Gambling
This is part of a story I did on gambling in Missoula this past fall.
Live poker at the Silver Slipper.
Yes, the mall in Missoula has a casino. It's called Pepper's and you can drink beer for free as long as you keep feeding the machines.
His glassy eyes reflect the glow of the keno machine he’s been playing for the last hour. He won’t say how much money he’s spent today, but Dan Bookman won twenty dollars at this machine last week, and he still has 60 credits to use to win some more. The Silver Dollar bar by the train tracks in downtown Missoula, is like any other bar in Western Montana. Crusty old men bellied up to the bar, a friendly bartender pouring their Budweisers, a couple of pool tables, a juke box, and of course, the wall of keno machines.
Video keno has been legal in Montana since 1976; after years of false starts, it was passed as a form of live bingo. In 1985, the Video Poker Machine Act was passed, which meant that the state granted five video poker licenses to each liquor license. After a 15 percent tax was imposed on video gaming in 1987, the state realized what a great source of revenue these machines were and lifted the five-machine poker limit and instead instated a 20-machine-per-liquor license-law in 1991.
The Video Gambling Machine Tax, the major gambling tax in Montana, is equal to 15 percent of the video gambling machine revenues. One-third of this revenue is distributed to the state general fund, and two-thirds is set aside for the municipality or county. Montana’s government has come to depend on this tax.
Missoula’s appetite for these machines seems insatiable. Just take a quick drive down Brooks Street, and you will pass over ten dedicated casinos, and at least ten other restaurants or bars with video gaming machines.
In 2005 alone, over 20,000 video gambling machine permits were granted in Montana. That is one new machine for every 50 residents, not to mention all of the machines that have been accumulating since 1976. Last year the gross income tax revenues from all the video gambling machines across the state was a staggering $355.9 million.
Who is playing these machines? Most people play to relax and “zone out” after a hard day at work. Although it costs money, it’s more exciting than television. But also more addictive.
The 1999 National Gambling Impact Study Commission Final Report found that, of the 125 million adult Americans who gamble, 7.5 million were problem or pathological gamblers.
People with gambling problems are found in every demographic group. Behaviors that signal problem gambling include a preoccupation with gambling, a need to gamble with increasing amounts of money and trying to make up losses by additional gambling.
There are three advertised gamblers anonymous meetings in Missoula. St. Patrick’s Hospital hosts one on Wednesdays, and the Providence Center on North Orange Street hosts meetings Sunday and Thursday nights.
Although these games are a boon to tax revenue in the state, it tends to be taken from those who can least afford it.
My biggest problem with this story was access. No bar-owners wanted me disturbing the gamblers and no gamblers wanted their pictures taken. Luckily there were a few exceptions. I really wanted a picture of the keno machines in the mall, but the mall itself doesn't allow photography. I had to actually sit there and play video poker until I could whip out my not too subtle Nikon D70 when nobody was looking. I lost a dollar.
Live poker at the Silver Slipper.
Yes, the mall in Missoula has a casino. It's called Pepper's and you can drink beer for free as long as you keep feeding the machines.
His glassy eyes reflect the glow of the keno machine he’s been playing for the last hour. He won’t say how much money he’s spent today, but Dan Bookman won twenty dollars at this machine last week, and he still has 60 credits to use to win some more. The Silver Dollar bar by the train tracks in downtown Missoula, is like any other bar in Western Montana. Crusty old men bellied up to the bar, a friendly bartender pouring their Budweisers, a couple of pool tables, a juke box, and of course, the wall of keno machines.
Video keno has been legal in Montana since 1976; after years of false starts, it was passed as a form of live bingo. In 1985, the Video Poker Machine Act was passed, which meant that the state granted five video poker licenses to each liquor license. After a 15 percent tax was imposed on video gaming in 1987, the state realized what a great source of revenue these machines were and lifted the five-machine poker limit and instead instated a 20-machine-per-liquor license-law in 1991.
The Video Gambling Machine Tax, the major gambling tax in Montana, is equal to 15 percent of the video gambling machine revenues. One-third of this revenue is distributed to the state general fund, and two-thirds is set aside for the municipality or county. Montana’s government has come to depend on this tax.
Missoula’s appetite for these machines seems insatiable. Just take a quick drive down Brooks Street, and you will pass over ten dedicated casinos, and at least ten other restaurants or bars with video gaming machines.
In 2005 alone, over 20,000 video gambling machine permits were granted in Montana. That is one new machine for every 50 residents, not to mention all of the machines that have been accumulating since 1976. Last year the gross income tax revenues from all the video gambling machines across the state was a staggering $355.9 million.
Who is playing these machines? Most people play to relax and “zone out” after a hard day at work. Although it costs money, it’s more exciting than television. But also more addictive.
The 1999 National Gambling Impact Study Commission Final Report found that, of the 125 million adult Americans who gamble, 7.5 million were problem or pathological gamblers.
People with gambling problems are found in every demographic group. Behaviors that signal problem gambling include a preoccupation with gambling, a need to gamble with increasing amounts of money and trying to make up losses by additional gambling.
There are three advertised gamblers anonymous meetings in Missoula. St. Patrick’s Hospital hosts one on Wednesdays, and the Providence Center on North Orange Street hosts meetings Sunday and Thursday nights.
Although these games are a boon to tax revenue in the state, it tends to be taken from those who can least afford it.
My biggest problem with this story was access. No bar-owners wanted me disturbing the gamblers and no gamblers wanted their pictures taken. Luckily there were a few exceptions. I really wanted a picture of the keno machines in the mall, but the mall itself doesn't allow photography. I had to actually sit there and play video poker until I could whip out my not too subtle Nikon D70 when nobody was looking. I lost a dollar.
posted by Monica at 2:40 PM
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