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The
rising popularity of poker might up the ante for those
keeping an eye on gambling and addiction
She's in her 30s, a wife, a mom and a
professional worker in the Twin Cities. And she hosts a
regular low-stakes Texas holdem poker tournament in her
home.
Ten
players ante up $15 for the night. A winner can make
$150 if everyone stays until the final hand.
"I
love it," the woman said. "When we play at our house, we
play for fellowship and a friendly game."
She
also plays at a regular Texas holdem tournament at a
McLean County coffeehouse. Profits go to charity. Entry
fee ranges from $10 to $25. Winners can take home $100
and up. Other tournaments are being held regularly at
several Twin City-area bars.
She's one of 50 million to 80 million Americans of all
ages taking part in the poker craze since high-stakes
Texas holdem and celebrity poker games recently began
appearing on TV, according to a recent story in The
Washington Post.
PokerPlus.com, which tracks online betting, said poker
players wagered more than $130 million at 21 Web sites
last month alone.
Experts on problem gambling play their cards close to
the vest when asked if more people playing poker will
lead to more gambling addiction.
Some
are concerned because of signs they are seeing,
including more college students playing online, long
lines at casino poker rooms and increased merchandising.
Others say compulsive gamblers had many venues, both
legal and illegal, long before poker's newfound
popularity.
Law
officials say they aren't receiving any complaints about
the local poker games.
Early in the game
In
the past two months, Margo Cahoon, communications
specialist for the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive
Gambling, has been fielding more inquiries from high
school administrators and university officials who are
worried about the poker craze. She tells them it's too
soon to tell how the cards will play out.
"Gamblers may take years to seek treatment," she said.
"There's so many opportunities to gamble as it is," said
Cahoon, whose group partners with Harvard University to
maintain the Web site www.thewager.org to track problem
gambling and its treatment. "Whether it's in a casino or
scratch tickets, people who want it are going to find
it."
Robert Stenander, corporate services clinician at the
Illinois Institute of Addiction Recovery in Peoria,
agreed. He cited one person who checked himself into
treatment recently because he was buying $800 to $1,200
in legal scratch tickets a day.
Even
with poker reaching America's mainstream, Stenander
expects little change in the fact that problem gamblers
are about 3 percent of the population. At most, he said
some compulsive gamblers may choose poker as their game
of choice over slot machines or scratch tickets, a
behavior similar to alcoholics who switch from beer to
whiskey to vodka.
"I
personally don't think the number of people who are
pathological gamblers has changed much over the years,"
Stenander said. "I don't see it (poker) as a big boost
with regards to gambling."
Bryan Denure, unit supervisor of the Illinois Institute
of Addiction Recovery satellite facility at BroMenn
Regional Medical Center, has noticed one related trend
-- more alcoholics and addicts arriving for treatment
are listing Texas holdem poker as a leisure activity.
Cahoon isn't surprised -- many gambling addicts also
report problems with alcohol, drugs or both, she said.
Campus connection
Sandy Colbs, director of student counseling services at
Illinois State University, has seen a rise in interest
in other forms of gambling, including poker, on campus.
Student groups also have hosted Texas holdem
tournaments. Though prizes were merchandise, not cash,
and charities benefited from the events, ISU's
administration debated whether to sanction the
fund-raisers, she said.
She
also said a high number of students have requested a
course on how to win at gambling. The administration
decided against it, she said.
Colbs hasn't seen more students seeking help for
gambling problems. But students with gambling problems
may only talk about issues they are having other than
gambling, she said. For example, a gambler may complain
of financial or relationship problems, but may not
mention gambling losses are the real cause, she said.
"I
actually think it's a bigger problem than has made it to
our office," said Colbs, who is most concerned about
online gambling and the fact some ISU students are
spending a lot of time on the riverboat casino in East
Peoria.
Cindy Kerber, an assistant professor at Illinois
Wesleyan University who has studied gambling addiction,
said her research shows problem gambling increases when
gamblers have more access to gambling. Off all those who
play the card games, 5 percent to 15 percent will
develop problems, she said.
The
televised events join ads for casinos, lottery numbers
announced on television news and even bingo signs in
front of churches in breaking down social stigmas
against gambling that once existed, she added.
Lured by TV
As
immediate past president of the Illinois Council on
Problem Gambling and a counselor who treats compulsive
gamblers, Ira Gilbert is concerned popularized poker
attracts new gamblers or entices seasoned gamblers to
change games. People line up for hours before new poker
rooms at casinos in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana open
for the day, he said.
Many
are lured by the images of high-stakes, no-limit games
they've seen on TV, he said. New players are aware the
last two winners of the World Series of Poker, where
first place brought $5 million, were people who won
their seats at the tournament tables by playing online,
he said.
But
casual players overlook the fact those winners have
played poker for years, he said. Most new players don't
take time to learn the game or know the odds.
"They'll get burned very fast," Gilbert said. "There's
an old saying, 'If you look around a table and can't
spot the sucker, you're the sucker.' That's what's
happening."
Gilbert also described how he noticed Texas holdem kits
with the game boards, chips and cards at a convenience
store near his home in Gurnee.
"The
box said it was for children ages 8 and up. I think it's
horrendous."
Scott Damiani is executive director of the state-funded
Outreach Foundation for Problem and Compulsive Gamblers,
which provides a speaker bureau for schools, colleges
and other audiences on the topic of gambling.
Damiani also is a recovering compulsive gambler who
recently has seen more and more poker players, both from
live tournaments and online games, attend Gamblers
Anonymous meetings.
The
problem touches all ages, said Damiani, who received a
recent call from a worried mother whose 16-year-old son
quit high school because he thinks he can get rich quick
playing poker. Damiani thinks such ideas come when
viewers see players on TV surrounded by hundreds of
thousands, even millions of dollars. What they don't see
are the hundreds of players who never made it to the
final table, he said.
More
time must pass before the true extent of the poker craze
is realized, he said.
"We've only touched the tip of the iceberg," Damiani
said.
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