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Reader Poll Replies:
* I think you should leave the
minimum age at 21. There are enough crazy people running around Las
Vegas ruining their life by gambling their pay checks, why start out
teenagers learning this habit. Sue Ann Phillips TX
* I believe the minimum age for
gambling should remain 21. The drinking age is 21, and with the free
drinks at the casinos this would be a nightmare to monitor. Also,
many 18 year olds living in Las Vegas are high school students. This
would be unfair to their education, and their wallets. I believe we
need to maintain the legal limit to 21 to give teens a chance to get their
education and their maturity in order. Thanks Ellen
O'Koon
* Yes, the gambling age should be
lowered to 18. If a person is able to be shipped off to Iraq when he or
she is not a minute over 18 he or she should be able to pull a slot lever
or throw some dice. These people are off fighting and dying for freedoms
of other people when they are denied some simple freedoms back home.
Justin Hammond
* Young people can be trusted to go
to war and defend our country at age 18. If they are mature enough
to serve in the military, they have the maturity to decide how to spend
their discretionary funds. We should have one age limit to determine
when a person can be considered of age to make decisions pertaining to
their lives and how they will live it. The gambling age should be
18. James H. D. Allen, Retired U. S. Army
* I feel the minimum age to gamble in
Las Vegas should remain at 21. The motto "if it isn't broke, don't
fix it "comes to my mind. I feel 18 is too young and a certain level
of maturity should be acquired when drinking and gambling. At some casinos
there are free drinks given out and someone so young might not know how to
handle it and either go overboard with the gambling or their
behavior. Not to say that there aren't any mature 18 year olds but
they come a dime a dozen. A 21 year old would have experienced the
world a little bit and know that there are boundaries because I feel that
he/she will have learned from past mistakes. An example is an 18
year old making the transgression from high school to college. He/she has
good credit and therefore gets approved for multiple credit cards (On
campus you get approached at all angles). That 18 year old goes
overboard and falls into credit card debt because of lack of knowledge and
experience. At 21 that person can only be filled with the regret of
not knowing any better. I am pretty sure they will think about the
responsibilities that lie ahead and be more wiser with their
decisions. Lato708
* I do not
think that the gambling age should be lowered to 18. Kids are
wanting to grow up too fast and they should at least have something to
look forward to such as their 21st birthday, to legally drink, vote, and
gamble. Keeping children as young as you can these days is an ever
increasing problem for everyone, and with more teenagers getting arrested
for drug related crimes, gambling will just be another way of sending them
to jail before they can handle adult things. Janice MacFarlane
* I believe that they should be able
to change the law to be able to gamble at 18. If it can be done on line
and they are already doing it then what is the harm in making it
accessible in person. Also once you turn 18 you are responsible for
yourself if you are able to move out on your own then you should be able
to go to Las Vegas and bet if you would like to. Rick Shippy
* I think the minimum age should
remain at 21. Gambling requires a certain level of maturity and
responsibility, and I seriously doubt an 18 year old who just got out of
high school will be able to handle the gaming responsibly. Let's not
forget the casinos have alcohol all over the place, and we have learned
that teen drinkers get out of control to the point of DUI or worse. If
they lower the gambling age, it would be very hard to monitor and control
underage drinking. Randy Adams
* The minimum should remain at 21.
Even though some opinions have expressed that one is susceptible to be
enlisted into the military to live or die. The gambling world to a
majority of people is just that. Trying one's luck to gain monetary
achievements and enjoyment. To other's it can be an atmosphere of misery.
Clutching at straws at all costs leading to irrational behavior that
wouldn't normally exist. Ruining of a person's life and family. At 18, I
don't believe that the maturity, knowledge and intelligence has been
gained to participate rationally. There will be an adequate amount of time
to gamble after the age of 21 is reached. Chuck from Arizona
* I believe the age for gambling
should remain at 21 years old. At 18, our young adults should continue
furthering their education. These days, if you don't at least have a
associate degree, you are not going very far in corporate America.
I'm not saying you can not be self employed or get a job and still make
it. But, there is no reason to lower the age from 21 to 18 years
old. With gambling, there is a chance of drinking, debt and
addiction. This is my opinion, Carmen E Gravney-Baptiste
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