| All Bets Are Off Although the gambling juggernaut marches on, citizens groups have effectively blocked its progress in several states. by April Lynch The gambling interests who want America to get into the Viva Las Vegas spirit have shelled out more than $100 million in political donations at the state level during the last five years. All that cash has bought room to grow for the captains of commercial wagering. But they probably should have played their hands more conservatively. Despite laying down some big bets on expansion of the industry, the high rollers repeatedly have been whipped by players with chump change in comparison -- from church congregations to PTA groups. "The industry is in a doldrums right now," says Marvin Roffman, a Philadelphia-based securities analyst who specializes in the gambling industry. "Lately there has been an impasse at the state level." Since 1994, voters all over the country have defeated plans to expand gambling. Big Las Vegas operators are withdrawing from the fight, leaving it to smaller developers. Although voters approved three casinos in Michigan, expansion has been shot down in nine other states. "I feel very much like David against Goliath," says Susan McGill, a 30-year-old real estate appraiser from Pittsburg, California, who recently fought a ballot initiative that would have allowed a local developer to build a casino-style card club in her town. When McGill learned of the proposal, she put her plans to start a family on hold and dropped out of her church choir to help lead the opposition. "I wore out a pair of shoes walking fliers around town," she says. "But we did it. We won." Other victories against long odds:
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