chrisdhal
09-05-2004, 08:47 AM
On the front page of Sunday's paper is an article entitled "Teens ante up". For attribution, the full story is at:
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/9577499.htm
Article follows:
Teens ante up
Poker's popularity among students means more higher-stakes betting. Many high school administrators decide they can't just let it ride.
BY TAMMY J. OSEID
Pioneer Press
It's hip. It's sexy. It's a fixture on cable TV. Ben Affleck is king.
So perhaps it's not surprising that poker's popularity among celebrities is infecting area teens. From high school cafeterias to college dorm rooms to professional card clubs, teens and young adults are playing for money, sometimes big money. Many believe they can beat the system.
Teens — mostly boys — say poker is just a cool game that requires strategy and quick thinking, just the kind of talents teachers should love. Addictions are rare, they say.
But if addiction is rare, teens playing cards for cash increasingly is not. Principals and teachers worry poker and gambling are uncomfortably close companions and that poker's newfound appeal may create new problems at school.
"Gambling certainly is on the rise," said Beth Borgen, principal of Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights. "We're seeing it with everybody — mostly males — from craps to cards to gambling on how many steps a kid can jump up."
More than a quarter of Minnesota high school senior boys surveyed in 2001 said they played cards for money at least once a month. One in 25 said they did so daily. The metro area rate was slightly higher. Those numbers are expected to climb when 2004 results from the Minnesota Student Survey come out this fall.
There's no doubt poker's popularity is rising with young people in the metro area, said Jerry Fuller, executive director of the Canterbury Card Club in Shakopee, where the poker room is packed on nights and weekends with high school seniors and college kids.
But far more underage teens say they play in friends' homes or even at school. Most say they play for cash — sometimes a lot. Teens say it's common for pots to run from $20 to $100.
At Apple Valley High this spring, a group of some 70 teens played poker several times each week, said Chris Bentley, who graduated this spring.
Nationally, half of 14- to 18-year-old boys said they've gambled for money, according to a 2003 survey by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. Only 16 percent of adolescent females report having ever gambled. One in 10 boys said they gambled on the Internet at least once in an average month. Seven percent of 22,000 Vermont high schoolers surveyed recently reported signs of problem gambling.
Many studies of gambling show serious problems start early: one found 86 percent of pathological gamblers began before age 19. Another large study of problem gamblers in Alberta, Canada, found they began on average at 10 years old.
DANGER OF ADDICTION
People who develop gambling problems usually start early, most often in their teens, as a fun thing to do with friends, according to the nonprofit California Council on Problem Gambling.
They're hardly the type most would identify as at-risk kids. Most are intelligent, social, confident and energetic.
At first, they may win big. They begin to feel invincible and bet more and more.
When they eventually lose, they gamble to win back what they've lost, lie about or hide their losses and borrow money to keep playing all the while insisting their gambling is under control.
As their desperation continues, they realize they can't win back what they've lost but continue anyway. They do anything to continue, stealing or lying to those around them to finance gambling.
Of course, it takes decades for most problem gamblers to reach this state and most who play poker or other games socially never will.
But at-risk teen gamblers tend to play for different reasons than those who do so only for entertainment. At-risk gamblers play primarily to win money and for excitement in addition to personal enjoyment, researchers at Montreal's McGill University found in a recent study. Social gamblers said they played far more for enjoyment than for excitement or to win money.
Calls to the National Council on Problem Gambling hot line are up 15 to 20 percent lately, many specifically citing problems with card games like poker, said Keith Whyte, the council's executive director. "It's definitely skewing younger," he said.
Statistically, teens and young adults have greater rates of problem gambling than others, but few call gambling help lines or seek other sources of help.
"Kids think they're invulnerable," Whyte said.
CONSEQUENCES
So what's a principal to do? Sibley and many other schools have anti-gambling policies. Get caught gambling in a Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan high school twice, for instance, and you'll be suspended for three days. Twice more, and you'll be expelled.
But students and educators say it's easy to get around such policies. Few schools ban cards and it's easy to exchange money surreptitiously, Borgen said.
Eagan High School principal Polly Reikowski opted to bring in retired teacher Denny Swanson to persuade her students that gambling has consequences.
Naperville Central High School in suburban Chicago banned card games after the student newspaper revealed that students were gambling and exchanging money later. Like Apple Valley and other east-metro schools where poker is gaining popularity, Naperville is a prosperous community with good schools.
When Apple Valley speech coach Joe Wycoff noticed poker was getting in the way of his students' competitive focus, he banned it during school, practice and competitions. "I know that kids played on their own time. That's between them and their parents," he said. "There might be worse alternatives, I guess."
South St. Paul High and Junior High long have had a ban on cards, said Kathleen Johnson, the junior high's principal. "We don't allow any card playing," she said. "It just isn't OK."
CASINO INFLUENCE
Johnson, who lives in Burnsville, suspects the popularity of poker in southern Dakota County schools may have something with the relative proximity of Canterbury Card Club and casinos in Prior Lake and Red Wing.
"Gambling has become a right of passage for young people," said Kelly Reynolds, director of Minnesota Problem Gambling Helpline. "Ask them what they're going to do on their 18th birthday and many times it's about being able to go to the casino."
Others credit — or blame — glitzy poker tournaments on ESPN2, the Travel Channel and Bravo.
The Canterbury Card Club's poker room started getting busier in about May 2003 just as cable shows started gaining popularity as well, says Fuller, whose club checks drivers' licenses when people arrive to make sure they're at least 18, the legal gambling age.
"With these new poker shows and people winning a bazillion dollars, of course kids are going to want to try it," Borgen said.
COMMUNICATION KEY
'Gambling can be a devastating health problem just like any other addiction," Whyte said. "But this isn't just an issue without a solution."
Experts first suggest urging parents to talk to their children about gambling: one more unpleasant subject to broach along with sex, alcohol and drugs.
Schools also should do more to teach the consequences of gambling, experts say.
"Even if schools do have a gambling policy, it's very far down the list of priorities," Whyte said. "Card playing seems sort of victimless, and it keeps them quiet during recess."
FOR INFORMATION
• The National Council on Problem Gambling offers a short quiz at www.ncpgambling.org/about_problem/about_problem_test.asp (http://www.ncpgambling.org/about_problem/about_problem_test.asp) for people who think they may have a problem with gambling. Another quiz, tailored more towards teens, is at www.education.mcgill.ca/gambling/en/selfquiz.htm. (http://www.education.mcgill.ca/gambling/en/selfquiz.htm.)
• Call the Minnesota Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-333-HELP if you suspect you or a loved one have a problem with gambling.
GAMBLING SAFELY
• Set a monetary and time limit and stick to it. Don't borrow to play, don't bring debit or credit cards or play with money you can't afford to lose.
• Think of gambling as entertainment, not a way to make money. You will lose more often than win. If you win big, enjoy it, but realize you have little control over it.
• Don't gamble when you are tired, bored, anxious or angry. Take breaks to clear your head. Don't use gambling to avoid negative feelings or situations.
• Take your family and friends seriously. If they are worried about your gambling, they might be seeing something you don't.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/9577499.htm
Article follows:
Teens ante up
Poker's popularity among students means more higher-stakes betting. Many high school administrators decide they can't just let it ride.
BY TAMMY J. OSEID
Pioneer Press
It's hip. It's sexy. It's a fixture on cable TV. Ben Affleck is king.
So perhaps it's not surprising that poker's popularity among celebrities is infecting area teens. From high school cafeterias to college dorm rooms to professional card clubs, teens and young adults are playing for money, sometimes big money. Many believe they can beat the system.
Teens — mostly boys — say poker is just a cool game that requires strategy and quick thinking, just the kind of talents teachers should love. Addictions are rare, they say.
But if addiction is rare, teens playing cards for cash increasingly is not. Principals and teachers worry poker and gambling are uncomfortably close companions and that poker's newfound appeal may create new problems at school.
"Gambling certainly is on the rise," said Beth Borgen, principal of Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights. "We're seeing it with everybody — mostly males — from craps to cards to gambling on how many steps a kid can jump up."
More than a quarter of Minnesota high school senior boys surveyed in 2001 said they played cards for money at least once a month. One in 25 said they did so daily. The metro area rate was slightly higher. Those numbers are expected to climb when 2004 results from the Minnesota Student Survey come out this fall.
There's no doubt poker's popularity is rising with young people in the metro area, said Jerry Fuller, executive director of the Canterbury Card Club in Shakopee, where the poker room is packed on nights and weekends with high school seniors and college kids.
But far more underage teens say they play in friends' homes or even at school. Most say they play for cash — sometimes a lot. Teens say it's common for pots to run from $20 to $100.
At Apple Valley High this spring, a group of some 70 teens played poker several times each week, said Chris Bentley, who graduated this spring.
Nationally, half of 14- to 18-year-old boys said they've gambled for money, according to a 2003 survey by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center. Only 16 percent of adolescent females report having ever gambled. One in 10 boys said they gambled on the Internet at least once in an average month. Seven percent of 22,000 Vermont high schoolers surveyed recently reported signs of problem gambling.
Many studies of gambling show serious problems start early: one found 86 percent of pathological gamblers began before age 19. Another large study of problem gamblers in Alberta, Canada, found they began on average at 10 years old.
DANGER OF ADDICTION
People who develop gambling problems usually start early, most often in their teens, as a fun thing to do with friends, according to the nonprofit California Council on Problem Gambling.
They're hardly the type most would identify as at-risk kids. Most are intelligent, social, confident and energetic.
At first, they may win big. They begin to feel invincible and bet more and more.
When they eventually lose, they gamble to win back what they've lost, lie about or hide their losses and borrow money to keep playing all the while insisting their gambling is under control.
As their desperation continues, they realize they can't win back what they've lost but continue anyway. They do anything to continue, stealing or lying to those around them to finance gambling.
Of course, it takes decades for most problem gamblers to reach this state and most who play poker or other games socially never will.
But at-risk teen gamblers tend to play for different reasons than those who do so only for entertainment. At-risk gamblers play primarily to win money and for excitement in addition to personal enjoyment, researchers at Montreal's McGill University found in a recent study. Social gamblers said they played far more for enjoyment than for excitement or to win money.
Calls to the National Council on Problem Gambling hot line are up 15 to 20 percent lately, many specifically citing problems with card games like poker, said Keith Whyte, the council's executive director. "It's definitely skewing younger," he said.
Statistically, teens and young adults have greater rates of problem gambling than others, but few call gambling help lines or seek other sources of help.
"Kids think they're invulnerable," Whyte said.
CONSEQUENCES
So what's a principal to do? Sibley and many other schools have anti-gambling policies. Get caught gambling in a Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan high school twice, for instance, and you'll be suspended for three days. Twice more, and you'll be expelled.
But students and educators say it's easy to get around such policies. Few schools ban cards and it's easy to exchange money surreptitiously, Borgen said.
Eagan High School principal Polly Reikowski opted to bring in retired teacher Denny Swanson to persuade her students that gambling has consequences.
Naperville Central High School in suburban Chicago banned card games after the student newspaper revealed that students were gambling and exchanging money later. Like Apple Valley and other east-metro schools where poker is gaining popularity, Naperville is a prosperous community with good schools.
When Apple Valley speech coach Joe Wycoff noticed poker was getting in the way of his students' competitive focus, he banned it during school, practice and competitions. "I know that kids played on their own time. That's between them and their parents," he said. "There might be worse alternatives, I guess."
South St. Paul High and Junior High long have had a ban on cards, said Kathleen Johnson, the junior high's principal. "We don't allow any card playing," she said. "It just isn't OK."
CASINO INFLUENCE
Johnson, who lives in Burnsville, suspects the popularity of poker in southern Dakota County schools may have something with the relative proximity of Canterbury Card Club and casinos in Prior Lake and Red Wing.
"Gambling has become a right of passage for young people," said Kelly Reynolds, director of Minnesota Problem Gambling Helpline. "Ask them what they're going to do on their 18th birthday and many times it's about being able to go to the casino."
Others credit — or blame — glitzy poker tournaments on ESPN2, the Travel Channel and Bravo.
The Canterbury Card Club's poker room started getting busier in about May 2003 just as cable shows started gaining popularity as well, says Fuller, whose club checks drivers' licenses when people arrive to make sure they're at least 18, the legal gambling age.
"With these new poker shows and people winning a bazillion dollars, of course kids are going to want to try it," Borgen said.
COMMUNICATION KEY
'Gambling can be a devastating health problem just like any other addiction," Whyte said. "But this isn't just an issue without a solution."
Experts first suggest urging parents to talk to their children about gambling: one more unpleasant subject to broach along with sex, alcohol and drugs.
Schools also should do more to teach the consequences of gambling, experts say.
"Even if schools do have a gambling policy, it's very far down the list of priorities," Whyte said. "Card playing seems sort of victimless, and it keeps them quiet during recess."
FOR INFORMATION
• The National Council on Problem Gambling offers a short quiz at www.ncpgambling.org/about_problem/about_problem_test.asp (http://www.ncpgambling.org/about_problem/about_problem_test.asp) for people who think they may have a problem with gambling. Another quiz, tailored more towards teens, is at www.education.mcgill.ca/gambling/en/selfquiz.htm. (http://www.education.mcgill.ca/gambling/en/selfquiz.htm.)
• Call the Minnesota Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-333-HELP if you suspect you or a loved one have a problem with gambling.
GAMBLING SAFELY
• Set a monetary and time limit and stick to it. Don't borrow to play, don't bring debit or credit cards or play with money you can't afford to lose.
• Think of gambling as entertainment, not a way to make money. You will lose more often than win. If you win big, enjoy it, but realize you have little control over it.
• Don't gamble when you are tired, bored, anxious or angry. Take breaks to clear your head. Don't use gambling to avoid negative feelings or situations.
• Take your family and friends seriously. If they are worried about your gambling, they might be seeing something you don't.