Comments on: When you think about it, most nurseries already have craps tables.

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:54:33 +0000

I would like to see a ban put in place on poor articles and blog posts, I don’t see what people have against gambling as it generally runs through the core of everyone’s lives. Most people take risks in life, risks that can go wrong or right. Most people who gamble enjoy it. As for gambling addiction, yes this is a problem. We don’t ban Burger King because their are a fair few fat 10 year olds about these days, we promote responsible eating, just as we should promote responsbile gambling, or responsible porn viewing. Everything is fine in moderation.

Phil

By: Steven

Steven — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:09:20 +0000

“B-b-b-but think of the children!”
That’s how you know you’ve won.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:53:14 +0000

I’d prefer to see more skilled gambling–at least that requires thought and is good for people’s brains, if not their wallets. Or social gambling. More poker, craps, and blackjack; less slot machines.

Pretty much all adult chess tournaments have cash prizes, and I was playing in such tournaments as a kid (by adult tournaments, I mean tournaments open to adults, as opposed to scholastic tournaments that are limited to children and always give out worthless trophies). What a terrible exploitation that was!

By: Pete Guither

Pete Guither — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:29:42 +0000

As a kid, I travelled with a Boys Choir. We weren’t allowed to play cards for money, so we played for sticks of gum. Pots regularly would get as high as 500 sticks. There was also quite an entrepreneurial business set up on the bus by some of the kids selling gum to the losers — the price, of course, going up dramatically when we were far from a store break.

By: DPirate

DPirate — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 00:15:19 +0000

He is forgetting that children regularly gamble without regard to law as it is. Or hasn’t he ever played marbles, or mumbledy-peg (not that we allow them to have pocketknives anymore). They lose all their marbles and go home crying. Sounds like a good anti-gambling lesson to me.

By: Liberty Belle

Liberty Belle — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 23:41:21 +0000

Has this dude never been to Chuck E. Cheese’s? That place is a training ground for gambling addiction.

By: StevefromOhio

StevefromOhio — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:20:29 +0000

“So I conclude that for Radley Balko and 53% of the participants the following points are not very important problems in comparison with the benefits that society can get from a lack of restrictions or with the sacrosanct idea of freedom.”

This is where he starts to go wrong. We don’t advocate legalization because such an action may provide benefits for a society as a whole. We legalize because the individual has a right to perform an action regardless of its benefits to society. Me taking a piss doesn’t benefit society. It benefits nobody but myself. Potential benefits to society shouldn’t be a consideration in determining whether to “allow” certain actions. The criteria should be “does this action negatively effect society?” If we prohibited every action that didn’t result in a positive benefit to society we wouldn’t be allowed to do much of anything.

By: B8ovin

B8ovin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:14:23 +0000

BrentM: if we outlaw everything children could abuse there would be nothing left. except church and school

BUT, if we put slot machines in churches and schools it would greatly improve the experience for children. As someone who went to both church and school (both against my better judgment and will) I am speaking from experience.

By: Nick T.

Nick T. — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:32:47 +0000

Love it: I’m fine with letting elementary school-age children gamble, but only if they’re also legally permitted to drink.

Kind of like : Gay Marriage is OK…. as long as they are of the same race!

By: Len

Len — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:28:35 +0000

Young children don’t generally have enough money to be a useful gambling demographic.

By: Neil

Neil — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:19:36 +0000

Ironically, One of the ads on the same page (right bar) advertises help for gambling addiction, it says “Gambling Addiction Hurts. Williamsville Wells heals”. Is it google ads? I assume the ad was chosen by an automated service that looked at a few keyword of the article. That most amusing result of that I’ve seen was on a rather anti-Muslim article on a conservative website, was an ad on the same page for a Muslim dating site.

Your article reminded me to vote.

By: JS

JS — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:10:08 +0000

awp “I really hope that you point out that once you remove your opponents moral posturing, straw-men, and anecdotes (Oh my god all our grannies are going to become bank robbing gambling addicts), his only real argument is the rather Orwellian notion that government must restrict our freedom for us to be free.”

Wins thread!

By: Mark S.

Mark S. — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:59:34 +0000

You just don’t understand the abuse a tween can dish out after a bender.

By: CC

CC — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:20:14 +0000

Clearly that guy has never been to Chuck E. Cheese, which always has lots of games of skill where if you’re successful you get tickets that can be exchanged for prizes. The atmosphere is really, really, Vegas-like.

By: AJ Nock

AJ Nock — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:59:19 +0000

Actually a slot machine and a video game machine are often both made by the same manufacturers. Pac Man isn’t going to give you any quarters back and neither is the poker machine. It is a sad fact in countries rich and poor that many are addicted to a higher cost lifestyle than they have the means to support. The good or service is irrelevant. Many are deeply in debt for too expensive car payments, too large of a house, overly extravagant furnishings, clothing, vacations. You can’t use the force of state to make people realize the superior pleasure of living within their means.

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:41:05 +0000

Perhaps if the people running the debate had better clarified WHAT was being debated, that would have, well, clarified things.

People are not clairvoyant.

By: andrew

andrew — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:16:37 +0000

I lived in japan for 4 years when i was 9-13, a lot of my friends gambled since it was everywhere and fun! Heck even the school I went to used to do carnival type things with gambling. None of us have become gamblers. Clearly I conclude that exposure to gambling as a youth leads to no gambling later on in life.

By: Sky

Sky — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 07:28:02 +0000

Have you been drinking Radley? You really shouldn’t post when you’ve been drinking. :)

By: awp

awp — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 06:06:10 +0000

I really hope that you point out that once you remove your opponents moral posturing, straw-men, and anecdotes (Oh my god all our grannies are going to become bank robbing gambling addicts), his only real argument is the rather Orwellian notion that government must restrict our freedom for us to be free.

“Commercial gambling promoters attempt to elude charges of exploitation by pleading it is a “voluntary” act. But the business model for casinos and lotteries only works if our government takes away the freedom of millions of Americans.”

By: ASPECTRATIO

ASPECTRATIO — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:46:45 +0000

Funny how the mere mention of ‘nurseries’ and ‘craps tables’ brings the term ‘Breitbart’ to mind of late.