New Annenberg Public Policy Center statistics show that more than 3 million teenagers participate regularly in poker games and gamble on money, double than the number of gambling teenagers appeared in the recent two years statistics. Poker playing is not rare in college campuses either. Las Vegas incomes from poker games reached 100 million dollars in 2004, the highest income in the state history.
The broadcasting of poker tournaments on TV created a new type of teen idols. One of them is David Williams, who earned 3.5 million dollars coming first on the 2004 World Series of Poker. Even Williams admits that the mass media that idolize him, hide the thousands of people who lose their money the same way he earned his millions.
Arnie Wexler, a gambling addiction counselor who operates 888 LASTBET, says that about one third of the calls they receive are from teenagers. Californias Office of Problem Gambling is trying to create a plan that will provide technical assistance to prevent problem gambling, and a training program. According to Wexler, the education programs dealing with preventing gambling addiction have to be similar to the drug and alcohol abuse preventing programs.
