Article: Video poker a big gamble for clubs, fire halls

It's a Friday night at a private Greensburg club and several members are standing at a row of flashing video poker machines, seemingly mesmerized by the tumbling wheels and bright colors.

A machine stops.

An elderly man turns to the bartender and nods toward the machine. The bartender squints, notes the numbers, scribbles on a pad, and hands $35 to the man, who turns to feed the money back into the machine, $1 at a time.

The social club is one of 3,100 private clubs, fraternal organizations and fire halls across the state that rely on gambling to survive, said Timothy O'Boyle, an assistant professor of sociology at Kutztown University in Berks County.

That may change.

The state Liquor ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!