Will the Sun shine?

Newest WNBA franchise is walking on dangerous ground

On Tuesday the WNBA made official what has been rumored for weeks: The Orlando Miracle franchise has been sold and will play most home games this summer at an arena in the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn. The Mohegans reportedly paid a $10 million franchise fee, easily outbidding other interested ownership groups who would have placed the team in Hartford.

OK. Let me take a deep breath and collect myself. I understand that it is no longer sensible to rail against legal gambling as a pox on American culture. My friend Arnie Wexler, a recovering compulsive gambler who hasn't placed a bet in more than three decades and has worked with thousands of people in curing their addiction, said, "People seem to want it." So that train has left the station.

Also, the culture of the casino in America has changed radically. In 1995 while researching a three-part Sports Illustrated investigation on campus gambling, I spent a chunk of time in Las Vegas. (I wasn't a dilettante; I've spent a cumulative total of about a year in that city, covering various sports stories.) During that visit, Vegas was just beginning to transform itself from a forbidden city to a family destination. It was on that visit that I first noticed Mom, Dad and the kids ambling through casino lobbies.

Go to Vegas now and the place is like Disney World. Families and kids are everywhere. I'm sure they have a terrific time. Vegas offers enough fun to occupy a family of five for a week or more -- and I'm all for fun.

But something must be said: The casino industry exists for the sole purpose of enticing people to gamble and lose money. The reason for turning a gambling town into an amusement park with slots is to lure parents, so they can be free of the guilt that comes from leaving the kids at home. If the children are riding the roller coaster at New York, New York while Mom is pulling slots and Dad is playing blackjack, hey, everything is cool.

What also happens is that the kids get a whiff of the excitement. They hear the tinkle of slots, the clanging of coins filling the jackpot bin and, if they're human, they're curious. They will want to play. Some of them will be hooked for life.

Which brings us to the WNBA. The league markets heavily to families, which means that kids will be traipsing into the arena to watch the Connecticut Sun -- that's the new name, big shock -- against the backdrop of said tinkling and clanging. It is a unique opportunity for the Mohegans; they get the publicity of having a semi-major sports franchise in their house, and at the same time they introduce little girls to baccarat. Talk about a jackpot.

I don't think this was the WNBA's intention. I believe the league, struggling financially with its 34-game summer season, took the best deal and signed it. League officials took the small step of ensuring that there would be no sports book in the casino, which legally there cannot be.

The state of Connecticut loves women's basketball. How its passion will translate from the beloved UConn Huskies in the wintertime to the Sun in the summer is unclear and will be fascinating to observe. The New England Blizzard of the defunct American Basketball League, playing in Hartford in the winter, were a fabulous success with a roster including several UConn alumni. The Mohegans had a plan in place in time for the WNBA's 2003 season; it didn't need until 2004 as a Hartford ownership group might have. I'll be surprised if the franchise isn't immediately among the league's most popular.

The price for this success will be more difficult to measure. I've been to Gamblers Anonymous meetings, as an observer. I remain convinced that compulsive gambling is the most heinous of all addictions, because it so often brings on other addictions (alcohol, drugs, eating) and is minimally understood or accepted by society.

So I worry for the future of the kids who go to watch the Sun at the Sun. I worry about how many will believe that gamblers actually win money. And I feel like we've taken one more step toward the top of a very slippery and dangerous slope.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Tim Layden is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.

 

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