Anyone who has been to a casino knows the thrill of doubling down on ten against a dealer’s five when you already bet more than you should have on the first two cards. Perhaps your bet was so big because you were ready to go home and you were planning to let it all ride on this one final hand. Perhaps you were just desperate.

Regardless of your motivation, the odds are in your favor now, and all you need to do is double your bet to capitalize. Players win, and winners play, as the saying goes.

Should the dealer give you an ace, you make out like a bandit, cover your previous losses and come out ahead, ready to play another day. Should you receive a six, you hope for the dealer to bust, walk away from the table when he doesn’t and mutter curse words to yourself. Disgusted as you walk to the car, you are still ready to play another day.

The old cliché, “It’s not whether you win or loose, it’s how you play the game,” were never truer than in a tribal casino. Sure it’s nice to win, but even on a losing night, all you can do is play the odds the best way you know how. For every evening you leave with your wallet a little lighter, there is a big-money night just around the corner. At least you hope so.

People who enjoy the casino enjoy taking the risk, win or loose. This may seem odd to the gambling prude. “How can you enjoy giving away 40 hard-earned dollars?” they might ask.

Well, from experience I can tell you losing $40 at a low-stakes blackjack table is far more enjoyable than blowing $40 watching the Bucks or Timberwolves get blown out in a NBA playoff game. Take into account the obnoxious prices for food and beverage at arenas and it becomes increasingly difficult to “Love it live.”

Compare that to the tribal casinos’ reasonably priced buffet and discounted drinks, and you see why, for most young Americans, gambling is a wholesome entertainment bargain. This is why I am so astonished at those who will do anything in their power to prevent an expansion of gambling in Wisconsin.

Governor Doyle has been busy negotiating gaming compacts with the state’s Native Americans. The trend amongst these compacts is to allow more games and slots in area casinos, and in return the tribes contribute more money into the state’s coffers.

These negotiations have angered legislative Republicans who believe they should be consulted, but more importantly these compacts have angered moral authorities who believe gambling expansion is an evil plague on Wisconsin.

The tribes and their supporters rightly argue these new compacts generate economic growth in the state, but expanded gambling presents a special benefit to Madison and the campus community.

University administrators and city politicians continually bemoan the “binge-drinking culture” of Madison, while students continually bemoan the “lack of things to do.” While the union has expanded its hours and worked hard to bring more “all age” entertainment, university and city officials are ignoring a potential non-alcoholic entertainment boom to Madison’s nightlife. This potential is DeJope bingo hall, just east of the interstate.

DeJope, in its current form, is simply boring. But why not expand DeJope to include slots, and table games, get rid of the alcohol sales and allow anyone over the age of 19 to enter? Students stay sober, Ho-Chunk makes money, Madison gets jobs and, with a little help from our powerful lobbyists at United Council, the university might get a little of that compact money. What’s not to like?

DeJope could even run free shuttle busses from Memorial Union and Union South (as well as all the downtown retirement housing), at no cost to the university or the city. Now we keep college students off the streets, and every person on the Union shuttle is one less person standing in line at Wando’s.

Such common sense nearly always falls on deaf ears. For all the talk we have about entertainment alternatives to alcohol, the ongoing strategies are still police bar raids, fake ID prosecutions and new bar obstruction. Despite their rhetoric, city and campus officials have no aces up their sleeves, and the longer this community ignores viable alternatives to the bar culture, the less credibility they maintain.

A.J. Hughes ([email protected]) is a software developer and UW graduate.