Casinos will add to addictive risks in Ohio, experts say

Casinos will add to addictive risks in Ohio, experts say

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Casino gambling is coming to one of America’s poorest cities, and with the glitz and new jobs it’ll bring to Cleveland, the games of chance are also likely to attract troubled gamblers.

And the convenience will increase the number of chronic gamblers willing to lie, cheat or steal to get a fix, experts agree.

“Because we are bringing the gambling closer to home, the problem’s going to be closer to home,” said Laura Clemens, who directs the responsible gambling program for the Ohio Casino Control Commission, created to regulate the new casino industry.

Voters approved four casinos in 2009 for Ohio, in part with the promise of jobs for a Rust Belt state hit hard by the loss of manufacturing jobs. Last year, the Census Bureau ranked Cleveland, with a 34 percent poverty rate, the third-poorest big city in the U.S. Cincinnati ranked seventh with 30.6 percent of residents living in poverty.

Opponents, led by church groups, warned that casinos would lead to more troubled gamblers. Ohio’s first casino opens in mid-May in Cleveland, with Toledo’s to follow in two weeks and the Cincinnati and Columbus casinos next year.

The risk the casinos bring was underscored by a pair of military veterans who have sought treatment for their gambling problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ only residential treatment center for troubled gamblers. The pair talked to The Associated Press about their gambling ordeals, but insisted on anonymity to protect their privacy.

A female Army vet who is an admitted longtime problem gambler said she started with bingo and card parties as a teen and that casino gambling pushed her over the edge, ruining her family life and prompting her to rip through $1 million in losses.

“I got so addicted to it so fast, that’s kind of like all I wanted to do,” said the 49-year-old from Chicago. And, now in Ohio, “here comes the casinos. The casinos, oh, my God,” she said.

The other veteran, a