Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Mary Tablante
At Maryland Live! Casino in Hanover, Md., several signs hanging inside are not only written in English, but translated into Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese as well. Visitors can also dine at a 24/7-wok and noodle bar that offers dishes like Singapore rice noodles.
Casinos around the nation have recognized the trend in the popularity of casinos among Asian Americans for many years and have special Asian marketing departments and services to cater to Asian American clientèle.
Mario Maesano, the senior vice president of marketing at Maryland Live! Casino said the casino hosts a variety of events for the Asian American community. For example, they introduced Far East Karaoke nights on April 28, which will take place every Sunday.
The casino’s promotional and entertainment programming includes both international and national Asian headliners. They also have events focused around Chinese, Korean or Vietnamese holidays, including a Lunar New Year celebration.
To advertise about upcoming events, Maryland Live! partners with various Asian American radio stations, grassroots community groups and more, along with online and social media that are specific to the Asian community.
“It’s all about being inclusive,” Maesano said.
That may be all well and good, but has gambling also become a problem among the Asian American community? The National Asian Pacific Americans Families Against Substance Abuse (NAPAFASA), an organization based in Los Angeles, wrote a report on Asian Americans and gambling and found the preferred types of gambling among the demographic. The organization noted that Asian ethnic groups including Vietnamese, Chinese and Koreans tend to favor casino games such as blackjack, roulette, baccarat, Pai Gow poker and slot machines.
Some studies theorize these preferences may be related to traditions that include using cards and dice for wagers, NAPAFASA wrote in the report. Numerology is also popular in many Asian cultures, which could be another reason some Asian Americans enjoy gambling.
Asians Americans have a high rate of gambling disorders compared to the general population, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Overall, about five percent of the U.S. population suffers from a gambling addiction, but in the Chinese American community, 20 percent are problem gamblers.
“Gambling addiction or problem gambling is something (Maryland Live) takes very seriously and we participate in promoting programs to help with problem gambling,” Maesano said.
Patrick Lee, a junior at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, plays poker as a hobby. He is aware that some might associate gambling with negative connotations, although he doesn’t necessarily consider himself a gambler.
“A lot of people have been talking down to me about poker because their families play,” Lee said. “They have had their personal experiences of loss and how it ruined their family life.”
Lee initially thought poker was only about being lucky, but playing poker soon evolved into a passion of his. “The thing about poker is everyone gets the same cards, but it’s just how you deal with those cards,” he said.
For Lee, poker is about the competitive nature of the game.
“(Poker) teaches you to not look in the short term, but in the long term,” he said. “It teaches you how to invest.”
He said his passion for poker is hard to explain, adding, “I guess I do take risks by playing, but I like to think I’m investing.”
Edith Donovan, a Filipino-American from Seattle said she gambles to relieve stress from work.
When she has free time, Donovan goes to casinos with her husband to play slot machines and they have been going together since 1996. Donovan and her husband also sometimes travel outside of their area and go to Las Vegas and Reno to gamble.
“We are growing older and I think we are getting tired of going to the movies (and) going window shopping,” she said. “We gave those up, we work and there’s a lot of stress at work.”
Donovan recognizes that she and her husband sometimes get carried away when they gamble, but she said they have limits and realize that they have to raise a family and pay for expenses.
“I think (gambling) is fun and it’s addictive, but I think there are some people worse than we are,” she said. “There are people losing their houses and stuff like that. We’re not at that point and I hope it’s not going to happen.”
While playing poker and slot machines are hobbies that Lee and Donovan each have under control, the NAPAFASA suggests that Asian Americans struggling with gambling addictions seek mental health treatment or help through support groups.
Mental health information is available in several Asian languages online and through clinics and physicians. Maryland Live! Casino suggests visiting mdgamblinghelp.org or calling 1-800-522-4700.
Asian Fortune is an English language newspaper for Asian American professionals in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Visit fb.com/asianfortune to stay up to date with our news and what’s going on in the Asian American community.
Great article. Though not cited here, my organization, NICOS Chinese Health Coalition, was the one that conducted the study showing a 20+% rate of pathological gambling among the Chinese in San Francisco. In fact, the study found that nearly a third of the population meets the criteria for problem gamblers. The gambling behavior of Asian Americans is of enough concern here in California that we have established a 24/7 bilingual Chinese/English helpline (1.888.968.7888 – the Chinese consider 8 a lucky number, in case you are wondering) that can refer callers to culturally and linguistically appropriate services, including in-person and phone-based counseling.