the Micturator strikes!

It must have been a slow news-day for the (Louisville) Courier-Journal...

The top article on this morning's front page describes the plight of Floyd Kibiloski, a patron at Caesars Indiana, who sat in a urine-soaked chair at a video poker machine. (The story also details how little help he got from Caesars in getting himself cleaned up!) You know you're-in deep, when you want to gamble so badly that you can't get to the can in time (and don't even go for it). As one flushes out the details of the article, there are some poignant and pungent issues here. The C-J made a splash with this one, but this is the best choice for the top of page 1?!

The kind of problem Kibiloski faced, while it doesn't occur every day, is not uncommon at casinos where aging patrons may suffer from incontinence or are unwilling to take a break when they're hoping to win a big jackpot, say researchers and counselors who work with problem gamblers. Compulsive gamblers sometimes wear adult diapers to avoid having to leave a slot machine or gaming table where they expect a payoff, the experts say.

If they don't come prepared, they sometimes "just pee in the seat," said Arnie Wexler, a recovered gambling addict who operates a gambling hot line and counseling service in New Jersey. "It's not something the industry really likes to talk about."

That's not too surprising, is it? Frankly, it's not something I really like to talk about either.

Wexler said all the major casinos have "seat changers" – a cleanup crew that removes soiled chairs and replaces its cushions. "I'm not sure the little casinos all have it, but it's not an uncommon thing in the gambling industry at all," he said.

In my Labor Economics class, we have a discussion about the ten least pleasant jobs. Somehow, this didn't make the list.

Gamblers who become addicted enter a trance-like state where even basic hygiene habits are ignored, said Carol O'Hare, executive director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling.

I hear that the same thing happens to avid bloggers. "It was an ordeal," Kibiloski said. "Nobody should have to go through that."

I'm with you there...