As I wander about in my day-to-day life and observe the folks around me, I’ve noticed that If there’s one thing that both blue-collar and white-collar Americans love to do, its gamble.  In my home state (Maryland), we have six legal casinos and of course, plenty of opportunities to sports bet online (although I’m still perplexed as to why I can’t play Texas Hold ‘Em online for cash here).  Now, that may seem like a lot, but it doesn’t even touch the amount of money that flows through the local taverns, social clubs, fire halls, and veteran organizations via pull tabs and tip jar games.

For those of you uninitiated with these diversions, pull tabs and tip jars are cards or small folded slips of paper that one purchases that have various numbers or pictures on them (think of a “manual” slot machine).  If you match the winning combinations, a bounty of cash can be yours.  The cost of these cards or tips can be as low as one dollar and upwards of twenty dollars per tab or tip.

So just how much are the fine folks of Washington County, MD spending on these games of chance?

Brace yourselves.

According to the 2022 Gaming Report[1], citizens spent over $55,441,453 dollars on tip jars – in just my county alone.    

Over 55 million.  That’s not a typo.  That’s also an 18% increase in spending over 2021.

There are approximately 155,000 people that live in my county, so doing some quick math, that’s around $358 dollars for every man, woman, and child per year (or just over $1,400 annually for a family of four).

Now don’t get me wrong, I like to gamble occasionally.  I enjoy dropping ten or twenty dollars on these things from time to time, say at a crab feed or carnival, but I understand that the odds are stacked against me.  It’s not an “investment”.  You pays your money and you takes your chances.  I get it.

I’m also no prude, and if you like to gamble (and can afford it), have at it.  You do you.  I wish you the best of luck.

However, that being said, the sheer volume of cash I see spent on pull tabs and tip jars at these events never fails to blow my mind.  Sure, I understand that some of the proceeds go to charity, and that’s a noble thing, but I’m not seeing much nobility in these venues when people are dropping $100 in a jar for a chance to win $500 (and losing), only to plow another $100 in the very next one.  Now picture the entire room doing that.  That’s a hell of a lot of dead presidents changing hands.  A few people get to be winners, but the vast majority do not. 

Local organizations love sponsoring these events, as it’s a great way for them to raise money for their cause or project, and it’s easy to see why.  I was at a recent local shindig with about 400 people in attendance, and in the three hours that I was there, I can guarantee you that well over $10,000 was dropped by patrons on tip jars, pull tabs, gun raffles, and other giveaways.  They were calling off jars every five minutes.  It was jaw-dropping.

Folks like to complain about gas prices, the cost of groceries, and other household necessities, but you won’t hear much of that as they ask for another $20 worth of pull tabs on the “King Tut” game.  Is there a line item in that home budget of $1,400 for “Gambling”?  I doubt it.  Maybe it’s under “there goes the monthly truck payment”?  Who knows.  Many folks in my neck of the woods claim they live paycheck to paycheck.  You wouldn’t know it at these events.  Pound for pound, I’d stack up the locals in my community to any high-rollers room in Vegas or Atlantic City. 

I’m not so sure that’s a good thing, no matter who benefits.     

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[1] Washington County, MD Charitable Gaming Report – Fiscal Year 2022, 10/30/22, Susan Buchanan, Director, accessed 3/6/24, https://www.washco-md.net/wp-content/uploads/2022_gaming_report.pdf