ERIE, Pennsylvania-
I suppose anyone who gambles long enough is bound to win some money eventually. Play long enough and the odds are, at some point, you will make a little cash back. But the question is, after years of gambling and dumping thousands upon thousands of dollars into the addiction, and when one finally wins some money, are they ahead of the game or still behind? For most people the answer is behind, after all, if people won more money than they lost, casinos would be out of business. Naturally, over a lifetime, some fortunate people will win more than they donate to the house, but those rare individuals are few and far between.
In Erie, Pennsylvania, an unidentified 55-year-old man didn’t strike it rich on the slot machines at the Erie’s Presque Isle Downs & Casino, but he did win enough to make anyone smile, $2,001 to be exact. If I was a gambler (which I’m not) and I won $2K you’d sure see a big smile on my face. But for this lucky…..then unlucky gambler, his winning take would be promptly removed from him. He didn’t get to keep the winnings because he had been banned from the casino, in fact, he had been banned from all casinos in the entire state. Now, I’ve heard of being banned from one casino, nearly 20 years ago I had a friend get banned from a casino in Las Vegas for gambling before he was 21 years old; but being banned from every casino in the entire state of Pennsylvania seems a little harsh.
That is until you look at the particulars and what this banned man did to earn his banishment from the kingdom of every casino in the state of Pennsylvania. He must have been a really bad boy, huh? Well, it’s probably not quite what you’re expecting. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has a program for problem gamblers that is a ‘self-exclusion program’. Any person in the state can voluntarily choose to ban themselves from all state casinos for one year, five years, or for life. And that is exactly what this man did. It was not clear how long he’d chosen to ban himself, but it was clear that he did forfeit the $2,001 he had won and the winnings would go into a compulsive and problem gambler’s treatment fund (hopefully in his name).
But there is more to this story. Included with forfeiting his take, he was also charged with criminal trespassing because he’s not allowed to even enter any casino in the entire state (sure would be nice to have an extra $2,000 laying around to pay any fines and/or court fees).
You kind of have to feel a little bad for this guy, but not too bad because the reality of it is he had to have known better, he created the whole mess for himself. And in the long run will probably benefit from his self-imposed exile.
The moral of the story: It’s obvious……if you enter a program banning yourself from all state casinos, either stay out, or fly to Vegas.
© 2011 StrangeRush.com
