Initially going to the casino for an hour or two, Ann’s visits soon increased to five to six hours. “So every time I got those, I thought, ‘I’ll play with their money so I can lose their $10.’”īut then it became Ann’s $10. “The more you play there, the more free plays you get in the mail,” Ann says. Then a few weeks later, she went back again. She says going to the casino seemed like innocent fun at the time.Ī month or two after her first visit, Ann went back. The first time she went into Empire City, it was with her daughter, who had recently turned 21. In New York, 18 to 24-year-olds currently have the highest percentage of problem gamblers at 24.8 percent. But for individuals recovering from a gambling addiction, the damage casinos like Empire City can create is dangerous enough - even without a full-fledged gaming license.Īnn, a Westchester resident who requested to go by her middle name to protect her identity, was never a gambler until she retired at 55.
