美国堪萨斯州城镇居民团结一致打击赌瘾

　　尽管赌博可以为当地带来数亿美元的财政收入，但赌博的广泛流行会产生一些消极的方面，最消极的方面是问题赌博的概率不断升高。美国的堪萨斯州城镇开辟了国有赌场，城镇居民团结一致打击赌瘾。

　　赌场不是使人们产生赌瘾的唯一原因，赌徒的自控能力不强也是原因之一。所以一些城镇已经开始建设自己的问题赌博工作队。在堪萨斯州，问题赌博工作队正在创建提高居民赌博意识和处理赌瘾的治疗方案。

　　堪萨斯州居民马库斯·摩尔说：“随着近年来赌徒不断增加赌博金额，这已经成为一个必要的措施，以避免普遍的赌博成瘾问题。我常常可以看到一些人无比沉溺于老虎机的世界，玩老虎机赌钱游戏已经成为了他们的乐趣，但他们这样的行为太危险了，他们需要知道自己的问题所在。”

　　经济衰退时期，堪萨斯州的选民同意在当地建设四个国有赌场，以缓解财政压力。从那时起，赌场相继开业。

　　为了加强当地居民对问题赌博的认识，当地社区领袖，民选官员和商界领袖都为此付出了巨大努力。社区领袖威尔逊说：“居民们团结起来一起打击赌博成瘾问题，这是一个很值得骄傲的事情。我相信，治疗和教育是击败赌瘾的关键。及时有赌博存在，我们的社会也会是美好的。”

　　译文：

　　Kansas Towns Coming Together To Fight Gambling AddictionCasino gambling can bring hundreds of millions of dollars to a community, but the popular form of gambling can also bring some negative aspects. One of the negatives of casino gambling is a higher probability of problem gambling. In Kansas, state-owned casinos have opened up, and towns are coming together to fight addiction.

　　The casinos are not the only cause of gambling addiction, but they were enough to have some towns start their own problem gambling task forces. In Kansas City, a task force is being created in the hopes of raising awareness and providing treatment options for those in the community that are dealing with addiction.

　　"With the amount that gambling has increased in recent years, this seems like a necessary step to avoid a widespread gambling addiction problem," said Kansas resident Marcus Moore. "I can see how some people could get caught up in the world of slot machines. They are fun, but they can be dangerous too, and people need to know there is help out there."Kansas voters approved four state-owned casinos several years ago, before the economic recession. The state regulators had a hard time securing developers, and when they finally did select developers, three of the four pulled out of the deals after the recession. The state spent several years attempting to re-start the licensing process, and finally a casino opened in Dodge City.

　　Since then, two more of the casinos have opened, prompting the call for increased awareness for problem gambling. The state is heading the charge for awareness by calling out to local community leaders, both elected officials, and business leaders. Each community, according to the plan, will service their own needs in relation to problem gambling.

　　"It is a great thing they are doing for the community," said Nickie Wilson, a recovering gambling addict. "I had tremendous support to break my habit, and I believe that treatment and education is the key to me beating the addiction. The more awareness the state can bring, the better our community will be."