War Won’t Hurt Gambling

Some casino owners Atlantic City feel business will decline, as it usually does in a war, by the warfare about to rage in Iraq. Robert Steward, speaking for Park Place Entertainment, said, “Obviously, ... the whole nation is going to be focused on that.”

Other experts believe the “CNN effect” -- millions glued to their TVs to watch news bullets -- will not last so long this time. Robert Thompson, a sociologist of popular culture at Syracuse University, noted that “circuses thrived during the Civil War, movies thrived during the Depression, and ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ and ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’ [TV situation comedy serials] were very popular during the Vietnam War.”

“Eventually, after two weeks, after watching the grimness of war coverage, the beck and call of amusement, including the amusement of casinos, is going to make its voice heard again,” Professor Thompson said.

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