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Gambling
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Patrons play the slots at the MGM MGM Grand Detroit Casino, in July, 1999. One year after the casino opened, city leaders and anti-gambling forces are tallying the wins, losses and draws since Detroit became the nation's largest city with casino gambling. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) Gambling, the wagering of money on games of chance, is a popular form of recreation throughout the world. Places such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City have boasted legendary betting venues for much of the last century. Stories, legends, films and fantasies have been built and lost with cards and dice. But, casinos are no longer the only place to "up the ante."
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"Gambling money can be put to good use here and the first place to start would be Ohio horse race tracks," Hanessian says. "Ohio can get behind the three-quarter-of-a-billion industry that supports Ohio horse racing with an expanded gambling solution, or keep casino gambling out of Ohio and lose even more money."
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Caravaggio, The Cardsharps, c. 1594. Gambling has a specific economic definition, referring to wagering money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period of time.
Gambling has played a role in the history of nations. Around the year 1,000 A.D., King Olaf of Norway and King Olaf of Sweden are said to have come together to decide on the ownership of the district of Hising, a relatively isolated area claimed by both countries. Because the dispute could not be resolved diplomatically, the two kings agreed to roll a pair of dice. On their first rolls, both kings got double six; on their second rolls, the Swedish king came up with two sixes and the Norwegian king rolled six on the first die. The second... is said to have cracked showed seven. Norway received the territory, and the two kings reportedly departed on good terms.
Gambling is very attractive, particularly to people who need money. The Illinois Lottery did a study to see who gambles, and found people who made less than ten thousand dollars a year gamble six times more often than those who earn over fifty thousand dollars a year. People know they can win millions by risking a dollar. A recent program on the Discovery Channel stated that gambling is so attractive, that when the powerball is high, ninety percent of eligible adults buy a ticket. There is no other commodity where the percentages are this high. The real odds of winning a state lottery are approximately fourteen million to one, the same odds as being hit by lightening seven times while waiting in the lottery line.
Gambling was often associated with masculinity. Such male spaces as barber shops and saloons were sites for friendly wagers and headquarters for bookies and policy writers. Young working-class men threw dice on street corners, baseball players challenged competitors, and side bets were an important feature of bowling tournaments. South Side housewives were important participants in policy... many patronizing policy writers who took their business door to door.
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