Staff writer
As the Aug. 5 opening of the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh nears, opponents of various aspects of legalized slot-machine gambling organized a media blitz Tuesday in conjunction with a public forum at Calvary United Methodist Church on the North Side.
Bill Kearney of Philadelphia once thought of himself as a high roller, but his crusade in more recent times is to have casinos issue monthly statements to those registered for "comps."
A comp is a reward, such as a free lunch, for achieving a certain level of play with the casino keeping track of length of time spent at slot machines, total amount of money spent and average bet through comp cards issued to frequent players.
"Casinos operate like amusement parks without seat belts and cages," Kearney said in a phone interview in which he often used the word "gambling" paired with "addiction."
He believes that if frequent players got monthly statements that told them how much they spent on gambling, they would be better able to determine if they have an addiction.
"You don't get a receipt in a casino," Kearney said. "At a liquor store, at least you get a receipt. People can gamble without a comp card, but they won't get comps."
Two factors work against monthly statements documenting comps: the cost of disseminating them and the customer's cost of gambling, but that hasn't stopped him from lobbying to get a bill passed in the state Legislature for the past five years.
"I'm up against gaming lobby," Kearney said, although he's sparring with legislators, and the governor, too. "If there's less revenue, there's less tax money and there is no industry."
Richard McGarvey, spokesman for the gaming board, said his agency doesn't take positions on proposed legislation.
David LaTorre, spokesman for The Meadows, declined to comment on Kearney's assertions, but said, "Our security personnel study (the self-exclusion) list continuously."
The self-exclusion list is a database circulated to each casino in the state and includes photographs of each person who has voluntarily banned himself or herself from all casinos.
Kearney said he thinks the self-exclusion list doesn't go far enough because "that's after the fact."
"Problem gaming is something we take seriously," LaTorre said. "What we've always advised people who like to gamble is to set a budget like any other form of entertainment, just like we set a budget for a Pirates game or Wild Things game."
Nanette Horner, director of the Office of Problem and Compulsive Gambling at the agency, said 739 people are on the state's self-exclusion list.
Neighboring New Jersey has had a self-banning list for at least seven years and recently reached 1,000 people on the list. Pennsylvania, which opened its first casino three years ago, is already approaching the New Jersey total, Horner said.
All Pennsylvania casino advertisements must include a statement on problem gambling and a toll-free number that a person can call to obtain help for a gambling problem.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's Web site reports $21 billion wagered to date in the state's eight slots casinos during the 2008-09 fiscal year, including $3 billion at The Meadows in Washington County.
Another speaker at the forum in Pittsburgh, Jethro Heiko, a founder and organizer of Casino-Free Philadelphia, said he's not against casual poker games or office pools, but he doesn't want to see the Sugar House casino built just a few blocks away from his home on the site of a former sugar refinery.
"If you're gambling with your friends, they're not going to make you lose your home or your car," Heiko said.