Gamblers want to hold casinos responsible for their " addiction"

[hntngirl]

Personally, I don' t like the casinos, but give me a break![]

www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,86154,00.html


David Williams' gambling addiction cost him his life savings "” almost all of it dumped into the slot machines at Casino Aztar in Indiana.


Williams decided to take action. He sued the casino.

" Casinos cannot come into this state and just take advantage of a bunch of sick people," said his attorney, Terry Noffsinger.

The first judge to hear the case sided with the casino, but Williams has appealed the decision. His claim is among a growing number of lawsuits that aim to hold the gaming industry responsible for exploiting compulsive gamblers.

The Rev. Tom Grey of the National Coalition Against Gambling Expansion said slot machines are " delivery systems" for gambling addiction.

" The more available and accessible we make it, the more addiction it delivers," said Grey, who predicts the eventual success of lawsuits that target casinos.

The industry says it tries to spot compulsive gamblers. It has " been very proactive to help out that 1 percent who can' t help themselves," said Frank Fahrenkopf of the American Association of Gambling.

But that didn' t happen in Williams' case. When his gambling got out of control and a worried friend asked the casino to intervene, Williams was banned from entering Aztar. But early in 1999, after 11 gambling-free months, the casino began luring him back "” mailing him tickets for complimentary hotel stays and meals.

Williams returned to the casino.

" It starts out as an adrenaline rush," he said. " But in a period of about seven days, I lost $38,000."

When it was all over, he had squandered about $175,000 and had to file for bankruptcy.

Williams' lawsuit claims the casino should have done more to keep him out. The casino counters that Williams was the cause of his own problems.

" You shouldn' t sue McDonald' s claiming they' re responsible for your obesity problems," said Patrick Shoulders, Casino Aztar' s lawyer. " Fundamentally, problem gamblers have to take responsibility for their own actions."

The U.S. District judge in that case agreed, ruling that under state and federal law, Aztar had no duty to protect Williams from his gambling habit. His attorneys have appealed the decision.

The Indiana Coalition Against Legalized Gambling has been monitoring the case and hopes it will be the first step in requiring more responsibility from casinos.

Meanwhile, the Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorize a statewide list of self-proclaimed compulsive gamblers who want to be barred from casinos. If they do try to enter a casino, they would be charged with trespassing. Casinos would be prohibited from sending them coupons or cashing their checks.

The bill is now before the state Senate.

Fox News' Catherine Donaldson-Evans contributed to this report.

[Jorgy]

Things like this really piss me off. I think that people like him and his lawyer should be thrown in jail for bringing such a friggen frivolous lawsuit into court, TWICE! I just can' t believe all of the cases in the courts were someone is blaming someone else for THIER problems.

[hntngirl]

I agree, Jorgy. I have long wondered why we can' t have a panel of people, chosen the same way a jury is chosen, whose job it would be to listen to the specifics of a potential lawsuit and decide whether it is even justified in going forward. We have grand juries for criminal cases, to decide if there is enough evidence to proceed. We need the same type of set-up for civil suits. A panel of everyday joes would look at alot of these lawyers and plaintiffs and tell them, " Ya know what? You' re an idiot. Go home!" Would certainly cut down on some of the completely asinine cases that are bogging down our justice system.

[bob d]

i am thinking of filing a suit against the state because the states deer dont always come past my stand and those that do are not all the same size .lol

[FirstBow]

HEY NOW, THAT GIVES ME AN IDEA...........
Lets all sue the candy corp for giving/making so many CAVITIES[]

And also......
Sue the county for to much TREE POLLEN.

[CalHunter]

This is a silly lawsuit. Is this guy going to sue McDonald' s next for eating too many quarter pounders and fries? Maybe sue those 1-900-sex #' s? Or sue the satellite companies for their pay per view events? Using his premise, just about any company could be sued for marketing their product. At what point is he going to decide he has some responsibility? He or his attorney apparently acknowledges that he is sick as in has an addiction he can' t control. Has he enrolled in any counseling or therapy groups to learn how to control this addiction? Has he done anything to help solve the problem? It sounds like the only thing he' s done is be a poor loser and then try to get somebody else' s money with a bogus lawsuit.

[Vapodog]

there' s already lawsuits against certain portions of the food industry for obesity. This is pure BS and I' m in shock as why it can' t be stopped.....something is totally out of whack here.

Maybe it' s time we bring a class action suit against the bar association for increasing the cost of everything we buy because of it' s groundless lawsuits.

I' ll be the first to sign that!!!

[Sswpriz]

I have long wondered why we can' t have a panel of people, chosen the same way a jury is chosen, whose job it would be to listen to the specifics of a potential lawsuit and decide whether it is even justified in going forward. We have grand juries for criminal cases, to decide if there is enough evidence to proceed. We need the same type of set-up for civil suits. A panel of everyday joes would look at alot of these lawyers and plaintiffs and tell them, " Ya know what? You' re an idiot. Go home!" Would certainly cut down on some of the completely asinine cases that are bogging down our justice system.

Bravo hntngirl.....my thoughts exactly!!!

It must be all the liberal minded attorneys that think that way.....STOOOOPID !!!!!

[fng]

You know it' s going to go through and it' s going to be a multi-billion dollar industry...

Look at what happened to taverns throughout the country. States like Illinois have " dram shop laws" where if I go into a tavern and get a snoot full, step out side into my car and kill someone, I can hold the tavern/liquor store responsble.

Thank god wisconsin doesn' t do that. No one is responsible for themselves anymore.

We' re a country of pussies.

[fng]

It must be all the liberal minded attorneys that think that way.....STOOOOPID !!!!!

Trial Lawyers association is a HUGE lobby.. they' re very lefty and very nasty.