2004 Conference

	2004 Conference Report

2004 Rhode Island Conference Highlights

Machines "Crack Cocaine" of gambling
Dr. Robert Breen of the Rhode Island Treatment Center talks about "Rapid Onset of Addiction Due to Machines," or, as he re-titled his talk, "The Crack Cocaine of Gambling."
Slot machines, he says, are "technologically advanced
addiction delivery devices."
Windows Audio Recording
of his comments: Breen Recording
Slides used during his talk: Breen Slides.pdf
Rapid Onset study
referenced: Rapid Onset Due to Machines
Breen, R. B. & Zimmerman, M., (2002) “Rapid Onset of Pathological Gambling in Machine Gambling”. Journal of Gambling Studies, 18 (1)
A replication of that study has also been published:
Breen, R.B. (2004). Rapid Onset of Pathological Gambling in Machine Gamblers – A Replication. eCOMMUNITY: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. 2:1

Proximity Matters
Dr. John W. Welte, a research epidemiologist with the addictions research program at the New York University at Buffalo, NY, surveyed thousands of residents across the country. He and his fellows found addiction rates double near casinos. He also found alarming correlations between neighborhood addiction and casinos.
Windows Audio Recording
of his comments: Welte Recording
Results of his study: Welte Study

Gambling and the Erosion
of American Democracy
Pulitzer prizewinning author and historian Taylor Branch talks about gambling's damage to the most important principles of democracy and self governance. It's not only individuals who become addicted. Government does too, and destroys the trust and accountability that are essential to democracy. This recording includes an introduction by Dr. Weston Ware.
Windows Audio recording
of this presentation: Gambling vs. Democracy

Indian Casinos:
Tribal gambling challenges communities across America. Discussing many aspects of the phenomenon are Mary Beth Gorke-Felice, "The CT Alliance or Connecticut vs. the BIA;" Fred Jones, "California Initiatives;" Barb Lindsay, One Nation United, Western Cherokee "Selling Sovereignty for Slots;" and Cynthia Abrams, Seneca Tribe. Windows Media Audio

Beating the System:
Brett Fromson, Nationally acclaimed journalist and author of Hitting the Jackpot discusses “Lessons from Hitting the Jackpot.” Fromson is one of America’s leading experts on the trail that took an often-questioned “tribe” from near total dissolution to the “Richest Indian Tribe in America.” Hear this candid epilogue to Fromson’s book and his work revealing the curious case of the Mashantucket Pequots and Foxwoods Casino.
Windows Media Audio

Economics of Gambling:
Earl Grinols, one of America’s foremost economists, reveals the peculiar case of casino-funded economic studies and why so many of them tell us nothing. He tells why gambling in America inflicts about the same damage on the economy as a series of hurricanes in Florida or perhaps a major recession every seven years. Windows Media Audio.
Windows Media Audio
Grinols Presentation PDF Slides

Slots at the Tracks:
Animal rights advocate and anti-gambling activist Carey Theil details why “racinos” are bad economic policy and even bad for racing!
Windows Media Audio
Theil and Kohler Presentations PDF Slides

Lotteries, Texas Style:
Texans Suzii Paynter, and Rob Kohler reveal details of twisted politics and social harm that typify the state-sponsored lottery in their state.
Paynter Windows Media Audio
Kohler Windows Media Audio
Theil and Kohler Presentations PDF Slides

Winners and How They Won:
The “Winning Ways for Referendums" panel features four winning veterans of battles in states that determined to “let the voters decide.” Dennis Bailey, ME; Pat Loontjer, NE; Marilyn Townsend, WI and Sam Murrell, MO.
Windows Media Audio

Austrailia, Vision of America's Future:
Australia’s government sponsored gambling serves as something of a trial balloon for gambling in the Americas because it saturated its markets earlier than most regions of the U.S. and Canada. Former gambling machine addict and mow problem gambling research consultant Sue Pinkerton shares some of the realities of a “mature” gambling market. As she spoke, she was Secretary fo Duty of Care, Inc., in Adelaide, South Austrailia.
Windows Media Audio

Canada, the State of America's Neighbor:
Canadian activist Bill Clark tells how hundreds of thousands of Canadians became victims of their provinces' gambling greed. Finally, some of the victims sued and won better warnings. It's hard to say if that has helped, as the country is just starting to count the suicides.
Windows Media Audio

When Government Turns Predator
Robert Goodman is an urban planner, public policy consultant and the former executive director of the United States Gambling Research Institute. He has written numerous articles on public policy and urban planning, and is currently Professor of Environmental Design at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. His book, The Luck Business (Simon and Schuster), a study of the economic impacts of government gambling policy, grew out of his work as director of the United States Gambling Study, a two-year research project at the University of Massachusetts. Mr. Goodman has testified on economic and public policy issues before state and local governments and the United States Congress. This is Goodman’s evening address to the NCALG/NCAGE conference, titled “When Government Turns Predator.”
Windows Media Audio

Made to Steal: Why Slots Make No Sense
Dr. Henry Lesieur, long-time gambling expert, co-author of the leading gambling addiction screen, and now a leading Rhode Island addiction treatment counselor, explains how slots are made to steal. It's part of the Rhode Island clinic's cognitive treatment plan where they teach addicted gamblers to understand the numbers. Broadband Windows Media Video.