Two decades ago, it would've been unthinkable for any politician to even be seen with a known gambler. The connotations it carried - corruption, graft, mob influence - would've been considered a career-killer.
These days, instead of shunning gamblers - the government makes them business partners.Consider the situation today, when leaders of both political parties can't run fast enough to collect the campaign dollars that flow from gambling's profits.
Spurred on by conservatives, Congress last year created the National Gambling Impact Study Commission and gave it limited subpoena power. It's supposed to examine what harm, if any, legal gambling has brought to the communities where it exists.
But if the U.S. government is serious about cracking down on gambling, we'd advise it to first get out of the business itself.
For the better part of this decade, Uncle Sam has been a partner in one of California's most profitable gambling halls, the Bicycle Club of Bell Gardens, Calif.
The card club was originally seized by the Justice Department in April 1990, after several individuals with financial ties to the club were convicted of laundering drug profits. It was then turned over to the U.S. Marshals Service, which manages and sells assets that are seized by the government.
Only the government didn't sell the Bicycle Club. Nearly eight years after the seizure, the government still owns a minority stake in the club and continues to rake in profits from its card games. Over the years, the government has made more than $30 million from its gambling venture, and the money's still rolling in. Even so, Justice Department officials swear they're trying their best to sell the club.
One reason for the long delay may be the trustees who are charged with managing the government's interest in the club. Since 1990, according to the report, there have been three court-appointed trustees, who are supposed to oversee operations and find ways to sell the club.
"Over the seven-year period, court-appointed trustee duties have varied widely and their compensation has grown exponentially," the report notes. "Compensation has ranged from about $2,000 per month for the first trustee, to an average of about $21,000 per month for the second trustee, to an uncapped flat rate of $350 per hour for the current trustee that has average $60,000 per month, excluding expenses."
No wonder the trustees haven't been too eager to part with the Bicycle Club.
Of course, the Bicycle Club is merely the most blatant example of government's symbiotic relationship with the gambling industry. Every state in the union except Utah and Hawaii currently allows some form of gambling. The revenue from these games, which tend to attract the poor on promises of quick millions, pad state coffers and spare lawmakers the unpleasant task of having to raise taxes.
The results of the Gambling Commission's report are still more than a year away. But whatever conclusion the experts draw, don't be surprised if the report ends up gathering dust somewhere.
Our elected leaders would never dare to shoot the government's cash cow.