Gambling on campus

As most Penn State students celebrated the Penn State football team's anticipated ascent to No. 1 on Oct. 11 -- after the Nittany Lions defeated Ohio State 31-27 and then No. 1 Florida lost to Louisiana State 28-21 -- "John," a Penn State student, was mourning the events of the day.

This was not an isolated event. Gambling on sports was and continues to be a widespread problem at Penn State and other college campuses across the country.

Tahira Hira, professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State, said it is impossible to document the frequency of gambling on sports because it is illegal and not recorded, unlike betting at racetracks or casinos.

However, 52 percent of the 797 Iowa State students Hira surveyed during a 1996 study to determine the effects of gambling on students at the university admitted participation in gambling.

Other studies offer their own proclamations. A Harvard Medical School report claims, "we will face in the next decade or so more problems with youth gambling than we will with drug use."

Student gambling involvement by type
TYPE	N	%	AVG. AMT	MAXIMUM
Lottery	242	30	$5	$50
Sports	157	20	$31	$250
Poker	184	23	$32	$500
Video games	150	19	$18	$250
Casino	178	22	$68	$750
Horse racing	62	8	$50	$600
Source: Gambling Among College Students: their behaviors and beliefs (by Tahira Hira, Iowa State U.)

At Penn State, the sport of choice to bet on for many is football. "William," a 1997 Penn State graduate, said he lost $300 betting on college and NFL games in one year. He used a bookie, who was a friend, to place his bets and said he was so involved in betting that he would thoroughly research his bets before making his choices.

"I loved betting so much," William said. "I got up at 7 a.m. on Sundays to watch the gambling shows."

He said he was able to quit easily when the season was over and hasn't bet on a game in more than a year.

"Brad," a student at Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke, was heavily into betting on football and horse racing at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre when he was 16 years old. While he broke even on the horses, he wasn't quite as lucky when it came to picking NFL winners.

"I lost $1,500 on football," he said.

Brad said he placed his bets through a friend, "Mark," who was a middle man for a bookie. At one point Mark owed Brad money and wasn't paying, so Brad vandalized his friend's car. Mark then paid, but not in cash, because he was broke. He gave Brad stereo equipment instead.

When Brad's mother found out about his gambling, he said he chose to quit without trouble. Brad said he now indulges only occasionally in a small bet at the racetrack or enters an office pool on a big event, like the Super Bowl.

"I may have been addicted or not, I don't know, but I was able to stop," he said.

For others, it hasn't been such an easy healing process.

After completing her study, Hira said many people with gambling problems came to her for help. She was hesitant because she is a professor, not a therapist or counselor. But all they wanted was someone to listen, she said.

Hira was especially moved by an Oriental woman who came to her and told how her husband's gambling was tearing their family apart. Not only was he financially destroying their lives, he was also depriving his family of his presence because he was constantly away from the home, gambling.

For some, quitting is the hardest step. But just as there is help for alcoholics and drug abusers, help is available for addicted gamblers.

Dave, a 48-year-old former Penn State student and admitted compulsive gambler, completed a 12-step program at Gamblers Anonymous in Philadelphia, his hometown.

Dave, who would not provide his last name, said he gambled as early as age seven, when he flipped coins for lunch money at school.

"The excitement of the risk is where the seeds of addiction are planted," he said.

His habit progressed as he got older and he began betting large amounts on sporting events with friends in Philadelphia. He came to Penn State in the late 1960s, where his addiction eventually spiraled out of control.

As a Pollock Halls resident in his freshman year, he would play gin rummy for money with friends on a nightly basis. He would also bet on sports, especially college football.

"I remember being at a Penn State-Army game and having 10 bets on other games that day," he said.

During a trip to Atlantic City he met another Penn State student who would become his best friend, roommate and fraternity brother.

"Gambling was our bond," Dave said.

So consumed with gambling were Dave and his fraternity brothers that they would wait in front of McLanahan Student Store every morning for the New York Daily News to arrive so they could check the results of horse races, as well as the odds on the upcoming races. Another part of his daily routine was placing bets by phone from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. every night.

"In the frats you could score anything, legal or illegal," Dave said. He said drugs, alcohol, women and gambling were all readily available in the fraternity community to the willing customer.

Parents' and friends' involvement in gambling
PERSON	N	%	AVG. AMT	MAXIMUM
Mother	269	34	$254	$17,500
Father	343	43	$334	$20,000
Best friend	283	36	$310	$5,000
Source: Gambling Among College Students: their behaviors and beliefs (by Tahira Hira, Iowa State U.)

Eventually, Dave tired of betting only. He wanted to get on the other side of the action as well, taking bets as a bookmaker. He took bets and became a loan shark -- loaning money at high rates to those with heavy gambling debts.

Dave said he loved the "big-shot" image of being a gambler. He said he felt his risky, devil-may-care attitude was attractive to women, regardless of family problems at home.

Dave's parents would send him a $50 allowance each month and he'd spend the entire amount on gambling. Upon discovering this, his parents refused to send any more money, so he began to depend on his grandparents to wire him money.

After leaving Penn State, Dave spent a lot of time in Atlantic City. In the early 1980s, he was very successful as a card counter at Atlantic City casinos.

Dave said he had no reason to quit.

He was winning, he had a legitimate job, and because he was single, he was not hurting anyone but himself.

However, when Dave heard from some old friends who had successfully completed 12-step gambling addiction programs, he decided to enter Gamblers Anonymous. He hasn't bet a dollar since.

Dave, now happily married to a woman he met in an Atlantic City casino, is trying to help other gamblers as a volunteer with Gamblers Anonymous. He said the people who seek help at Gamblers Anonymous run the gamut from heavy sports betters to bingo players.

"My life is good now," Dave said.

Dave now feels a burden has been lifted from his shoulders.

He said after quitting gambling, he was able to help his parents, who had separated, with some emotional, physical and financial problems.

He said if he was still "in the action," he wouldn't have been able to help.

"I was a slave to gambling," Dave said. "I was afraid if I quit I would lose my identity."