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States spend a lot of money on casinos because casinos bring in a lot of money for the states.  It seems logical to me that each state is going to do everything the can to protect their investment.  Especially in a state like Maryland.  Maryland is one of the states that have chosen to purchase and lease their own slot machines, as opposed to allowing the casino operators to do it themselves.  When the the state is literally spending millions of dollars on slot machines, it will be a top priority to make sure that the areas surrounding slot machines will remain hopping social centers and not crime ridden skid rows.  Their measures may not be perfect, but they make an effort.

Most people think of slot machines as these dank smoke filled places that only old gambling addicts visit.  While there are reason for these stereotype, it has not seem to have become common knowledge how much states generate in tax revenue.  When a new casinos comes to town many under informed antigambling advocates seem baffled as to why a state would risk changing the demographic of an area by bringing in slot machines.  If only these people could get a clear picture as to how valuable casinos are to a state and how much effort a state puts in to ensure that the place remains clean safe and profitable. Any industry that has to the power to pull an entire state out of debt needs to be more closely studied.  There is a reason Native Americans are allowed to open casinos on their plantation.

I think most people only have a vague understanding of the casino industry.  Those that visit like to play the games.  Many that do not visit see it as this dirty, borderline illegal, business that are out to empty the purses of grandmothers.  In the meantime slot machines are making enough money to renovate schools and build new roads.  There are very few industries in the world that make as much money as the casino industry.  I am not saying that more people should gamble.  I do not even think it is a wise idea to gamble on a regular basis, even if you are very good at poker.  But I do think people should be better informed about the casino industry since it plays such a major role in most state politics.  It is such a big industry to fly under so many radars.

This is especially true of the last few years.  I would not be surprised if one of the talking points about this global recession will be about how many states sought gambling expansion to alleviate their budget deficits.  37 states looked to gambling during this recession to boost revenue, many of them used slot machines as their core game plan.  Slot machine revenues have been used for public works projects and school systems.  With the important role that slot machines in particular have played during this recession in well over half the states in this country, it just shocks me that more people are not talking about.  One would think that a multibillion dollar industry like slot machines would receive a little more attention in the press these days.

I may be jumping to conclusions but it is starting to feel like when people say the elderly and the poor are being targeted by slot machines, I think that is probably just another way of saying the uneducated.  Obviously saying uneducated people are likely to spend all of their money on a casino is not a pleasant idea, but I have a hard time thinking who else would think it smart to dump all of their money into a game that is clearly based on chance.  Slot machines are designed to be occasional entertainment, not a way of life or a weekly hobby.

Now, with server based slots there is no compromise necessary.  While you cannot physically have more slot machines than a space will hold, slots manufacturers have made it so that individual slot machines can do more for their owners.  While you cannot bring in more penny slot machines or more high rolling slot machines, having your entire fleet of slot machines be able to switch between the two at your leisure or your customers technically multiplies the number of slot machine options that you can offer to your patrons. This is a big win for casinos.

I think people get the feeling that there is some person sitting in a casino security booth with a finger on the button to make sure that jackpots remain low.  Or even worse some sort of algorithm designed prevent the slot machines from ever paying out big.  That would be a waste of time.  The system is designed so that people will get a little bit of money on a lucky day, but at the end of everyday the casino will make a profit.  It is a business model and it has been perfected over many decades.  The casino is not trying to rip you off, they are only interested in making a profit.

I could maybe understand all of the predatory talk of casinos were pretending to be something other than what they are.  The do not.  The odds always favor the house and that is not a secret.  It is only due to peoples ignorance that they feel if they play long enough they will strike it rich.  The games at a casino are not rigged.  The government places strict oversight on them and most casinos are not interested in tampering with them.  They do not have to tamper with slot machines.  The slot machine system has been in place for many decades now.  Even if a casino has to pay out the occasional multimillion dollar jackpot, they are still making far more money than they lose off of slot machines.  There is nothing misleading about this.

I cannot think of one person that does not know this.  So I personally feel that if people want to go to a casino every night and dump their entire paycheck into a slot machine, that is their prerogative.  I especially feel this way since in most cases that money is used to fund public works in the state.  Many states establish a casino program as a means of raising funds for public schools as well as for major road projects.  I would be surprised to learn that someone did not know slot machines are random games of chance.  If they were advertised otherwise, then maybe they would be predatory.

Like everything else on the planet, slot machines are becoming more complex and advanced, especially with the rise of the server based slot machines that give patrons options as to what type of gambling experience they would like.  Though this may be the type of thing that young gamblers would like, many elderly slots enthusiasts may find this off putting.  While our generation like the tailor made digital experience, many elderly people prefer a time when certain decisions were pre-decided for them and all they had to do was work freely within the digital frame work.  However, the elderly are a key slot machines demographic.