<p><a href=“http://us.cnn.com/2005/LAW/12/13/student.robber.ap/index.html[/url]”>http://us.cnn.com/2005/LAW/12/13/student.robber.ap/index.html</a></p>
<p>Stories like this boggle my mind.</p>
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<p>so…I predict a mental health plea…bipolar and not diagnosed or not on his meds.</p>
<p>What a great friend and brother…who needs it. This is better than fiction.</p>
<p>internet gambling may be involved</p>
<p>hahahaha this is crazy, I am a frosh at Lehigh. I am home right now but I’m goin back tomorrow. That kid’s life is over.</p>
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<p>good call! (or good info?)</p>
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<p><a href=“http://wfmz.com/cgi-bin/tt.cgi?action=viewstory&storyid=11306[/url]”>http://wfmz.com/cgi-bin/tt.cgi?action=viewstory&storyid=11306</a></p>
<p>FINALLY! A story that doesn’t glorify gambling! Every time I hear about the poker craze, it makes me cringe. This addiction ruins lives.</p>
<p>A local twist to this story is that here in the Lehigh Valley gambling is very much in the news. We’re slated to get some sort of casino either in Allentown or Bethlehem and there’s a big controversy about profits vs. gambling as an un-Christian entity. Bethlehem is the home not only of Lehigh U., but Moravian college and there are many churches and people who are adamently against the casino no matter what the supposed profit.</p>
<p>The gambling powers tried to bring casinos to Vermont a few years back and our then Governor, Howard Dean, an M.D. by trade, basically said, (I paraphrase), “Over my dead body!”</p>
<p>The downside of casinos includes crime, the health and social problems of increased drug & alcohol use, increased costs for police and other municipal services, family problems due to the gambler spending his or her paycheck, the list goes on and on. Meanwhile, the casino owners funnel the cash right out the door and out of the host city and state! Sure jobs are created, but they are low-end and don’t offset the negative effects on the region.</p>
<p>Here in PA, it’s our legislature that has okayed gambling and even tried to tie it to school funding!</p>
<p>kathiep–ah, the lure of quick cash! So the legislators plan to use gambling revenues for education–oh, that’s right, it’s just BUDGETED that way. So, if the revenue doesn’t materialize, at least the casinos have their foot in the door and you’ll never get rid of them. Then the legislature will need to raise taxes on the residents somewhere else in the budget to make up the shortfall! Plus, it’s a great message to send to the kids (not!). It makes me sick to my stomach. </p>
<p>I’m sorry you have this menace in your midst. Poor Pennsylvania!</p>
<p>looking to put slots in the old Bethlehem Steel plant area…technically right across the street from Lehigh University…</p>
<p>NJRES - inside info.</p>
<p>Is the age to play 21? I know that in Atlantic City one must be 21 to enter the casino…even in Monaco you must be of age.</p>
<p>hazmat- if it is Indian Gaming it is 18. No drinks served I think.</p>
<p>I suspect that there is more than just a gambling addiction going on - this smacks of disordered thinking as well. Kid was described as “energetic” - could he be a little manic? Even with desperation to pay your gambling debts, would you have your friend drive to the closest local bank AND not disguise yourself at all, do you think no one is going to notice? What about the security cameras??
Often these “dumb crook” stories have a backstory of manic/depressive illness or a personality disorder - not that any of this absolves him of his crime, or makes gambling addiction or Internet poker a good thing - dear Lord, they advertise it on TV, isn’t that illegal???</p>
<p>cangel, To the best of my knowledge they advertise their .net site which is an educational site to learn how to play poker till you’re destitute. It’s their .com site that it would be improper to advertise. Of course, it’s mentioned on their educational site. LOL.</p>
<p>I just think that this kid is at the age when many mental illnesses are diagnosed…it is something other than just gambling I think. I agree with
cangel and I said this before, other problems are at play. It is too bad he didn’t get a diagnosis or help prior to commiting such a serious federal crime. I am wondering if he had ever sought counseling while on Lehigh campus.</p>
<p>I think there’s more hours of programming devoted to poker now on ESPN and ESPN2 than any single sport, week in and week out.</p>
<p>College-age kids are probably the single largest viewing demographic; they also have the free time to play, and high-speed internet access - the perfect brew for this kind of catastrophe. (And, yes, there must also be a personality or emotional disorder involved, for someone in his position to do what he did without realizing he’d be caught, or even pondering the consequences of his actions.)</p>
<p>Lots of people, including college kids, play online poker. Very few of them are out robbing banks.</p>
<p>Er, why is it when a white college kid from a “good” family robs a bank, it “must” be a mental disorder? Like you think all the other criminals are so stupid they can’t figure out that they might get caught and sent to jail if they rob a place with surveillance cameras?</p>
<p>Quit making excuses… there is no difference between this bank robber and any other bank robber, except that this one has less experience than most.</p>