http://www.suntimes.com/business/2435678,CST-SPT-chad27.articleGambling industry alive and well
COUCH SLOUCH | Day at sports book shows us that state of economy doesn't matter
June 27, 2010
BY NORMAN CHAD
LAS VEGAS -- On another 100-degree day in the desert, I am taking the temperature of America while sitting in the Rio Casino sports and race book. Yes, Sin City has been devastated by tough times, but the gambling economy, my friends, never dries up completely.
With a bank of 32 screens in front of me, I again am reminded that Sports Nation is controlled by two entities: television (lately ESPN) and gambling.
Where there is a will, there is a way. And where there is a line, there is a wager.
By late morning here, a half-dozen racetracks already are in action. By late afternoon, there will be a dozen baseball games from back East, plus golf and soccer filling the room.
It is Wall Street minus the inside trading. Trust me, Gordon Gekko would go bust within one year of betting the ponies. The house is the only one with an edge. You never see a sports book downsize, do you? (Sure, in one episode of ''Seinfeld,'' that bookie buddy of Kramer's didn't have money to pay Jerry for his winning Knicks bet. In real life, though, real bookies shop at Benetton and drive Cadillac Escalades.)