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I hope Las Vegas loses money - big time. I've yet to hear anybody from that gambling mecca strike out about the LEGALITY of gambling, and how they were going to pull out the stops to find out how the information was stolen (as that is what happened) and prosecute to the fullest extent.

You have to understand that this information is also coupled with credit card numbers, bank information, driver's license, home address, etc. This was not merely a "he gambled alot" breach.

If he hadn't signed up for the Slot Card, nobody would have been the wiser.

I hope Las Vegas loses money - big time.

I don't know why we haven't had legislation proposed for state controlled gambling -- i.e. ONLY state control. Since we have laws against certain forms of gambling in all states, it shouldn't be too much a stretch to say only the state itself can administer casinos. Think about it: it makes the most sense. It could be the chief form of tax revenue (which means taxes start to become strictly voluntary), AND, the administration of the casinos would be subject to public administration laws. Essentially, they have to say what the overall odds of the house winning is. For those that live in Texas, they can choose to go to Oklahoma, Arkansas, or Louisiana, if the Texas casinos take too big a chunk. Then you have more market forces with state control than are in place now. Those that will go to Vegas or Atlantic City will go somewhere to gamble anyway. With this, they can do it in all 50 states. AND they have better chances of winning.

I found this glaring omission from the original article, posted neither here, nor the other thread on Bennett (320+ posts)... original article quoted so you have the context of where it comes from.

linked article:Bill Bennett has Wagered Millions

“I play fairly high stakes. I adhere to the law. I don’t play the ‘milk money.’ I don’t put my family at risk, and I don’t owe anyone anything,” Bennett says. The documents do not contradict those points. Bennett, who earns more than $50,000 per speaking engagement and made several hundred thousand dollars in publishing advances for the more recent of his 11 books, says “I’ve made a lot of money and I’ve won a lot of money. When I win, I usually give at least a chunk of it away [to charity]. I report everything to the IRS.”

Here's the omission:

"You don’t see what I walk away with,” Bennett says. “They [the casinos] don’t want you to see it.” Bennett says he plays slot machines and video poker for privacy. “I’ve been a machine person,” he says. “When I go to the tables, people talk—and they want to talk about politics. I don’t want that. I do this for three hours to relax.”

Perhaps this will end the discussions about why he plays machines as opposed to playing at the tables, where every ONE KNOWS, the odds are better. It also covers the fact that the original expose on Bennett (hitpiece) only mentioned that he spent $8 million over a decade. No mention of how much he might have won - to cover any part of that 'loss'.

I don't remember seeing this in either of the Bennett threads I've haunted. Is it in them or were they edited?