REPORTS: BENNETT GAMBLES MILLIONS

Author Of Books On Virtue Says Pastime Isn't A Moral Issue

Former Secretary of Education William Bennett, whose books and
speeches espousing traditional virtues have made him rich and famous,
is a high-stakes casino gambler, according to reports published Friday.

"I've gambled all my life, and it's never been a moral issue with me.
I liked church bingo when I was growing up," Bennett told reporters
for Newsweek and Washington Monthly, which worked cooperatively on
stories that appeared on their Web sites.

Joshua Green, an editor at Washington Monthly, obtained documents from
several casinos indicating that Bennett has lost some $8 million in
the past decade, generally during intense stretches of video poker and
high-stakes slot-machine play in exclusive rooms at leading casinos.

"On July 12 of last year, for instance, Bennett lost $340,000 at
Caesar's Boardwalk Regency in Atlantic City. And just three weeks ago,
on April 5 and 6, he lost more than $500,000 at the Bellagio in Las
Vegas," Green reported.

Green quoted "a casino source who has witnessed Bennett at the
high-limit slots in the wee hours" as saying: "There's a term in the
trade for this kind of gambler. We call them losers."

Bennett confirmed to Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter that he
sometimes wagers hundreds of thousands of dollars in a night of
gambling, but denied that he has lost millions, saying casino records
do not adequately account for winnings.

"Over 10 years, I'd say I've come out pretty close to even," he
said.

Asked for comment on the published articles, a spokesman for Bennett said
Friday: "He needs time to digest the story, so he won't be available for
comment today."

Bennett has written and edited 11 books, including "The Book of
Virtues," "The Children's Book of Virtues," and "The Death of
Outrage," which hit No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list.

Some of Bennett's allies on the conservative side of the culture wars
disagree with him on the moral status of gambling.

When Bennett's fellow Republicans controlled both houses of Congress
in the mid-1990s, they voted to create a National Gambling Impact
Study Commission and appointed as chairman conservative Kay Coles
James. A majority of the commission eventually voted to endorse a
moratorium on expansion of legalized gambling -- a $51 billion
industry in America.

The commission's final report called for further study of the social
impact of gambling, which has been tied to higher rates of divorce,
crime and poverty.

Another commission member, James Dobson, heads the conservative
organization Focus on the Family, which offers tapes of Bennett's
speeches for sale on its Web site.

Dobson has lamented the widespread acceptance of gambling in America
as an example of moral decline.

"Thirty years ago," he once wrote, "parents taught their children
about its evils, and some families, including my own, would not even
permit playing cards in the home."

After the commission concluded its work, Dobson said, "I remain
radically opposed" to legalized gambling.

These differences may reflect variations in the doctrines of Christian
denominations. Many fundamentalist Protestant churches have long held
that all gambling is a vice, but the Roman Catholic position --
Bennett's faith -- is less clear-cut.

"Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves
contrary to justice," according to the Catechism of the Catholic
Church. "They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of
what is necessary to provide for one's needs and those of others. The
passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement."

Bennett reflected these distinctions when he told Alter, "I adhere to
the law. I don't play the `milk money.' I don't put my family at risk,
and I don't owe anyone anything."

Frank Scoblete, an authority on casino games, said it is unlikely that
Bennett could have avoided losing money over time while playing slot
machines. These games are programmed to give the casino an advantage
of 2 percent to 15 percent; a player's skill cannot narrow the odds.

"The only thing you can control is how much money you're putting
through it," he said. Video poker, on the other hand, "is a game of
skill," in which players make decisions that effect their chances.
Depending on the machine and the player, Scoblete said, it is possible
to break even or perhaps even come out slightly ahead over time.

"I wouldn't personally look at the $8 million figure and say, `My God,
he's got a gambling problem,' " Scoblete concluded. "Instead of buying
yachts, this is what he's doing."