In case you haven’t watched any professional sports in the last decade, the firewall between athletics leagues and betting is officially ash. For the latest Harper’s cover story, Jasper Craven looks at his own gambling habits, and heads into the belly of the beast—Las Vegas—to see how the sportsbook explosion has affected Sin City and its visitors. Odds are, you’ll be entertained . . . and more than a little worried.
In my research, I had noted the costs of gambling addiction: bankruptcy, alcohol-use disorder, intimate-partner violence, divorce, suicide. Gambling addiction is, in some sense, also especially vexing to treat. You can’t quit money cold turkey, and it looms especially large in recovery, with gobs of it needed to climb out of gambling debt and reclaim stability. These conditions threaten relapse, keeping alive the fantasy of a lucky roll in a high-stakes room. As one gambling-addiction specialist explained: “I’ve never had a late-stage alcoholic say, ‘If I get drunk just right, my liver will heal.’ ”
More picks about gambling
Lost Vegas
“Everyone inside America’s most flailing destination city has a theory for what’s wrong. Now I have my own.”
Homeward Bound: On Pigeon Racing
“They flap their wings as fast as they can until they disappear over the horizon—all heading toward Chicago, all heading home.”
Breakdown at the Racetrack
“A cluster of fatal horse injuries at Woodbine raises questions about the future of the sport.”
Luck’s Children
“Abraham Jiménez Enoa draws us into the underground network that runs La Bolita, Cuba’s wildy popular—and illegal—daily lottery.”
The Scheme That Broke the Texas Lottery
“When a ‘purchasing group’ won a ninety-five-million-dollar jackpot, the victory caused a scandal in a state where opposition to legal gambling remains widespread.”
The Tangled Past and Unsettled Future of Greyhound Racing in West Virginia
“In the home of America’s last active tracks, tradition and uncertainty run neck and neck.”
