Sunday magazine inside: page four- week in review page five-books Number 1 Editor: Stephen Hersh Associate Editors: Ann Marie Lipinski, Elaine Fletcher\ January 16, 1977 Casino gambllng: Tale of two cities- Atlantic City dealt in, By TOM O'CONNELL The young husband stands ner- vously before the roulette table, looking as if he could really use a drink. Badly in need of money, he and his wife are wagering all of their meager savings in hopes of-winning big. A few spins of the wheel later they are completely cleaned out, their hopes crushed, the husband virtually emasculated by his failure. Enter a mysterious stranger (in a classic out-of-nowhere appear- ance) who offers to help out the stricken couple. He soon wins back their money, along with a consid- erable profit, and exits as casual- ly as he entered, followed by the wife's adoring eyes. What sounds like a second-rate scene from a low budget, made-for- TV movie starring George Peppard, is actually the first episode in "Supergambler,'' a comic strip fea- ture in the newly published Gamb- ling Times, a slick monthly which hopes to cash in on what it claims is "fast becoming America's fa- vorite pastime." The publishers of Gambling Times are not the only ones hop- ing to make a killing off gambling's increasing popularity. A number of revenue-starved city governments, convention - hungry chambers of commerce, and hotel and restau- rant owners stranded in decaying urban areas are hoping for a slice of the expected windfall. Move- ments intent on legalizing casino gambling are under way in a num- ber of areas, including northern New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylva- nia, Florida, New York and Michi- gan, where it is hoped that casinos can help solve Detroit's fiscal and unemployment problems. Atlantic City, New Jersey, has already pass- Tom O'Connell is a Daily Staff Writer. ed a much-publicized measure to allow legal gambling. It may be only a matter of time before Superman and Wonderwom- an are eclipsed in our hearts by the suave Supergambler. A recent federal study found that 48 per cent of the nation's adults patron- ize commercial gambling, and 80 per cent indicate they favor legali- zation of some form of gambling. Although gambling in both le'gal and illegal forms is on the rise, the number of arrests for gambling offenses has declined steadily over the last 15 years. And the study also found that people feel public drunkenness, selling marijuana, and pornography are all more seri- ous problems than gambling. It seems obvious that people are willing to accept state lotteries, church bingo and the Wednesday night poker game. But are they ready for the spread of casinos, and will the legal casino work the urban renewal miracles its backers claim? Even more important to people in Michigan is the question of whether casino gambling can really save Detroit. A number of state and city officials are support- ing the idea that jobs and tax reve- nues generated by gambling could be the key to solving the city's problems. A long shot? Perhaps. IN LAST NOVEMBER'S election the issue was placed on the De- troit area ballot as Proposition G, in the form of an advisory ques- tion designed to test public recep- tiveness to the idea. But Proposi- tion G went down to defeat, pri- marily because of lack of funds and organization on the part of its backers. Some late adverse pub- licity sealed its fate. The measure was endorsed, how- ever, by Mayor Coleman Young, the City Council, the Detroit Po- lice Officers Association and a number of labor leaders. The is- "YES" CASINOS Atlantic City De troit control commission (with members appointed by the governor) which would make decisions as to who could receive gambling licenses, what betting limits would be in the casinos, and even who would be allowed to patronize them. The lob.- byists termed the measure "the toughest in the world" and said it would have the power to freeze out "undesirables." Goldstein pointed out that the measure could in no way keep the syndicate from. mov- ing in on the burgeoning hotel and liquor industries. Even today he is still "certain organized crime will be involved," but cannot say to what extent. Despite all the controversy that raged right up to November 2, New Jersey voters reversed the decision they had made two years earlier and voted in the casino gambling measure. The effect on Atlantic City was almost immediate, most notably in the real estate busi- ness. Land values in some ocean gan an front areas doubled within a nd TV month, and even plots of lowly ia, re- marshland are now being touted st New as potential casino sites. Today e the most residents have chosen to push as the aside worries about crime and oth- atheir er problems and are looking for- ward to what they believe will be" d right, a deluge of dollars. .t times rents of THERE WAS A remarkable sim- tequts- ilarity in the controversy gei- e ques- erated by the casino gambling y when measure approved in New Jersey judge and the advisory question (Propo- casino sition G) rejected in,_Michigan. The Detroit Free Press, a highly vocal opponent of Proposition G, sug- at the gested that an increase in gamb- almost ling would inevitably lead to an zonal, increase in the crime rate. But ,ino in State Rep. Casmer Ogonowski (D on was Detroit), the most strident support- ver by er of the proposition, contended a bit that, "In the opinion of man y, to be- crime in Detroit will go down with ambling legal casino gaming ... with more mpt by people working there is less need ish an , to commit crime for profit." Oth- li dmpA er backers pointed out that casino folds low income people can be expect- ed to result in increased social problems and an expanded need for government services." Other op- ponents also questioned the validi- .ty of Ogonowski's figures. Why, when the arguments pro and con were so similar in each case, was the gambling question voted down in Detroit while at- taining success in Atlantic City? It may simply have been a mat- ter of the degree of desperation in each city. Of course the Atlant- ic City measure was'- promoted much more skillfully and received much more favorable publicity. But just as important is the fact that in Detroit there is still the hope, perhaps somewhat naive, that the federal government can bail the city out, perhaps with new pro- grams to stimulate industry. There is little that the govern- ment can do for Atlantic City, which relies so heavily on tourism. Atlantic City has always been- a carnival sort of town, self-reliant and independent, and it is cut- ting its own path toward survival. The Free Press stated in a post- election day editorial that passage of Proposition G in Detroit "would have been a virtual admission of civic bankruptcy." Atlantic City is past caring about such points of pride. It is a fact that casinos, will create problems. The recent find- ings of the Federal Commission on the Review of National Policy To- wards Gambling show that in Ne- vada, where casinos are legal, 63 per cent of residents who earn less than $5,000 per year gambled as compared to 24 per cent nation- ally. The incidence of compulsive gambling is much higher as Well. Atlantic City's situation is so bad that perhaps casinos there are jus- tified regardless of these facts. But maybe Detroit should look for oth- er alternatives before following At- lantic City's lead. For example, some cities in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Florida allow betting on games of professional "jai alai," an ancient Basque game somewhat akin to tennis and handball. These sue will almost certainly resurface again in the near future. But for now the eyes of friend and oppo- nent alike are turned to Atlantic City, where a difficult battle was recently waged to get casino gamb- ling legalized, -and where the re- sults of that action are likely to determine how legalized gambling movements will fare in the rest of the country. If casinos there live up to even a fraction of their backers predic- tions, it would give a tremendous boost to the campaigns of propon- ents in other states. Nestled in an expanse of marsh- land on the south short of New Jersey, Atlantic City is in many ways a scaled down model of De- troit. Here too, the white middle class has left for the suburbs, de- priving the city of its tax base. Many businesses have followed suit. And the remaining population con- sists mostly of lower income black families and elderly poor. As Detroit is dependent on hea- vy industry, so is Atlantic City de- pendent on tourism. But industry no longer comes to Detroit, and the tourists no longer head for At- lantic City. In its heyday during the '40's and '50's they poured in from Philadelphia and New York, but now better highways and air transportation draw them farther south. In the last 15 years close to one third of the city's hotel rooms have closed down; long stretches of its famous boardwalk are lined with decaying, boarded- up houses; amusement parks and other tourist attractions are run down and faded. The situation is worst during the winter, when many restaurants and businesses close down, and once-stately hotels like the Marlboro-Blenheim are in- habited by a handful of pension- ers, giving their lobbies the appear- ance of half-empty geriatric wards. RUT NOW, IF ONE is to believe what many Atlantic City res- idents say, an economic miracle is in sight. Casinos will soon go into operation, probably within the next year and a half. And, according to one city official, "We may have just gotten a new lease on life." Getting them wasn't easy. Only two years ago a measure that would have legalized casino gambling throughout New Jersey was defeat- ed in a statewide election, primari- ly because of fears that gambling operations would come under the control of organized crime. To some extent the fears were justified. New Jersey has long been a Mafia stronghold; in some areas public officials seem to get indicted as fast as they can be elected. The defeat was a blow to At- lantic City, but the people there. Moting the idea. Weiner bed advertising blitz on radio a as well as in the, print med lying on the theory that mo Jerseyites would welcom gambling revenues as long casinosrweren't located in neighborhoods. Eventually he was prove but only after what was a a very bitter battle. Oppon the measure went to court tioning its legality, and th tion was only a month awa3 a New Jersey Superior Court finally ruled in favor of the lobby. Then it was revealed th lobby was being bankrolled entirely by Resorts Interns Inc., which owns a hotel-ca the Bahamas. That operati in danger of being taken o the Bahamian government, of news which led many lieve that the casino ga measure was simply an atte a large corporation to estab exploitable new market. Backers of the measure c that it would create 35,00 0 new tax revenues could be used to hire Daily Photo by PAULINE LUBENS Photo by BRIAN O'CONNELL Atlantic City officials hope that casinos will help revive the once teeming boardwalk. jobs, and that within ten years the casinos would be generating $30 million a year in state revenues. They also said that it would gen- erate more than $800 million worth of hotel, restaurant and house con- struction in the city. The New Jer- sey Council of Churches, which led the campaign against -the casinos, countered Eby stating that any fi- nancial rewards would be out- back laid-off police officers. Ogonowski had proposed a bill in the legislature which would al- low gambling in up to six unspeci- fied Detroit area hotels after 1980. Whether or not the bill was ap- proved in committee and came to a vote on the House floor was to be decided by 'the referendum re- sults of Proposition G. During the fall campaign Ogo- cities have found jai alai to be a popular way to create revenue and bring in visitors without cre- ating the freewheeling casino at- mosphere. The movement for casinos in Michigan is far from dead. Rep. Cgonowski has introduced a fresh bill in the new legislative session calling once again for legalization. He feels the public was "misinform- ;:""f.,......ja "'irt::::>iy ....f.........