Pubdate: Mon, 05 May 2003
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2003 The Sun-Times Co.
Contact:  http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Author: Richard Roeper, Sun-Times Columnist

GRAND GURU OF VIRTUES WRESTLES WITH HIS OWN VICE

I'm not sure if I know anyone who isn't addicted to something,
whether it's coffee or beer or cell phone conversations or shoes or
gambling or wine or music or Jesus or rap or chocolate or television.

Me? I'm addicted to all of the above, plus six more things I'm not
going to tell you about. OK, Amanda Peet, plus five more things I'm
not going to tell you about.

When I say "addicted," I'm talking not only about clinical
dependencies, but any habit that would be difficult if not impossible
for the practitioner to break or tame without professional help.
(Hence terms like "news junkie.") Of course alcoholism is a hundred
times more serious than shopaholism--but I know some women who would
be going through some very real withdrawal pains if they were told
they had to give up trips to Michigan Avenue forever, starting right
NOW.

So I can't say I was surprised when Newsweek and the Washington
Monthly broke the story that William J. Bennett, one of the leading,
albeit self-appointed, moral guardians of our time, has a hard-core
habit of his own. Apparently the author of The Book of Virtues, who
has lectured America on just about every vice except for gambling,
likes to gamble.

What did surprise me was the level of Bennett's play. This guy wasn't
blowing off a little steam at $5 roulette--he was feeding a voracious
appetite for serious action. Bennett is what the casinos call a
"whale," a heavy hitter who reportedly has wagered millions of dollars
at Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos over the last decade. According
to the stories, the former drug czar and secretary of education has
such a heavy jones that he had a revolving credit line of $200,000 per
casino, where he was playing the video poker and slots to the tune of
$500 a pull.

Wow. When Betty Loren-Maltese gets out of jail, someone should get
these two together for a "Wild on Las Vegas" special, or maybe a very
special edition of "Blind Date."

"Some of Bennett's losses have been substantial," said the Newsweek
story. "According to one casino source, on July 12 of last year,
Bennett lost $340,000 at Caesar's Boardwalk Regency in Atlantic City,
and on April 5 and 6 of 2003 he lost more than $500,000 at the
Bellagio in Las Vegas. Some casino estimates put his total losses over
the past decade at more than $8 million."

Something tells me the T-bone dinners and the tickets to "O" were on
the Bellagio last April.

This is the kind of news that gives liberal commentators a warm and
fuzzy feeling, while the conservatives will remain curiously quiet or
will rush to Bennett's defense and say he broke no laws--even though
you know Limbaugh and Co. would be having a field day with this story
if somebody like Ted Kennedy had such an out-of-control gambling habit.

(By pure coincidence, I happened to be at a craps table in Las Vegas a 
little more than a week ago with a political operative who is the 
arch-opposite of Bennett: James Carville. He was an enthusiastic player, 
yelling things like, "We need to git this table hoppin'!" and "Come on six, 
git that six!" and turning his back in disgust when a shooter would "seven 
out." But for the record, Carville was playing at a $25 table, and he 
walked away after dropping a few hundred. That ain't even tip money for a 
big-time player like Billy Bennett.)

Bennett disputes the figures, claiming, "You don't see what I walk
away with," and saying that he often gives "at least a chunk" of his
winnings to charity. He also says his gambling habit is under control,
which makes you wonder what it would be like if he ever LOST control.

But another quote tells me that Bennett does have a problem, at least
when it comes to acknowledging reality.

"Over 10 years, I'd say I've come out pretty close to even," he told
Newsweek.

Well. Bull----.

If Bennett broke even playing high-stakes slots and video poker over a
10-year period, he's one of the luckiest gamblers in the history of
gambling. Every game in the house, from baccarat to blackjack to
roulette, will wear you down over time--but the slots and video poker
machines carry some of the biggest house advantages of all. That's one
of the reasons casinos place so many rows of slot machines and video
poker games in the most prominent pathways of their emporiums.

"There's a term in the trade for his kind of gambler," says a casino
source in the Newsweek article. "We call them 'losers.' "

There's also a reason the Strip is lined with billion-dollar palaces
that make Saddam Hussein's lairs look like bungalows. It's because the
casinos aren't gambling--you are. And if you gamble, you will
lose--even though you'll tell everybody that you "come out pretty
close to even."

"I've gambled all my life and it's never been a moral issue with me,"
said Bennett.

Of course not. That's because you're addicted to it, Bill. The
question is, how can you rant against other destructive habits when
you can't control your own?
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