Further to Howard Daniel's submission of an item
on slot machines in military facilities, the following
article appeared this week in Army Times.

Critic questions DoD's
objectivity on slot-machine issue

By Karen Jowers, Times Staff Writer [Army Times, 24
December 2001, page
7]

Slot machines on overseas military bases aren't
bad for the troops, the Defense Department says -- but
at least one critic questions that conclusion reached
by the very organization that benefits from the
multimillion-dollar business.

There is no doubt the lost revenue from the
machines' removal would have a "profound negative
effect," the Nov. 5 Pentagon report concludes.
Such a hit would cut back or eliminate many morale,
welfare and recreation
[MWR] programs.

But the very MWR people responsible for the slots
program are the ones who did the report, which raises
questions about its validity, said
Keith Whyte, executive director of the National
Council on Problem Gambling.

"It's difficult to examine yourself, especially
when it comes to problem gambling, which is so poorly
understood, even by psychiatrists," Whyte said, "It's
like the fox watching the henhouse."

The council is neutral on the merits of gambling
but is dedicated to helping problem gamblers, be said.

"It helps to have an outside, objective view,"
Whyte said. "But it's very difficult to have someone
profiting from gambling take an objective look at it."

He said defense officials originally contracted
with an independent
company to do the research, "but a stop-work order was
placed before the research was completed." Defense
officials had no comment about whether the contract
was stopped or why.

Army Maj. James Cassella, a Pentagon spokesman,
said each of the services gave information to Defense
Department MWR policy officials, who then compiled the
13-page report.

Congress ordered the study because of concerns
that slot machines might be luring service members,
their families and others into trouble.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., chairman of the House
panel that oversees military MWR programs, first
raised concerns about slot machines last year.
Bartlett is aware an outside contractor originally had
been hired but is satisfied with the findings, said
his spokeswoman, Lisa Wright.

In a prepared statement, Bartlett said, "This
report represents a serious effort by the Department
of Defense to study the impact of slot machines on
overseas military bases. I have studied the report and
accept its conclusion that military communities
overseas are not seriously impacted by the presence of
slot machines."

The report said no data are available that
specifically link service members' financial problems
to slot-machine use. It pointed to a 1999 survey
showing a higher percentage of enlisted people in the
United States reported financial problems than those
based overseas. Since only overseas bases have slot
machines, the problems can't be attributed to the
slots, Wright said.

According to the Pentagon report, senior
commanders who monitor troop morale and welfare
concluded people are moderate in their use and "that
the presence of these machines produces no causative
negative impact on morale or financial well-being of
the force."

Big business for MWR

MWR programs would suffer greatly without the
revenue from slots, which subsidizes other
installation recreation programs at reduced prices.

Without slot-machine revenue, the services' morale
programs would be short by $65.3 million, the report
said.

According to calculations by Army Times using
information in the report and from defense officials,
about $2.26 billion in nickels and quarters were
played in slot machines in 2000.

The machines are programmed to return 92.5 percent
of the money to players, so players got back about
$2.09 billion.

The services received more than $170 million in
revenue from the slots. Of that, about $45 million was
spent on operating expenses of the machines, according
to Army Times calculations.

Defense officials contend the machines are
controlled more tightly than ones governed by the
Nevada State Gaming Board, the gaming-industry
standard.

Slot machines are a pillar of financial support for
the military services'
revenue-generating morale, welfare and recreation
programs.

Slot-machine net
income in millions, by service:

FY99 FY00
Army $70m $74m
Navy $14m $16m
Air Force $29m $24m
Marine Corps $14m $11m
Total $127m $125m

Boling's comments: look at that gross gambling
figure--$2.26 billion annually. A billion dollars is a
LOT of money. I have strength figures for only the
Army at hand; assuming that the Army's slot machine
maintenance overhead is the average, then Army clubs
took in a bit over $100 million in gross receipts (the
house cut) in FY2000. If that was 7.5% of the amount
gambled, as reported, then Army troops put $1.33
billion through the slots in FY2000. But, only about
25% of soldiers are overseas, where the slot machines
are; that means that those overseas troops are
gambling about $11,000
EACH--every one of them, every year! I don't believe
it. These books have been cooked.