Pollster brings tourists, executives face to face

Friday, Sept. 19, 2003 | 10:45 a.m.

Pollster Frank Luntz vividly illustrated America's perceptions about the gambling industry in his keynote address at the Global Gaming Expo Thursday -- by bringing them on stage with him and letting them give their opinions to executives face to face.

Luntz, of The Luntz Research Cos., Washington, worked with Peter D. Hart Research Associates Inc., to develop a report to the American Gaming Association about American perceptions of casino entertainment earlier this year, then brought 13 Las Vegas visitors to the closing keynote of G2E.

Luntz's guests corroborated most of the data, affirming that the average Las Vegas guest either likes or loves gambling as a form of entertainment, believes gamblers themselves should be most responsible for harnessing their own compulsive playing habits and agreeing that gambling is a good way to raise revenue for cities and states.

Luntz also bounced questions off executive panelists Howard Shaffer of the Harvard Medical School, David Creary of Australia's Aristocrat Technolgies Inc. and Jan Laverty Jones, senior vice president of communications and government relations at Harrah's Entertainment Inc., Las Vegas.

The Luntz-Hart AGA report was based on a telephone survey of 1,001 adult Americans conducted by telephone between March 7-10 and had a margin of error of 3.1 percent.

Among the findings of the survey:

To the question, "What are your own personal views of casino gambling?" 57 percent of the respondents said it was "perfectly acceptable for anyone," compared with 51 percent in 2002, and 28 percent saying it was "acceptable to others, but not you personally," the same percentage as in 2002, and 16 percent saying "not acceptable for anyone," the same as in 2002.

To the question, "Who should take the most responsibility for addressing the problem of compulsive gambling in the United States today?" 63 percent said the gamblers themselves, 15 percent said society at large, 10 percent said the owners of gambling facilities, 7 percent said state governments, 4 percent said the federal government and 2 percent didn't know or refused to answer. The poll had no comparison to last year's statistics.

To the question, "Within reasonable limits, legalized casino gambling is a good way for cities and states to generate revenue without having to raise everybody's taxes," 70 percent agreed, up from 69 percent in 2002, 28 percent disagreed, up from 26 percent a year ago, and 3 percent didn't know or refused to answer, down from 5 percent.

While Luntz's visitor group wasn't chosen randomly -- they were invited to participate in the event after answering questions in a poll at the MGM Grand hotel-casino and were paid $120 apiece to appear on stage -- most of the opinions they shared mirrored the Hart-Luntz poll data.

And, the panel of executives was all too happy to point out that the group exemplified the type of people they wanted to visit their casinos. Even Shaffer, the director of Harvard Medical School's Division on Addictions, acknowledged that, like alcohol consumption, gambling in moderation could be a healthy undertaking because risks experienced in gaming stimulates the human cardiovascular system and the cognitive thought process.

But he also warned that 3 percent of the American public have a serious or moderate compulsive gambling addiction. About the same percentage of the approximately 500 in attendance at the presentation acknowledged by a show of hands that they knew of someone with a compulsive gambling problem.

Twelve of the 13 group members said they had a budget to prevent overspending when they play.

Luntz also asked the group whether it approved of taxes generated by gambling paying for government services. While the group was unanimous in its support of gambling taxes, only seven out of the 13 favored a casino being built within 15 minutes of their home.

Jones said most Americans welcome casinos as a clean industry that generates jobs. But she said the industry's reputation has been sullied by media that focus on "negative aspects, myths and misinformation" that ultimately influence politicians and community decision-makers.