8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
SATuRDAY, MAY 30, 2020
COFFEE BREAK
Churlish customers make life even more stressful for clerk
DEAR ABBY: I work in the deli
department of a grocery store
and have been struggling lately.
With everything that is going on,
people are over-
whelmed and have
been taking it out
on us.
I asked one
person, “How are
you doing today?” The response
I got was, “I’m not interested
in conversation. Just feed me!”
Another who came to the reg-
ister didn’t utter a single word
except to exclaim, when I offered
her a bottle opener for her soda,
“I’ve got it!” Then she snatched
her change out of my hand. I
don’t even get the brunt of it;
the cashiers have to handle the
worst of it.
We employees are stressed out
about the same things everyone
else is. We are struggling to get
the same products
everyone else is
DEAR
searching desper-
ately for. I had to
ABBY
shop at five different
stores to get what I
need and still haven’t found many
things.
Between the stress of the virus
and the stress of being treated so
rudely, my mental health is run-
ning low. I have struggled on and
off with depression and anxiety,
and many of my coping methods
are unavailable to me due to clo-
sures. Could you please remind
your readers that we are all in the
same boat and need to be kind to
one another, and direct those of
us who are struggling emotionally
to resources we can access during
this time of panic?
— STRUGGLING IN RETAIL
DEAR STRUGGLING: I agree
that many people react badly
when under stress, as the cus-
tomers you described have done.
But many others respect and
appreciate the efforts you and so
many others in the food supply
chain make every day — at some
risk to your own health. I am one
of them.
Because you have had issues
with depression and anxiety in
the past, consider contacting the
therapist you worked with and ask
if the person is doing online ses-
sions. These days, many of them
are. Just talking with someone —
friends or like-minded co-workers
— about what you are experi-
encing could bring some relief.
However, if that isn’t possible,
consider exploring whether there
are online support groups for
retail workers such as you. If there
aren’t, consider starting one so
you and others can exchange ideas
about coping with these extremely
stressful circumstances in which
we all find ourselves.
DEAR ABBY: My husband
loves our cat too much. He buys
“Miss Kitty” special treats, pets
her, talks nicely to her, plants
quick kisses on the top of her head
and lets her sit on his lap while he
watches TV for hours. It’s like I’m
nonexistent. I wish he would be
that nice to me.
He’s a good provider and,
when we are away from the
house, I have his full attention.
I’m resenting this queen of our
home. What should I do? I’d like
to take her back to the animal
shelter. It was my sorry idea to
adopt her.
— IN SECOND PLACE
DEAR SECOND PLACE: My
first suggestion is to find reasons
to spend more time with your hus-
band away from the house. The
second would be to adopt a dog.
And if you do, make sure YOU
are the one who feeds and walks
it, unless your husband has such
an affinity for pets that adopting
another one isn’t worth the risk.
Virus could lead more states to allow sports, online betting
By Wayne Parry
Associated Press
ATLANTIC CITY,
N.J. — The coronavirus
pandemic could lead to a
quicker expansion of sports
betting and internet gam-
bling in the U.S. as states
deal with huge budget defi-
cits and look for new tax
revenue wherever they can
find it.
Most major sports
remain shut down due to
the virus, but European
soccer and Asian baseball
have begun play, NASCAR
is racing again and PGA
Tour golf restarts in two
weeks. Major U.S. sports
leagues including the NBA
and NHL are making plans
for resuming their seasons.
The virus “will accel-
erate the expansion of
sports betting and online
casinos in the next 12 to
24 months,” said Chris
Krafcik, a managing
director with Eilers &
Krejcik Gaming, which
tracks sports and internet
betting legislation in the
U.S. “Both activities pro-
vide states, whose econo-
mies have been massively
disrupted by the outbreak,
Photo by Wayne Parry/Associated Press
This Feb. 10 file photo shows slot machines at the Hard
Rock casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that gamblers
control over the internet. The coronavirus pandemic could
lead to a quicker expansion of sports betting and internet
gambling in the U.S. as states deal with huge budget defi-
cits and look for new tax revenue wherever they can find it.
the opportunity to cap-
ture new revenue immedi-
ately in the form of upfront
license fees, and over time
through taxes.”
Sports betting is not
a golden goose for states
seeking new tax revenue.
An Associated Press anal-
ysis last year found that
taxes on sports betting
would generate just a frac-
tion of 1% of most states’
budgets if they met their
estimates — and many
states fell far short of those
projections.
But with many state
budgets now resembling
smoking craters in the
ground as tax revenue dis-
appears in a largely idled
economy, even a small rev-
enue boost is better than
none.
So far, 18 U.S. states
plus the District of
Columbia offer sports
betting, and four offer
internet gambling, which
can include online casino
games, slots and poker.
In addition, Virginia and
Tennessee have approved
sports betting but have yet
to launch. North Carolina
allows two tribal casinos to
offer it, and is considering
a bill to allow it statewide.
Washington state allows
sports betting at tribal
casinos once regulations
are in place, and Oklahoma
allowed two tribes to do so,
pending approval from fed-
eral authorities.
Louisiana, Massachu-
setts and Ohio are real-
istic candidates to legalize
sports betting this year,
Krafcik said.
Louisiana is close to
approving a November ref-
erendum on sports bet-
ting, and Ohio’s Legisla-
ture is moving forward
this week with a bill that
could authorize sports bet-
ting, including mobile bet-
ting, although a competing
measure could limit it to
in-person bets at casinos
and race tracks.
On Thursday, legis-
lators in California pro-
moted sports betting as a
way to help a state budget
facing a $54 billion deficit.
The nation’s largest state
is considering a November
referendum on the topic.
Krafcik said Illinois
could approve internet
gambling by the end of
the year, at least in part to
recoup tax revenue lost to
the virus outbreak.
“States are facing
unprecedented finan-
cial challenges,” said
Matt King, CEO of Fan-
Duel Group. “We are
firm believers that mobile
sports betting and online
gaming legislation will be
the type of commonsense
legislation that states will
look to when legislatures
return.”
New York state Sen.
Joseph Addabbo has
been pushing his state to
adopt mobile and online
sports betting as a way
to generate new rev-
enue, including recap-
turing money from gam-
blers crossing the border
into New Jersey to bet on
sports. He said his state
faces a budget deficit of
up to $17 billion, “largely
because of the virus.”
Other estimates have
placed the shortfall around
$13 billion.
“We should be pre-
paring now — creating
regulations, lining up ven-
dors, setting up servers,”
said Addabbo, a Democrat.
“Let’s get it ready so that
when we come back, we
don’t miss another Super
Bowl.”
New York Gov. Andrew
Cuomo, also a Democrat,
maintains that approving
mobile sports betting
would require amending
the state’s constitution.
While casinos in many
states are moving to
reopen, including Nevada
next week, not all gam-
blers will be anxious to
race back into crowded,
enclosed buildings with
the virus still spreading.
“If social distancing
safeguards remain in
place, it is possible that
some gamblers would
prefer to play from home
rather than going into
a casino,” said David
Schwartz, a gambling his-
torian with the University
of Nevada Las Vegas.
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