things only have instrumental value. Yournean sec this in the slots, the gaming tables,rnthe S3.95 all-you-can-eat buffets, therncall girls, the sports books, and the videopokerrnmachines. Outdated Las Vegasrncasinos (e.g., Dunes, Sands, Hacienda,rnLandmark) are demolished and replacedrnbv new and more elaborate facadesrnwhich can separate the tourists from theirrnmoney. Casinos, of course, do not giverncustomers anything in exchange for theirrn”investment.” The wealth acquired byrnthe casino industry, or by the few gamblersrnfortunate enough to beat the house,rnis not produced. “[T]he money flowingrninto casinos, riverboats, and slot machinesrnis money that is being divertedrnfrom goods and services in other localrnbusinesses,” explains Prof Robert Goodmanrnin his book The Luck Business. ‘Insteadrnof bringing in new wealth to therncommunity, convenience gambling enterprisesrncannibalize the local economy.”rnAnother authority’ on the economies ofrngambling, John Kindt, a professor ofrncommerce and legal policy at the Universit}’rnof Illinois, has demonstrated thatrnthe state loses three dollars in increasedrnsocial welfare, criminal justice, and otherrncosts for every dollar it makes on gambling.rnA culture based on instrumental valuernleads its citizens to make such philistinerninquiries as “Wliy study Plato’s Republicrnor Hobbes’ Leviathan if it won’t result inrna good-paying job?” while never ponderingrnthe Socratic comeback, “What goodrnis money if your soul is impoverished?”rnOf course, instrumentalism is not limitedrnto Las Vegas. But it is exacerbated in arnculture that promotes it as an imquestioncdrnmoral good and whose most famousrnresident, Andre Agassi, declares inrna Canon commercial, “hnage is everything.”rnRather than promoting casino gambling,rneollegcs and universities ought tornbe opposed to it. Instead, UNLV has establishedrnan International Gaming Institutern(IGI). According to its vvcb page, therninstitute “was created in 1993 in responsernto the increasing demand for gamingrneducation, training, and research. ThernInstitute is the premier source of informationrnand training for the gaming industn,’.”rnIts “mission is to provide educationalrnprograms, conduct gaming research,rnand disseminate gaming knowledge viarnseminars, classes, and publications tornbusinesses, governments, and studentsrnriiroughout the world. One of the mostrnchallenging and crucial tasks of the Instituternis to stay current in the ever changingrngaming industry.” It sponsors seminarsrnsuch as “Slot Volatility/Slot Revenues/rnProfit Per Square Foot,” “Creating ObjectivernPlayer Rating Systems,” andrn”Mathematics of Casino Table Games/rnRule Modification as a Marketing Tool.”rnSome of the courses offered for collegerncredit include “Introduction to the Casino,”rn”Protection of Casino Table Games,”rnand “Seminar in Casino Management.”rnMy favorite is “Gaming Internship,”rnwhich is described in tiie catalog as:rna field-based learning experience atrna major casino operafion designedrnto increase students’ awareness ofrn”how” gaming operations are managed.rnThis course offers a “handson”rnapproach and offers appliedrntheory value.rnIf you believe there is any possibilitv’rnthat the IGI would publish papers or pursuernresearch that reflects negatively onrnthe gaming industry, think again. ThernIGI is the recipient of numerous financialrngifts from the gaming industry. InrnOctober 1995, according to a UNLVrnpress release, the IGIrnreceived a $100,000 grant fromrnACE Denken Co. of Japan to compilerna training manual for the gamingrnindustr)’. . .. ACE Denken Co.,rna manufacturer of gaming equipmentrnfor the pachinko industry, hasrnbeen a strong supporter of UNLV’srnWilliam F. Harrah College of HotelrnAdministration. A $2 millionrnendowment created by the companyrnand its president, TakatoshirnTakemoto, in 1992 enabled therncollege to launch its Ph.D. programrnin hospitalit)- administrationrnand a research journal.rnAccording to a May 17, 1995, press release,rn”a $1 million donation from InternationalrnGaming Technology to UNLVrnwill establish the International GamernTechnology Library, featuring the Gar}’rnRoyer Gaming Collection, in the UNLVrnInternational Gaming Institute.”rnI am not disputing the legal right ofrnsuch an institute to exist nor the need forrnthe serious academic study of gaming.rnBut an institute or program that promotesrncasino gambling should not be supportedrnby a college or universits’ which is supposedrnto be nurturing the life of thernmind. If, as Aristofle believed, “statecraftrnis soulcraft” and “the state exists for thernsake of a good life, and not for the sake ofrnlife only,” then academies should be inrnthe forefront of resistance to the incorporationrnof casino gambling in our communitiesrnand in the curricula of institutionsrnof higher education.rnFrancis ]. Beckwith is an associaternprofessor of philosophy, culture, and lawrnand the W. Howard Hoffman Scholar atrnthe California Campus of TrinityrnCraduate School (Deerfield, Illinois). Hernis also a senior research fellow at thernNevada Policy Research Institute. Hisrnmost recent hook (with C. Koukl) isrnRelativism: Feet Firmly Planted inrnMid-Ah (Baker Books)^rnHELP THE ROCKFORD INSTITUTE . . . HURT THE IRSrnThere is often a tax advantage in making a gift of appreciatedrnstocks or bonds to The Rockford Institute. Whenrnyou do, there are two winners: you and The RockfordrnInstitute. The only loser is the wicked and greedy tax collector.rnHere’s how it works:rnWhen you sell appreciated securities, you are taxed on therncapital gains. However, if you contribute appreciated stocks orrnbonds to The Rockford Institute, the gains are not taxable. Inrnfact, you will receive a charitable deduction for the full,rnfair-market value of the securities as of the date of the gift. Tornqualify, you only have to have held the stocks or bonds for morernthan one year. Your securities broker can even wire the sharesrndirectly to The Rockford Institute’s investment account.rnFor more information, please write or call:rnChristopher Check, Executive Vice PresidentrnThe Rockford Institutern928 North Main Street, Rockford, Illinois 61103rnTelephone (815) 964-5811rn}* #4rnOCTOBER 2000A5.3rnrnrn
January 1975April 21, 2022By The Archive
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