living on the reservations has shared in the windfall of cash from the state’s 26 different gaming sites. All told Wisconsin has more than 16,000 slot machines, and numerous gaming tables. Different tribes had different areas to work into their gambling sites, and some are more successful than others, it’s the same as any other people traffic driven business, (location, location, location.) Those tribes with the locations are doing the best; hence there tribal membership enjoys the success.

 

Of course there are pros and cons with Native American gambling establishments, some worry about the corruption that seems to be waiting in the wings of any gaming type enterprise. After a time, I believe that initial goals can become blurry and discarded. Without exception these gambling dens were created for a dual role, (1) to help financially the Indian tribes involved, and (2) to afford employment to the tribesmen.

 

Tribes can realize a lion’s share of the revenue, but the state of Wisconsin has their boney fingers out there, ready to reap their perceived share. And to a degree there’s a competition between the tribes and their gaming houses.

 

Indian gaming in the United States counts more than fifteen hundred facilities that include horse tracks, dog tracks, and cruise ships, and is responsible for billions and billions of dollars in revenue to the tribes and the states that they operate in.

 

Nevada, (379) and California, (178) count the most gambling establishments, and few are connected with any native American Indian Tribes. Montana, (143,) Washington State, (141,) Florida, (133,) and Oklahoma, (122) round out those states in triple digits.

 

The criminal element cannot be ignored, not from the operators, although I’m sure that there is a concern there, but organized crime. There are areas in the United States where there was already a pre-existing crime problem. I have often thought that casinos’ might serve as a rallying point for crime elements, but can find little data on the subject.

 

Personally I hope the gambling system that the Indian tribes have established do work so that tribesmen receive the benefits that they so richly deserve. But those officials that are leading these 2014 tribes into a more prosperous time had better be aware of the pitfalls that they might encounter.

 

Doubling down can be a ubiquitous and dangerous situation, these people are, after all, representing their tribesmen.

 

HAVE A NICE DAY!