For many, gambling's appeal comes in the moment of risk

Page 2 of 2 -- Bernhard, who teaches the sociology of gambling and who cofounded The Problem Gambling Center in Nevada, defines gambling as an act that ''involves risking something of value on an event whose outcome is in doubt." Thus, some would argue that having money in the stock market or real estate -- or almost any investment -- is gambling. He says casino gambling is popular because there's ''power packed into a mini-moment" before the player finds out if he's won or lost.

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''So much of what we find fun hinges on this sort of moment," Bernhard says, including watching a movie or reading a book. Risking something of value on a game (or any other activity) ''increases the intensity and power of the moment," he says. These days, legalized gambling includes bingo, Internet gambling, state lotteries, casinos, sports wagering, and pari-mutuel wagering (horse racing, the greyhound industry, and jai alai, for example).

For most people, including Mohegan Sun regulars Hilda Williams of Windsor, Conn., and Fred Gallagher of Portsmouth, N.H., casino gambling is pure fun.

''It's just recreation," says Williams, who, after winning $130 at the slots on a recent Saturday, says she probably will keep playing until she loses it again. She comes to Mohegan Sun a couple of times a year with a specified amount of money to spend. When it's gone, so is she. ''This building wasn't built on winners," she says.

Gallagher, who leaves his home at 4 a.m. three to four times a year to drive to Mohegan Sun, agrees. By the time he cashes in his chips on this visit, the free breakfast he had (thanks to his Player's Club Card) has fueled him through nearly six hours at the slot machines. Unlike most trips, when he loses all of the $150 he comes with, sometimes in just an hour, he's lost only $28 this time, which he considers a pretty lucky day. As does Williams, he leaves either when he's had enough or when he's lost the quarters he collects in a jar at home specifically for these trips.

For John Montanaro of Belmont, it's the social aspect of playing blackjack or poker at tables that he finds appealing.

''It's like going out to a bar for dinner," Montanaro says. ''It's like going to the ballpark or the zoo or the circus. I go knowing I'm gonna spend 200 bucks, then I leave." He has been to Las Vegas twice, and is planning another trip there soon. ''The last time, I played for six hours and lost $30, plus I got free drinks, so I broke even. It was the best 30 bucks I could've spent."

Of course, not everyone is as lucky as these three players, who, when they have finished playing, are able to walk away without a backward glance. As Williams and Montanaro acknowledge, gambling is addictive. In other words, for everyone, it's not just benign entertainment.

According to Bernhard, only 1 or 2 percent of the population (or about 3 million people) can be considered ''problem" or ''pathological" gamblers. Still, the National Gambling Impact Study reported that 15 million more people are at risk for becoming problem gamblers. The report concludes, however, that ''the actual prevalence rates may be much higher," since one trait that defines problem gamblers is that they conceal the extent of their gambling. These statistics look even worse for those living within 50 miles of a casino, says Bernhard, since the number of problem gamblers increases after the introduction nearby of casino gambling.

Luckily for most people, casino gambling remains a recreational activity. As Bernhard says, ''All products hurt some of their customer base some of the time. Think of cars. But hopefully, as a society, you end up at a consensus of what's an acceptable level of harm."

He adds that having a problem-gambling treatment facility in casino towns is like having a hospital at the bottom of a ski slope: It just makes sense. Bringing casino gambling to a town means you end up with predictable problems, and, he says, ''you need to make sure you're addressing that."

Whenever billions of dollars are at stake, as is the case in casino gambling, tempers will flare among those who take either side of an issue. Whether for good or ill, though, gambling has been around for thousands of years, and it's not going away. When it comes to casino gambling, there is one unassailable truth: Casinos don't discriminate. They'll take money from anyone.

Betsy Block is a freelance writer in Arlington.