Letter to John Kerr, Editorial Page Editor, Las Vegas Review—Journal

John Kerr
Editorial Page Editor
Las Vegas Review—Journal
1111 West Bonanza Blvd.
P.O. Box 70
Las Vegas, NV 89125

(sent via fax)

The gaming—entertainment industry is aware of the problems that exist in the area of problem gambling, and it is most certainly addressing these issues in a variety of proactive ways. But carelessly researched articles, like the one that appeared in the Review—Journal’s Dec. 17 issue, only serve to sensationalize the serious issues at hand. Dr. David Phillips’ research openly states that his findings “suggest but do not prove that gamblers experience abnormally high risks of suicide.” Not surprisingly, however, the media have been quick to jump to their own conclusions.

The fact is that Dr. Phillips’ study admits there are a number of other factors that could contribute to increased suicide levels. Other studies have shown that pathological gamblers have various problems, including alcoholism, drug addiction and depression, that contribute to suicidal behavior.

Dr. Phillips’ conclusions are also inconsistent with a recent study conducted by the Center for Disease Control. The CDC, in August 1997, found that suicide rates vary considerably among states and regions. The CDC report found that Hawaii and Utah, states with no legalized gaming, had higher suicide rates than Connecticut, Illinois and New Jersey, all states with a large influx of gaming. In fact, New Jersey had the 2nd lowest suicide rate in the nation, even with the existence of casinos for 20 years. The study found that Western regions of the United States, such as Nevada and Wyoming (which has no casinos) were found to have higher suicide rates for reasons linked to isolation, migration and a growing population. In fact, an examination of Nevada found that Las Vegas had a lower suicide rate than rural areas of the state. This study seems to indicate that the presence of casino gaming cannot be correlated with high suicide rates.

What is most disagreeable about your article is the author’s blatant misuse of the Harvard Medical School’s recent study findings on pathological gamblers. The results revealed that nearly 99 percent of all Americans and Canadians gamble with little or no consequence. The study found that there has been a slight increase in serious pathological adult gamblers, from 0.84 to 1.29 during the last two decades, and that categories including less serious degrees of problem gambling are very difficult to determine and require further research. Dr. Howard Shaffer, director of Harvard Medical School’s Division on Addictions and author of the study, himself warns people against lumping together different categories of disordered gamblers to create a made—up number and a misperception of the problem, just as the Review—Journal did in its article. It is simply wrong to manipulate numbers, which is exactly what anti—gaming advocates do when they use numbers as high as 11 percent to portray a preconceived notion.

I am disappointed in the Review-Journal for its irresponsible coverage of this very serious issue. For a publication that knows so much about gambling, this article seems to demonstrate just the opposite.

Sincerely,

Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr.