by Kyle Doucette

Created on: August 06, 2008

Casinos contribute to a gamblers addiction by using "comps" to keep guest happy so they will to continue to gamble in their establishment. The main "comp" used to entice a person with a gambling problem is the free alcoholic drinks served while they gamble. This is where the connection between gamblers and alcoholics usually starts. The more the guest drinks the less they realize that their losing. Before they know it, the gambler is completely out of money. When gambling begins to get out of control, people tend to feel horrible about the money they lost and turn to more alcohol to numb the pain. Which in return feeds the need to "make their money back" and they continue to gamble until he or she digs a bigger hole and more in debt.

Alcohol is used in many casinos as a way to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Creating an ambiance that pulls them in. While feeding one addiction the person starts to create another addiction with no repercussions, or insight as to what it does to the guest. Even though the casinos are not making them gamble or drink they are enablers. By doing this, the casinos are helping to kill today's society slower then any other addiction. Gambling and drinking are some of the fastest; yet slowest deaths, often ending suicide. A study held by Dr. Phillips in the journal "Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior" (Blakeslee, 1997) shows that compulsive gamblers have many problems, including alcohol and drug addiction, that are contributed to suicidal behavior.

In my personal experience, gambling and alcohol in combination caused my fathers suicide. He started gambling as a social event and would drink while playing. He would win thousands of dollars, and as soon as one would be able to spend it, he would lose it. He began drinking soon after to "forget" about the money lost and think of other ways to make it back by gambling. For the most part, it was just one more card, one more drop of a coin, one more roll of the dice. He always believed he would hit it big. In many cases the more he gambled depended on his winnings. In the beginning, my father would win tens-of- thousands of dollars. However, toward the end of his life was in over 152 thousand in debt, which he left to our family to pay off.

Alcohol and gambling addictions tend to go hand in hand and are a growing epidemic. The problem continues with no assistance from the government to stop the sell of alcohol in casinos. Most casinos in the United States sell alcohol and do not intend on stopping any time soon. By doing this, the casino industry is creating more addictions, which lead to more debts and eventually more suicidal and homicidal deaths.
Blakeslee, Sandra, (December 16, 1997), Suicide Rate Higher in 3 Gambling Cities, Study Says, Retrieved August 5, 2008 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=healt h&res

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