May 18 1998

ARTICLE TOOLS

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When "Lefty" Rosenthal was owner of the Stardust Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, he lustily embraced a gambler's lifestyle. Although it made him rich and powerful, he is today an embittered man. Last year, in discussing Las Vegas gambling on public television, he said that "99.9 percent of the public, including myself, have two chances to win; one is slim, the other is none, and slim's out of town."

Gambling is an ancient vice that has soured lives and destroyed families for generations. American reformers by the end of 1910 succeeded in banning nearly all gambling. But since 1978, gambling has made a breathtaking comeback. Last year, Americans legally wagered more than $550 billion, which is more than three times the revenues of General Motors, the country's largest corporation.

As gambling has become socially acceptable, the voice of the church, which once condemned gambling as immoral and destructive, has been drowned out. Gambling, American style, has been cleaned up, civilized, licensed, government approved, and transformed into supposedly family-friendly entertainment. But the gambling industry is a family-killing enterprise if there ever was one.

Corporate America, state and local governments, and the media have all played a part in shifting public opinion toward the belief that gambling is largely harmless, mostly fun, and certainly not immoral enough to warrant prohibition. Church leaders in communities such as Tunica, Mississippi, where gambling now dominates the economy and the culture, feel helpless in confronting the highly buffed largess of gambling potentates, who employ their church members, donate generously to local charities, and provide a strong influx of new tax revenue (see "None Dare Call It Sin," p. 34). ...