Calvin Cheung
Melissa Flores
Angela Khai
Ali Sander
The dictionary definition of gambling is “to stake or risk money, or anything of value, on the outcome of something involving chance.” This risk and the adrenaline rush that comes with it, has been a part of people’s lives for thousands of years. Evidence of gambling, such as ancient dice, has been found from ancient China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. It was first brought to the United States in the 1600s when the English colonies were established. The first types of gambling were lotteries and betting on horse races. Casino gambling with dice and card games was not fully established and accepted until the 1800s. However, scandal and cheating by professional gamblers was prevalent, and this eventually led to gambling prohibition in some states. Click here to learn more about the history of gambling, and the experience of gaming in one of California's Indian casinos.
2 comments:
This paper is on such an important topic, not just for California, but for the question of tribal sovereignty and autonomy more generally. It also raises some interesting questions about gaming and the way the gaming industry relies on different technologies of money in order both to provide people the thrill of winning - the jingle of coins in the slot machines, the feel of cash, the tactile experience of playing with chips and tokens at the card tables - while at the same time keeping their money in play so that they resist the urge to cash out. Hence, the use of tickets instead of cash. I thought that this group did a really great job of exploring how people in casinos try to set aside or earmark a certain amount of money for gambling in advance of entering the casino. I also liked the discussion of how people treat "free" money. The connection drawn in the paper to risk and the Parable of the Talents is really good food for thought! Does the house always win? Probably so - but what happens along the way is just fascinating.
The lines are essentially blurred in terms of gifts and bribes from little things such as tips at a restaraunt to bribes at finanancially sound law firms. The importance does lay in how "gifts" are received in an attempt to either create some sort of personal debt or a gift for the service given in terms of waiters or waitresses. One can further examine these key differences from day to day occurrences at food places and news on bribery scandals.
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