The Bible tells us not to pass judgment on others, but the story I’ve just finished reading in today’s paper has me baffled.
In at least a dozen interviews, New Orleans residents coping with the costliest hurricane in US history said they are hitting the casinos here. Some are hoping that with a roll of the dice, they will recover a bit of what they lost. Others just want to pass the time out of the heat, relieve stress, or escape the shelters where they are living.
Do these people have a gambling addiction or are they so distraught that they are risking whatever little they have for the minute chance that they will hit it big?
''Tuesday I went, and I lost $279," said June Williams, who has been at a Baton Rouge shelter after evacuating her flooded home near New Orleans. ''I went Wednesday and lost $300. I might go today."
Some of the money was not even hers: The $279 she lost on the first day belonged to her grandson, who had gotten a government check, she said.
I have heard of post traumatic stress, but these actions are unexplainable. The reason this woman went there was to relieve stress she said. Doesn’t she feel any stress when she realizes that she has no money left?
Henry Banks had been sitting on the same bench outside the shelter for six hours, when others from New Orleans urged him to go to the casino. But Banks declined, saying he is trying to save enough money for gas to drive home when the time comes.
''If they go over there with $25 and lose that, that's a loaf of bread, gas and food," he said.
I’m glad to see that not everyone has lost their mind.
Many evacuees said they went primarily for the free booze at the Argosy Casino. Wayne Allen, who is missing a leg and uses a wheelchair, said he gambled $30 so he could get free beers. He said other bars were too far away for him to go, and the shelter bans alcohol.
Well I hope Mr. Allen got his thirty dollars worth of beers.
Managers at the Argosy Casino, where the displaced residents were gambling, declined to comment and asked a reporter to leave, referring questions to a local marketing executive instead. She could not be reached for comment.
Does anybody at that Casino have any conscience? Is this where some of the money that’s been contributed going?
For some of those displaced by Katrina, the reason they gamble is simple: They enjoy it. Anthony ''Wolfman" Peterson, who lost $40 gambling and drinking the casino's beer, said: ''If they ain't got gambling in heaven, I'm going out by the other guy."
I feel bad for most of the people that are suffering, but I have a hard time feeling anything for people who want to continue to gamble especially after what they have just lived through. For the people like Mr. Peterson, I do feel sorry that they haven’t seen the light. Sorry, but my money is not going to go for “the other guy.”
In at least a dozen interviews, New Orleans residents coping with the costliest hurricane in US history said they are hitting the casinos here. Some are hoping that with a roll of the dice, they will recover a bit of what they lost. Others just want to pass the time out of the heat, relieve stress, or escape the shelters where they are living.
Do these people have a gambling addiction or are they so distraught that they are risking whatever little they have for the minute chance that they will hit it big?
''Tuesday I went, and I lost $279," said June Williams, who has been at a Baton Rouge shelter after evacuating her flooded home near New Orleans. ''I went Wednesday and lost $300. I might go today."
Some of the money was not even hers: The $279 she lost on the first day belonged to her grandson, who had gotten a government check, she said.
I have heard of post traumatic stress, but these actions are unexplainable. The reason this woman went there was to relieve stress she said. Doesn’t she feel any stress when she realizes that she has no money left?
Henry Banks had been sitting on the same bench outside the shelter for six hours, when others from New Orleans urged him to go to the casino. But Banks declined, saying he is trying to save enough money for gas to drive home when the time comes.
''If they go over there with $25 and lose that, that's a loaf of bread, gas and food," he said.
I’m glad to see that not everyone has lost their mind.
Many evacuees said they went primarily for the free booze at the Argosy Casino. Wayne Allen, who is missing a leg and uses a wheelchair, said he gambled $30 so he could get free beers. He said other bars were too far away for him to go, and the shelter bans alcohol.
Well I hope Mr. Allen got his thirty dollars worth of beers.
Managers at the Argosy Casino, where the displaced residents were gambling, declined to comment and asked a reporter to leave, referring questions to a local marketing executive instead. She could not be reached for comment.
Does anybody at that Casino have any conscience? Is this where some of the money that’s been contributed going?
For some of those displaced by Katrina, the reason they gamble is simple: They enjoy it. Anthony ''Wolfman" Peterson, who lost $40 gambling and drinking the casino's beer, said: ''If they ain't got gambling in heaven, I'm going out by the other guy."
I feel bad for most of the people that are suffering, but I have a hard time feeling anything for people who want to continue to gamble especially after what they have just lived through. For the people like Mr. Peterson, I do feel sorry that they haven’t seen the light. Sorry, but my money is not going to go for “the other guy.”
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