PRIOR TO FALL 1994 (A 10 YEAR GAP) -- REVERSE CHRON LEVEL 1 - 109 OF 119 STORIES The Associated Press The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press. August 23, 1984, Thursday, PM cycle SECTION: Domestic News LENGTH: 599 words HEADLINE: Survey: Many High School Students Show Signs of Chronic Bettors BYLINE: By ROBERT WADE, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. BODY: Nearly 40 percent of the high school students surveyed in the "gamblingest" state exhibit at least one sign of becoming chronic bettors, according to a study by a teen-ager who once sneaked into a casino disguised as a sheik. LEVEL 1 - 109 OF 119 STORIES The Associated Press The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press. August 23, 1984, Thursday, PM cycle SECTION: Domestic News LENGTH: 599 words HEADLINE: Survey: Many High School Students Show Signs of Chronic Bettors BYLINE: By ROBERT WADE, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. BODY: Nearly 40 percent of the high school students surveyed in the "gamblingest" state exhibit at least one sign of becoming chronic bettors, according to a study by a teen-ager who once sneaked into a casino disguised as a sheik. The Associated Press, August 23, 1984 The 892 students polled were asked whether any of the seven indicators experts say indicate compulsive gambling _ from lying about losses to stealing to support the habit _ applied to them. About 1.9 percent of the students already are compulsive gamblers, showing outward signs in at least five of seven problem areas, said Henry R. Lesieur, a sociology professor at St. John's University in New York, who organized the survey. Lesieur said 8.4 percent of the students showed three of the warning signs. And about 3.5 percent said they had at least four signs, putting them in a class of "probable" problem bettors. "We think the gambling problem should be addressed the way drug and alcohol abuse should be addressed," said Martin Rimm, 19, a member of the state Council on Compulsive Gambling, who conducted the survey. "We are cultivating a generation of compulsive gamblers. The more available it is, the more they will gamble," Rimm told the state Casino Control Commission on Wednesday while presenting the survey. The Associated Press, August 23, 1984 About 86 percent of those polled said they had gambled within the last year, and 46 percent said they had gambled in Atlantic City despite a law that bars betting by people under age 21. "The study does get at the question of 'Is there a problem of compulsive gambling among high school students?' And the answer is, 'Yes,"' said Lesieur, a member of the National Council on Compulsive Gambling's advisory board. Rimm conducted the survey at one high school in each of the northern, central and southern portions of the state. As a 16-year-old Atlantic City high school student, Rimm made headlines after writing in his school newspaper about how he donned a business suit, Arab headdress and sunglasses to sneak into a casino, where he posed as a wealthy sheik and was offered free drinks and meals. Casino Control Commissioner Carl Zeitz, a strong supporter of treatment programs for compulsive gamblers, pointed out that state law requires that fines collected from casinos found guilty of allowing minors to gamble be put into the Casino Revenue Fund. The Associated Press, August 23, 1984 The fund helps pay utility and pharmaceutical bills for the elderly and handicapped. The survey demonstrates the need for education to help students and parents detect early signs of an uncontrollable urge to bet, said Rimm, now a student at the University of South Florida. "The basic problem is it is hidden, unlike alcoholism or drugs," said Robert M. Klein, the state council's executive director. The National Council on Compulsive Gambling estimates that there are about 10 million compulsive gamblers nationwide, and that about 375,000 of them live in New Jersey. New Jersey, called the "gamblingest" state by its gaming regulators, offers legal casino games, horse racing, bingo, race simulcasting, raffles and a lottery. An estimated $14 billion was wagered on legal games last year, the bulk of it at the casinos. The survey asked 50 questions, including whether gambling disrupted the students' family; whether it affected schoolwork or jobs; whether they persistently lied about gambling wins and losses; whether they ever needed to The Associated Press, August 23, 1984 be bailed out of gambling debts or borrowed money from three or more sources; whether they ever defaulted on debts; whether they wagered to make up losses; and whether they ever used illegal means to finance gambling. LANGUAGE: ENGLISH