Have become a form of entertainment for millions of Americans. In fact, Las Vegas, considered the birthplace of casino gaming, comes third behind Disneyworld and New York in terms of tourism, with 260 million visitors per year. While it is true to generate billions of dollars in revenue, almost none of that revenue returns to the local economy, as lobbyists promised to build a city. The effects on local economies include the creation of construction and hospitality jobs within the casino. While it is true that jobs are created, they are generally for people outside the communities. Lobbyists for these massive casino companies say it would also revive a flagging economy if they allowed casino gaming in their cities. Contrary to this statement, Atlantic City has the highest unemployment rate in New Jersey. They claim that restaurants, movie theaters and other local businesses will benefit when the exact opposite is true. Who will eat at a local restaurant when the casino offers free meals and drinks to players. In 1996, Atlantic City spent $318 million on food and drink promotions. Also in Atlantic City, more than 900 of 2,100 small businesses closed their doors and the number of local restaurants was reduced from 243 to 146. Richard Byron, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, describes gambling spending as money extracted from other consumer spending. When they come to a small community like Atlantic City or Biloxi, people from that community start going there for entertainment instead of the movie theaters, restaurants, and other places they used to go to. In 1994, more people went to baseball parks than to major league baseball parks and more money was spent on books, albums and theme parks. This also affects real estate values: in Atlantic City, the average cost of a home dropped by 24,000.00 after it was built and by 11,000.00 for cities near Atlantic City. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The reason may be the increase in crime rates. They would have everyone believe that there is no change in crime statistics after their arrival, but that is not true. The American Insurance Institute estimates that 40% of all white-collar crimes have their origins in gambling. Compulsive gamblers will gamble until they have nothing left: savings, family assets, personal belongings, whatever. which can be pawned or sold. They will borrow from colleagues, family, friends or banks, but will rarely admit that it is for gambling. They will borrow until they go bankrupt. In South Dakota, the state has seen an increase in chapter seven bankruptcies. But personal debt is by far not the only problem for problem gamblers. Over the same two years, bankruptcies increased in South Dakota and the number of divorces increased by nearly 6 percent. Additionally, child abuse and neglect are high among the crimes committed by problem gamblers. A study of the impact of casino gaming on Atlantic City and surrounding areas found that not only did crime extend to surrounding areas that were easily accessible from Atlantic City, but that some areas received no measurable economic benefit from the development of casinos. The fact that gambling leads to crime has even been measured. In..