Former blackjack dealer comes up with ace hand as criminologist It was the summer of ‘69 when Colin Campbell hit the job jackpot. A university student in Alberta, he was about to be laid off from a summer job ona construction crew when his friends convinced him to come to blackjack training. “L was scared,” recalls Campbell, now a College Criminology instructor. “I was a klutz with a deck of cards and I thought my friends were trying to suck me into some sort of poker game. But I went and they taught me how to deal.” The deck was stacked in his favour. In 1967, Edmonton’s agricultural fair offered casino gambling for the first time. In 1969, gambling took off and Campbell landed a job dealing blackjack at the Calgary Stampede. The next summer gambling went ona roll. Many more agricultural fairs jumped on the bandwagon and Campbell pulled in $750 a week working the fairs, an excellent wage for 1970. When he finished his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education, Campbell went to work full-time as a dealer. Alberta had began to license charity casinos and the money was too good to resist. But after a few years the chips were down — opportunities for promotion were limited unless he wanted to leave Canada for Vegas or the Caribbean. Campbell played his wild card — he went back to Warehouse training key to better prospects school tofpursue a Master's in Sociology, focusing on gambling. His niche was perfect. His thesis at the University of Calgary landed him on the six o'clock news. Professors encouraged him to doa PhD, which he earned at SFU. When the media needed expert commentary on gambling, they'd call him. Later he served as a policy analyst for BC’s Bingogate inquiry into the handling of gambling funds by the former NDP government. In 1997, he started teaching criminology at Douglas College. His latest project looks at the explosion of gambling in Canada, and the consequences. The Law Commission in Canada gave the Douglas College Criminology instructor and two University of Alberta sociologists funding fora two-year project, part of a larger initiative called What is a crime? Campbell says, “Generally, they’re asking, what is a crime? How do we deal with behaviours we don’t like? Do we rely too much on criminal law to make people conform?” Six groups of researchers are examining different subjects: medicare fraud, Aboriginal access to natural resources, the welfare crackdown, incidents in public housing projects, hunting and fishing laws, privacy legislation and gambling. “The opportunity to participate in a project of this magnitude and diversity is tremendous for professional development as an instructor,” he says. “Not only am I expanding my gambling expertise, I’m also gaining first- hand knowledge about other issues that I can share with my students at Douglas College.” Campbell and his colleagues will compare legal gambling in Canada with US, Britain and Australia. “Over the last 30 years, there’s been incredible transformation in the law,” says Campbell. “We've gone from gambling being prohibited to gambling being licensed and operated by governments. Compulsive gambling has become a huge concern.” Other issues include the crimes gambling addicts commit to fuel their addiction and illegal gambling. Campbell says, “One of the justifications the government used was that legal gambling would drive organized crime out of the marketplace. That hasn't happened.” Illegal gambling still exists, and now police don’t have the resources to go after it, he says. “If the government offered a competitive product, it would legally drive illegal gambling out of the marketplace, but government gambling tends to have the worst odds — the terms are very unfavourable to the player,” says Campbell. “And some police say it’s hypocritical to be wasting their time chasing illegal gambling when the MLA Christy Clark paid a special visit to the Light Warehouse Training Program in June to hear about studen cS experiences. “The Light Warehouse Training program aims to help people overcome barriers to employment,” says Instructor Chris Gibson. “Our graduates are in demand and employers are calling.” Not only does the 15-week program train students in shipping, receiving and job hunting skills, but graduates get five certificates — forklift operating, WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System), Occupational Health and Safety, Transportation of Dangerous Goods and First Aid. There is a high demand for skilled warehouse workers in the Vancouver area. “Nearly all of the warehouses and distribution centres in BC are located in the Lower Mainland,” says Bob Logelin, a program coordinator at Douglas College. “We're a really strong conduit to employment because we have solid relationships with employers. We can help students open the door to a steady job.” For more information about the Light Warehouse Training Program, please contact Chris Gibson at 604- 777-6063 or Bob Logelin at 604-527-5126. = 2%. pee Criminology instructor Colin Campbell got his start as a blackjack dealer in Alberta. government runs all kinds of legal gambling. Sometimes they say the only difference between legal and illegal gambling is that the government isn’t getting the money.” Gambling isn’t good or bad, he says. It’s our relationship with gambling that defines it. Hed like to see more public awareness programs to educate British Columbians about gambling. “Most people don’t understand their odds are not good,” he says. “Some people develop false beliefs that if they persist eventually they ll win. Well, the odds don't change. The house will win. If you persist in playing you'll lose. A lot of people don’t understand that.” a Kevin Kwitkowski (right) discusses his experiences in Douglas College's Light Warehouse Training Program with the BC Minister of Children and Family Development Christy Clark (Port Moody-Westwood), who stopped by the College's David Lam Campus to learn about the unique program.