New book looks at casino gambling

A new book co-edited by a geosciences professor examines the impact of casino gambling at both the national and local levels in an effort to present a balanced analysis to aid policymakers.

Meyer-Arendt

Dr. Klaus Meyer-Arendt co-edited "Casino Gambling in America: Origins, Trends and Impacts" with Dr. Rudi Hartmann, a tourism geography professor at the University of Colorado at Denver. Cognizant Communication Corp. of New York published the book as part of a new series on tourism dynamics.

"Rudi's interest is in mountain tourism and I have been studying the effects of tourism on the coast, so we began looking at gambling issues," Meyer-Arendt explained. "We wanted to put a book together that presented a balanced view between those opposed to casino gambling and its advocates."

The 270-page book features contributors ranging from geographers to economists to sociologists. Meyer-Arendt, who also wrote the introduction, wrote a chapter, "Casino Gaming in Mississippi: Location, Location, Location," that looks at the industry's impact on the state.

He considers the work a "source book for community and tourism development, for public policy and educating the public" on the issues of gambling and casino development. It also will be used in college-level courses