 
Do
two-year-olds gamble? You bet they
do!
Dear
Mark,
Do you think that kids who play
arcade video games are being pre-programmed
to gamble since the slot machines
of today are video based? Ronnie
M.
Forget
video games, Ronnie, I can prove
to you that two-year-olds gamble.
Strong statement, yes, but no whiff
of bologna.
First,
let me give you two examples of
children gambling casino style.
On the Boardwalk in Atlantic City
children can freely walk into an
arcade and play true slot machines
by exchanging quarters for tokens.
They win crummy prizes in exchange
for the tickets the slot spits out.
Another example is at the children's
arcade at the Circus Circus in Reno.
A child can play Flip It, the casino
game that flips quarters into the
air and on rare occasion pushes
them down into trays. They disguised
it in name only by calling it Jungle
Jamboree. Again, kids get to exchange
tickets for worthless prizes.
But
I did say two-year-olds. To prove
I have one foot planted in mid-air,
how about the two-year-old who makes
a path with Linus blanket in hand
to that thingamajig at the supermarket
door that dispenses those plastic
transparent eggs. For a quarter
a young tot can win an egg containing
a bracelet, a cheap watch, but most
likely a 3¢ ring-more on that
below. These vending machines are
classic slot machines.
So
is it true gambling? Absolutely.
Courts have found that every gambling
apparatus must consist of three
components; consideration, chance
and prize. The child pays something
of value (consideration) to use
the vending machine: if he wins
he receives something of value (prize),
usually less than the amount bet;
and the outcome depends on chance.
Because all three elements are present
on the vending machines that dispenses
these plastic eggs, this would be
considered a true gambling device.
Granted,
I doubt anyone would arrest or even
put the kibosh on a child for playing
grocery store slots, but I do wonder
why these vending operators have
gone uncontested for so long. Who
owns these cash cows milking kids
out of quarters?
By
the way, Ronnie, vis-à-vis
some insider information, the cost
of those plastic egg prizes produced
in Asia is about 3¢, and there
is only one true prize (junky watch)
per two hundred eggs. Our offspring
are up against tougher odds than
the tightest one-armed bandit.
The
stimulation to gamble does begin
early for many children, well before
an arcade adventure. And what parent
in his or her right mind is really
going to say no? We have to be quarter
generous to our kids. They will
be choosing our nursing home.
Dear
Mark,
When casino executives mention both
the "handle" and "hold"
of a slot machine, what do they
mean? Al R.
The
"handle" is the total
amount of all coins played through
a slot machine. The "hold"
(also called "win") is
the amount the casino held as profit.
The "yield" is the casino's
win expressed as a percentage of
the profit.
Dear
Mark,
Every week I enter all kinds of
contests. To this day the telephone
has not rung to acknowledge that
I'm a winner. Do you think the phone
will ever ring? Russell G.
According
to Roxy Roxborough, czar of the
Las Vegas handicappers, "Your
chances are a million to one that
any one telephone call will be financially
rewarding. Compare that against
the caller being a telemarketer
or an undesirable in-law, three
to one."
Your best bet, Russell, is to leave
the answering machine on.
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