Growing up, Arelia Taveras’ family often traveled to Atlantic City for a fun time together in the casinos. Gambling was always portrayed as a fine form of entertainment, and so at 21, Taveras didn’t hesitate to make her way down to the Jersey Shore with her family about once a month.
More than a decade later, Taveras was visiting AC alone every weekend. As an escape from the stresses of being a lawyer, she would gamble from Friday night until Sunday, playing blackjack, poker and roulette.
Soon, the casinos brought in the comps. Limos, with her personal pillow in the trunk, took her to and from her home in New York. She was given free trips to partner casinos in the Bahamas and Las Vegas, where her friend had to fly out to bring her back home after she got lost in gambling for 21 days. She was only supposed to stay for three.
Taveras hit rock-bottom when she drained a bank account that consisted of her client’s money. A million dollars in debt, a grand larceny charge, and two and a half years in jail later, Taveras is now left trying to pick up the pieces.
Gambling is no longer an acceptable activity in her eyes. “It’s killing people. I lost my professional career. I lost my reputation. I probably wasn’t even meant to survive this.”
What Are the Odds That Casinos Hurt?
People have been gambling for thousands of years. But in recent decades, casinos in the U.S. have seen enormous growth. Long after Nevada legalized casino gambling in 1931, New Jersey legalized it in 1976. Since then, casinos have rapidly sprung up, and today there are about 900 casinos throughout 38 states nationwide.