Korean Americans disturbed by the Casino Buses

There has been a growing concern among Korean Americans regarding the increasing number of casino buses which encourage people especially senior citizens to gamble.

According to Korea Times, the casino buses offer ride from New York and Connecticut and vice versa. The shuttle service is essentially free because the passengers pay much more than the ride. The ticket for the shuttle service cost from $15 to $40. Along with the ride, the passenger will also enjoy buffet coupons care of the casino and some game money tickets which cost $20 to $40. 

A lot of people are now choosing these mobile casinos especially Korean and Chinese American senior citizens. They prefer the mobile casino as a means of transportation because of the free perks they get from the casino and at the same a way for them to relieve their boredom. Unfortunately, the effects are not all positive because there are increasing cases of gambling addiction in the community.

The people in the community are now having concerns regarding the promotion of casino and gambling through the shuttle buses. They worry that the casino buses might be the cause of gambling addictions especially to the senior citizens. The senior citizens might end up relieving their boredom through gambling and would end up losing great amounts of money. 

Because of gambling, some senior citizens end up without money and welfare benefits that eventually would lead to them being homeless. According to Lee, a bus rider, he has witnessed himself the negative effects of the casino buses to many elderly people. He said that he knew a senior who got used to going to casinos to have something to do but ended up being addicted to gambling, lost all the money he saved and was divorced by his wife. 

“Excessive gambling can have debilitating effects on people” according to Regina Kim, the executive director of the Korean Family Counseling and Research Center. She said that being addicted to gambling because of escaping boredom and relieving stress can lead to domestic abuse and even divorce. According to her, these kinds of problems require the help of community to come up with community-level solutions.