At Tri-State Greyhound, Keno is by far the most popular game. Most players come from West Virginia. But scores of cars from Ohio and Kentucky are in the parking lot. Inside the track, players are young and old, female and male, black and white. Video machine gamblers tend to be less sociable than players betting on the dogs.
Women tend to play more than men.
And few say a word, or look at anyone, while they play. If they want a hot dog or a beer, a track waitress will bring it to their machine. Gamblers who wager on greyhounds consult the odds on each race, study the racing history of each dog and know the kennels where dogs were raised. They often talk about their strategies with fellow bettors watching the dogs run. Paula Burns, with the Arizona Council on Compulsive Gambling, explains what happens.