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Module
5 |
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Representations
and Public Relations / Promotions |
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Media representations are also used in public relations or promotional
campaigns to portray some phenomena in a positive light. For example,
casino gambling has been promoted as not simply an experience involving
gambling, but also as an enjoyable, exciting, even romantic experience.
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To study the ways in which Internet web sites represent gambling
in Minnesota casinos go to these different casino web sites. Note
the uses of images, intertextual links, and language. |
Black
Bear Casino
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Grand
Casino, Mille Lacs/Hinckley
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Jackpot
Junction Casino
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Mystic
Lake Hotel/Casino
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Treasure
Island Resort and Casino
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The images employed in these sites represent gambling in terms
of a glamorous pastime associated with entertainment and pleasurable
vacations. For example, the Treasure Island site employs imagery
of a tropical, Caribbean vacation escape associated with the activity
of gambling: |
Tropical Rain Forest Casino
Make yourself comfortable beneath a rain forest canopy as you
double the stakes at the blackjack tables or try your luck at
one of The Island’s many slot machines.
Caribbean Village Casino
Feel the tides shift amid the ornate windows and balconies of
this tropical island village as you play The Island's video craps,
video roulette and more.
Caribbean Marketplace Casino
Stroll along bright facades welcoming you to new attractions.
Wander into the new Island Pearl Gift ShopSM or Casino Host Office.
Or just relax at one of the many new high stakes blackjack tables
or slot machines in this open-air atmosphere.
Sapphire Sea
This is the entrance to start gaming after a bus ride.
A great addition to our non-smoking casino area, Sapphire Sea
is the place to enjoy clean air and the hottest new slot machines.
Have a cocktail at Barracudas smoke-free bar. A convenient coat
check and Tours Desk are also located here.
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The intertextual links and language employed here draws on the
discourse of romantic travel in a tropical world with the world
of casino gambling. |
Gambling is also represented through magazine ads and on-line
casino sites in equally glamorous ways. Susan Link, in her CI5472
Spring, 2002, analysis of the representations of gambling examined
these magazine ads: |
Another form of literature with deceptive advertising in favor
of casinos is magazines. Magazines like Casino, Casino
Player, and Gaming Times all have articles that
create an idea that they are educating the reader on how to beat
the casino. In one edition of Casino Player some of the articles
that lead you to believe this are: 2002 Loosest Slots Awards,
The Wizard of Odds, Ask the Bishop (streaks and trends), Inside
the Sportsbook, Players Club Spotlight, and JV’s Poker Room.
Each of these articles gives the reader insight into the players’
strategies and how to break the casino and the system. The ads
in this magazine also create a sophisticated image; it is an appealing
image of elegance. Aces High Casino, Trump Plaza in Atlantic City,
Harrah’s, Foxwoods of Connecticut, and The Grand Casino
all feature ads that encourage high class with a big payout. The
slogan for the Sheraton Casino and Hotel is “Tunica’s
loosest slots stay here. You should too.”
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Each casino encourages people to stay at their casino for the
free perks, elegant accommodations, and loose slots with high
payouts. This, in turn, should bring the casinos revenue through
gambling of on-site guests. The free perks and shows they have
entice people to stay there so that they will gamble on site.
Ads and magazines create enthusiasm for gambling and promote an
image that is lavish and high class. People want to stay there
and be a part of the action-packed image that they create.
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The message is clear — gamble at these casinos and win money.
The reality is that the casinos could not afford casinos and advertising
of that nature without gambling losses of the people who attend
the casinos. The reality is much different than the message and
image that is created. The advertising is intriguing, yet deceptive.
The underlying meaning is still the same — spend your money.
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The message is the same whether it is through a casino or on
the Internet. Internet gambling has gone from being non-existent
ten years ago to a multi-million dollar industry in 2002. The
image of easy access gambling is prevalent in the online industry.
The advertising image and message are deliberate; online gambling
is the easiest to access, and because there is no large edifice
to support it financially, it has the best odds. The reality is
that this type of gambling is an easy addiction. Advertisers notice
and capitalize on the accessibility of online casinos, so they
use propaganda that shows those same “things.”
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According to 2002 Gallup Poll, 75% of adults believe that internet
gambling should not be legal. The people polled cite reasoning
for this disapproval as accessibility to those who are underage
and convenience for those who are pathological gamblers to enable
their habit (Gallup). Pathological gamblers will cost America
over $80 billion a year, as opposed to drug abusers who only cost
the American Taxpayers $70 billion a year (Gambling 235), and
people are informed that online gambling is addictive, costly,
and problematic, but people are still vulnerable to the advertising
because of the convenience and message. Reality is much more ambiguous
than it appears.
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