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Humboldt Senior Resource Center Back issues Table of Contents
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Casinos and seniors by Barbara Ogden It used to be when you said the word "casino" you were talking about Reno or Las Vegas. Not anymore - they are everywhere. Blue Lake and Cher-ae Heights are right in our neighborhood. This is an added environment in the lives of many of our senior citizens. A lot of seniors can be found regularly at either Blue Lake or Cher-ae Heights. Most of them who frequent the casinos even have a special bank account just for their casino money. What's good about casinos for seniors? The casinos serve good, low-priced food. They provide transportation to and from. They provide a stimulating environment in which senior citizens can interact with and meet new friends or socialize with old friends. Casinos are a place to go. It's fun to spend an evening playing bingo instead of sitting home alone with the TV. You don't feel lonely in a casino. There is too much noise and too much going on. The casinos provide brain stimulation. You have to be on your toes and thinking all the time. For these reasons, casinos are a great place for seniors. If you are smart and realize that casinos cost money and if you are comfortable with the amount you are spending, then we're all for casinos. The down side of casinos is that gambling can become addictive. There's the story about the senior couple sitting down to breakfast and a tow truck rolls up in front of their house and repossesses the husband's pickup. Seems his wife had spent all of their monthly income at one of the casinos. Once the gambling bug hits, it can destroy lives and relationships. So I guess it's safe to say casinos can be both good and bad when it comes to senior citizens. Around our center, we've seen and heard only the good. We see lots of happy faces after a good night at Blue Lake. We also see much anticipation of a night at the casino. There's always lots of talk about who won and who lost. One of our gals won a car, another $20,000 playing the machines. We're for anything that gets folks out of their homes. We're for anything that keeps the brain exercised, and we're for fun. So I guess we're happy about the addition of casinos to our community. We aren't happy about the bad things we hear from time to time - but we hear more good than bad around our center. We should add, casinos need to be used wisely by everyone. Barbara Ogden is director of the McKinleyville Senior Center. |
Senior News
