WITH GAMBLING NOT only legal but socially acceptable in the United States, far more people participate today. According to the casino industry, the number of American households visiting casinos doubled between 1990 and 1993—and the rate has continued to climb every year since then.

This dramatic increase in participation has prompted a great deal of recent debate about gambling. People question whether the gambling industry is a benefit to the community, as it claims to be. Others examine the social and economic advantages of casinos and lotteries, and wonder if the United States is better off as a gambling nation.

White tigers, pirate battles, and volcanoes

Nowhere is the concept of a "gambling nation" better demonstrated than in Las Vegas. No longer does the city hold a monopoly on casino action; people do not have to travel across...