Minor Gamblers Just Want Entertainment

Your article on minors playing in Nevada casinos (“Risky Business,” May 3) seemed not to mention the fact that almost all minors, like almost all adults, play in casinos for entertainment and enjoy themselves without breaking anybody’s bank.

As a Nevada casino employee last year, I was instructed by my superiors regularly to check identification of players who looked possibly under 21. I did so, but with hesitation. I had only recently turned 21 myself, and I had felt perfectly well enough in control to gamble and behave responsibly in a casino for the previous five years.

Why are only adults allowed to play games fit for the skill and challenge of a child? Gambling addiction is hardly a problem suffered only by children. At least minors can only play with the cash in their pockets.

Adults who do not play responsibly, meanwhile, have credit cards, potentially putting themselves into crippling debt.

To its credit, California’s legal gambling age at race tracks and card clubs is 18.

DOUGLAS BERGMAN

Los Angeles