Please join us in congratulating Dr. Chakra Chennubhotla on being selected to receive a Medical Student Research Mentoring Merit Award. This award is presented to a Scholarly Project (SP) mentor of a graduating Pitt Med student in recognition for outstanding mentoring over the course of the SP.

It is certainly true that lotteries attract mostly older people and those whose resources are limited. In light of the very high revenues from lotteries, those who defend the state monopoly by speaking out against competition in this area would find it difficult to justify their position. However, as far as casinos are concerned, the important point is that even if players are exploited, they are no worse off for it. In fact, avid casino-goers are by no means desperate and gambling-obsessed people dependent on social benefits. In many ways they pin up (unlike lottery fans) outperform the average American. A recent study in this area found that “the average age of casino-goers is in line with the national average” (about 48 years old), but they are higher in education, i.e. most likely with incomplete or even completed higher education. Moreover, the average family income of casino players is 28% higher than the average income of a U.S. citizen[20]. Details can be found in Table 1.

The award will be presented at Scholar’s Day on Wednesday, April 2nd at the University Club.