By CHRISTOPHER LENOIS

The fact that an individual’s gambling habits can reach levels of addiction and disorder is well documented. Its influence on criminal activity, personal bankruptcy, and domestic woes are the subject of any number of books, movies or TV docudramas. But its status a legalized form of entertainment under strict government control, and the fact that it leaves no physically debilitating effects like an addiction to a substance would, makes the true damage of gambling on a community and an individual difficult to quantity.

In a state like Louisiana where surveys indicate that 70 percent of the population participate in some form of gambling, be it lottery tickets, video poker, horse racing, or casino, the question is not whether there is a growing number of gamblers, but rather a growing number of problem gamblers.

The South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) is a survey that had been used in all the major gambling prevalence studies of the past 15 years.

The SOGS uses four levels to define a gambler’s habits: Level I indicates social or recreational gambling without significant life problems; Level II indicates moderate personal and social consequences; Level III indicates consequences that would define the gambler as an addict; and Level IV indicates problems that would actually cause a gambler to seek assistance for their habit. During the 1998 state-commissioned study on Gambling,1800 Louisiana residents answered the SOGS questions, revealing 5.8 percent already have, or will over the course of their life have gambling habits that reach the problematic or pathological stages defined by Levels III and IV.

Extrapolated over the entire state population from the 1999 census, that is more than 250,000 people.

Still, the majority of gamblers (63.9 percent) are people like Donna (last name withheld), a casually dressed woman in her late 30s whom L’Observateur spoke with recently as she played video poker at the Finish Line in LaPlace.

When asked why she plays, Donna exhaled a large laugh and replied, “To relax!”

Donna said she was only at the Finish Line because her fiance’ likes to play the horses. When she plays, she prefers places with less machines, bars and restaurants.”

“(Video Poker) machines only win a certain amount of the time. If you have more machines, you’re going to lose more,” she said. Donna said she only plays once every couple of months, capping her losses at $50 at a time. She has won as much as $1,000 on one night.

The New Orleans chapter of Gambler’s Anonymous held meetings in the St. Charles Parish Hospital cafeteria until about a year ago, said an official from the hospital’s education department. Then the group notified the hospital they were canceling the meetings due to a lack of participation.

Officials from Gambler’s Anonymous were unavailable for comment.

The social costs of gambling accumulate over time. The more affluent a person is the better they might be able to sustain the monetary losses and postpone their own personal difficulties, but there are external effects on society.

Surveys conducted with confirmed Level IV gamblers reported decreased job productivity or even missing whole days from work because of their habits. Theft from the work place was also prevalent, and that adds costs to the criminal justice system.

Then of course the need for the gambler to go on public assistance and receive treatment also costs taxpayer’s money. The 1998 study found that all in all, one Level IV gambler’s problems equaled about $11,000 in societal costs.

A police officer’s job is to arrest a perpetrator for the crime committed without a lot of delving into the psychological why’s and wherefore’s of the crime beyond the deed.

This makes the correlation between crime and gambling difficult to assess on a local level. Capt. Mike Tregre of the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office said his officers love the security detail at the Finish Line.

“Those people (patrons) have just one thing on their mind – gambling,” said Tregre. “It’s very, very quiet.”

Costs on a state level are easier quantify.

The Louisiana State Police has set up a Gaming Division to regulate the industry. In addition to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, there is a separate Racing Commission and Lottery Corporation. All of these entities, as well as the gamblers themselves, keep the Attorney General’s office busy.

More than $50 million of the state’s money is shelled out annually to regulate gambling.

Gamblers have certainly been wont to declare personal bankruptcy after running up debts. But when a person files for bankruptcy they might cite bad credit card debt or overdue loans without attributing their inability to pay those debts to their gambling losses.

Their financial status will also delay and severe repercussions from their habits.

Gina (last name withheld), a woman in her mid-40s, was another patron at The Finish Line.

When asked how long she had played video poker she responded, “Oh Lord! Since I don’t know when.” She gives the same answer when asked how long she has gambled.

She said she usually plays at smaller bars in the area, and has won as much as $2,000 in a night. She would not say how much she has lost at one time, but confirmed it to be between $200-$500.

When asked if she puts a cap on her losses before she stops playing she laughs and says, “You would think I need one.”

On the surface, video poker seems to be one of the more benign forms of gambling. It costs very little to play and the payouts run about 62 cents for every $1 put in. Allowing players to play for a very long time on just a few dollars, especially if they build up a large surplus in credits.

“But players are going to play down the machines,” said Ed Colomb, whose T-Stop LLC company has consulted, designed or constructed a number of Truck Stop Casinos in Louisiana, including two in the River Parishes.

Truck stop casino owners rely on this fact to keep them profitable in the face the high taxes they have to pay, the required gas mark-up, and the fact that the vast majority of players come from within the community.

“We’re not making new gaming clients. It’s all about marketing,” said Colomb.

“Some people say video poker is the crack-cocaine of gambling. Players get mesmerized feeding their quarters in and pushing the button and seeing the flashing lights,” said Dr. Tim Ryan, the University of New Orleans professor who spearheaded the state-commissioned study. “Sooner or later, most people get to the point where they say ‘it’s not interesting enough.’ Others escalate.”

With organizations like Gambler’s Anonymous having very little to no presence in the community, people who reach a level of awareness about their problem or pathological gambling turn to their churches for guidance. Either through direct counseling with their priests or 12 step groups that deal with all types of addictions and family problems.

Donna M. Perrilloux is the Director of D.M.P. Prayerline Ministries in LaPlace.

After serving as the prayerline director for WHNO-TV, Channel 20 in New Orleans for more than a year, she felt the calling to start her own line in the River Parishes. Perrilloux has counseled numerous people whose problems with addictions to substances and gambling have brought them to the brink of suicide.

“People are so disgusted with their what their lives have become. But sometimes people have to go through something in order to know how they’re going to work out.” said Perrilloux. “Gambling is a sin in the way adultery is a sin. It takes your attention away from your family.”

Perrilloux and her volunteers offer scriptures for their callers to meditate upon, and do follow-up with their callers to see how they are progressing, and if they are getting counseling from their churches or other programs.

“We can only give them the Word of God,” said Perrilloux, who said she feels the Word channeling through her when she counsels people. “The casinos will see that you continually come back. They’re telling you’re so close, you’re so close. Put some more money in, put your car in. Gambling takes from your home, your families. You are at risk from the devil. You have riches and gold in an abundance of life.”

The gamblers L’Observateur spoke with for this article did not feel their gambling had reached problematic stages.

William (last name withheld), a man in his mid-40s, said he and his wife play video poker as a way of “blowing off some steam.”

“It’s a convenience thing. LaPlace has very little by way of entertainment,” William said. His eight-ounce bottle of beer perched on top of the machine, a filtered cigarette in his left hand. “I prefer to play blackjack at casinos, but my wife doesn’t like to drive that far.”

William said he had won as much as $700 at one time, and had lost as much as $500. When asked if he puts a cap on his losses, he shook his head. “That’s for people who live paycheck to paycheck,” he said.

Editor’s Note: This is the final installment of a three-part series examining the economic and social impact of gambling on the River Parishes.