DES PLAINES, IL. — During New York’s casino debate and selection process, two common criticisms often arose. People in potential host communities made it no secret that they feared rampant gambling addictions, as well as a dramatic rise in crime rates connected to casinos. Time Warner Cable News addressed both of those issues in Des Plaines, Illinois, a city near the size of Schenectady.
PROBLEM GAMBLING
By the time he was a young adult in the 1970s, Bob Olsen was addicted to gambling, but his problem began much earlier in life.
“My gambling really started when I was six or seven years old, playing marbles,” said Olsen, a lifelong resident of Illinois.
By adulthood, Olsen had descended into crushing debt and family troubles, because of his gambling addiction. It is a story mirrored by thousands of Illinoisans.
“Once we get that feeling, of getting something for nothing,” said Olsen, “we think we’re invincible.”
More than three decades since he last bet money on anything, Olsen is working as a problem gambling counselor. He is affiliated with Illinois Gamblers Anonymous, and in 2000 he also began an independent group with fellow addicts, called The Outreach Foundation.
It is not easy work, and only a fraction of problem gamblers admit they are in too deep.
“The problem gambler doesn’t really want to hear it. They struggle in the beginning,” said Olsen. “Then they find out there’s a problem, and that’s when they self-exclude.”
Illinois’ self-exclusion program was introduced in 2001. Under state gaming law, gamblers who feel they have a problem can register their name with the state and effectively ban themselves from all 10 of Illinois’ licensed casinos. If they are found entering or gambling at a casino, police may arrest the gamblers for criminal trespass – a misdemeanor charge – and any money they win is donated three gambling addiction treatment centers, including Bob Olsen’s foundation.
More than 10,000 Illinoisans have registered for the program, but even that does not slow some people’s addiction.
“It’s quite humiliating if they get caught, but it’s really amazing how many people still go back. and try to sneak in and gamble,” said Olsen, whose foundation receives thousands of dollars in self-exclusion funding each year.
That number, he says, has ticked ever higher since 2011, when Rivers Casino opened.
“The majority of the self-excluded persons who go back to gamble are from Rivers,” Olsen insists. “The increase in their self-exclusion donations to The Outreach Foundation, I can’t speak for the other organizations, but we see a lot more coming from Rivers Casino.”
Olsen is quick to point out that he does not fault Rivers Casino for the problem. As a matter of policy, The Outreach Foundation does not take a negative position towards gambling itself, nor against particular casinos.
“It’s great entertainment. There’s a lot of people who do it normally,” said Olsen, who says however that he wishes the casinos did more to help his cause.
“Setting up treatment centers, educating the public,” he said. “The only thing I’m aware of is the self-exclusion program.”
Rivers Casino disputed Olsen's remarks. In a statement, the casino said that its:
"efforts to combat problem gaming go well beyond participation in the state’s self-exclusion program. Rivers has a 'bounty' program that offers team members cash rewards for identifying persons who should not be on the casino floor.
"Additionally, Rivers Casino requires team members to participate in a mandatory training and re-training program on responsible gaming," the statement said. "Rivers also participates in the American Gaming Association Responsible Gaming Education Week by providing special educational programming for team members. Rivers also imposes restrictions on check cashing, credit and marketing promotions; and makes available prominent postings and flyers with responsible gaming information throughout the property and on marketing materials. Promoting a responsible gaming environment is a top priority for Rivers Casino."
The Illinois Gaming Association, a private trade group supporting the casinos, also maintains a compulsive gambling hotline which gives callers information about Gamblers Anonymous meetings. Gaming Association director Tom Swoik insists Rivers Casino and others work hard to support the self-exclusion program.
“All the casinos have a program that gives a reward to employees, if they find someone on that self-exclusion list,” Swoik said.
At Rivers Casino, managers confirmed it is a cash reward, though they declined to say how much.
“If we don’t catch them (self-excluded gamblers), and a state gaming board agent catches them later, we get a significant fine or penalty,” Swoik said.
In an extensive interview, Swoik also noted that Rivers Casino has shown integrity and responsibility when it twice violated state regulations. In both cases, the infractions were unintentional, and Rivers self-reported them. One of those violations was for marketing to self-excluded gamblers.
“There was a slip-up in one of the computer systems. It cross-referenced emails or something,” Swoik said. “Now, it’s a double or triple-check for those things.”
While Rivers Casino does what it can to prevent known problem gamblers from playing, counselor Bob Olsen says no amount of prevention can ever truly stop addicted gamblers.
“Unlike the other big addictions: we don’t have alcohol on our breath, and we don’t have track marks on our arm,” Olsen said. “So who really knows when we’re gambling?
“We have glamorized gambling. We have taken Las Vegas and put it in the state of Illinois," Olsen said. "And it does attract a lot of people.”
CRIME
It should be noted up front: Des Plaines, Illinois does not have a crime rate like Schenectady, New York. It’s not even close.
“We have an almost negligible violent crime rate,” said Des Plaines Police Chief Bill Kushner, who before coming to Des Plaines was a 29-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department. “Our biggest crime tends to be burglary of a motor vehicle.”
The Des Plaines Police Department does not publish annual statistics on crime, as many police agencies do in New York, but Kushner has analyzed the number of emergency calls his department has taken, before and after Rivers Casino opened.
“Our call volume increased by 1,300 calls per year once the casino opened,” said the chief. “It breaks out to about three calls per day.”
In an ordinary year, Des Plaines police respond to as many as 150,000 calls.
“If it rose to 5,000 calls a year, where we’re constantly being called to the casino for something, then I would say it’s significant,” says Kushner. “But it’s really not.”
Most of the calls, Kushner says, are for bar fights or domestic scuffles. The most common offense is a self-excluded problem gambler being arrested for criminal trespass (see “PROBLEM GAMBLING,” above).
The relatively low call numbers have allowed Des Plaines police to maintain their normal patrols, and Kushner has not needed to add police officers to his staff.
“They’ve got their own security, they have Illinois gaming board agents on-site, and they work with the state troopers,” Kushner notes. “There’s a partnership there. We’ve never had an issue with their personnel. They’re very professional and above-board.”
Having worked in Chicago, historically known for organized crime, Kushner says even the “mob” element has been absent.
“If it’s there, it is so incredibly well-hidden that even the FBI can’t find them,” Kushner said. “Even gang activity: there’s a lot of it in the city of Chicago, but it has not spilled over to the casino at all.”
The same account was echoed by every local and state official who spoke with Time Warner Cable News: Rivers Casino has not even been a factor in the crime rate.
“The casino is like any business. They have a need to be responsible,” said Kushner. “They do their best to maintain their house in its best condition, to make sure that they’re a viable enterprise.”
In Part Four of “All In: A Future with Rivers Casino,” we look at the jobs provided by Rivers Casino, and speak with longtime employees of the company. Plus: how does Rivers Casino train its workforce? Look for more Thursday on Time Warner Cable News.