本月初，我去新泽西州的大西洋城(Atlantic City)观看Iggy Azalea的一场演唱会。
Earlier this month, I travelled to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to watch an Iggy Azalea concert.
那次旅行可以算是一场灾难：好不容易熬过了三个小时的通勤交通后，我们在到达后才发现，演唱会已被取消。
The trip was something of a disaster: after three hours of commuter traffic, we arrived to discover that the concert had been cancelled.
之前预订好了酒店房间，结果就滞留在大西洋城，于是我决定做一件自己从来没有做过的事情：逛赌场。
Stranded in Atlantic City with a hotel room already booked, I decided to do something that I had never done before: wander around the casinos.
这事儿让我大开眼界。
It was an eye-opening experience.
出发之前，我把赌场与魅力、乐趣和年轻人的喜悦联系在一起；我认为，赌场是蒙特卡洛(Monte Carlo)、詹姆斯.邦德(James Bond)和纯男性聚会的混合体。
Before my trip, I had associated casinos with glamour, fun and youthful joy; a combination of Monte Carlo, James Bond and a stag party.
但是，大西洋城的赌场看起来更像是为老年人设计的电子鸦片窟：大厅里充满了闪着光、五颜六色的机器，周围是一群一群（基本上）衣着随便的人，令我吃惊的是，他们绝大多数是老人。
But the Atlantic City casinos looked more like an electronic opium den designed for senior citizens: the halls were filled with flashing, multicoloured machines, surrounded by clusters of (mostly) shabbily dressed people who, to my surprise, were overwhelmingly elderly.
有可能其中一些人玩得非常开心，但从他们的面孔上看不到这一点。
It’s possible that some of those people were having a great time but their faces did not show it.
相反，大多数人手不离老虎机，表现出紧张的神情，似乎忘记了他们周围的世界。
Instead, most were glued to the slot machines with an expression of pinched intensity, seemingly oblivious to the world around them.
的确，他们几乎不挪动一下——除了拿起一杯（有补贴的）饮料或从大量ATM机提取更多的钱。
Indeed, they barely moved, except to get a (subsidised) drink or withdraw more money from the plentiful ATM machines.
真正令我震惊的是，第二天早上，当我在回家途中再次经过那家赌场时，人们仍然粘在这些机器上——我怀疑有些人一整夜都呆在那里。
And what really startled me was that when I passed through again early next morning, on my way home, people were still glued to those machines — I suspected some had been there all night.
有些读者对此只会耸耸肩。
Some readers will just shrug their shoulders at this.
毕竟，赌博和资本主义一样古老。
After all, gambling is as old as capitalism.
跟大多数西方国家相比，美国对赌博有着更多的控制。
And the US has more controls than most western nations.
直到不久以前，赌场只能设于几个指定的地点（如大西洋城、拉斯维加斯或印第安保留地），而且休闲体育类博彩受到限制。
Until recently, casinos could only be located in a few designated spots (such as Atlantic City or Las Vegas or on Indian reservations) and casual sports betting was restricted.
更重要的是，主流政治文化在传统上对博彩行业感到不安，部分原因在于美国的清教徒传统。
More importantly, mainstream political culture has traditionally viewed the gaming industry with unease, partly because of America’s Puritan heritage.
30年前，没有一个与赌场有瓜葛的人敢参加高层政治竞选。
Three decades ago, nobody associated with a casino would have dared to run for high political office.
这一局面显然已发生了改变。
Clearly this has changed.
唐纳德.特朗普曾经拥有几家赌场。
Donald Trump used to own several.
此外，谢尔登.安德尔森(Sheldon Adelson)等赌场运营商如今是大手笔的公众捐助者，而希拉里.克林顿(Hillary Clinton)在大西洋城的一家赌场举行了一场集会。
Moreover, casino operators such as Sheldon Adelson are big public donors, and Hillary Clinton has held a rally at an Atlantic City casino.
随着赌博在政治上变得更可以接受，赌场正在大量出现。
As gambling has become more acceptable in a political sense, casinos are proliferating.
这或许是不可避免的，或者至少是资本主义迎合消费者需求的自然后果之一。
Maybe this is inevitable or, at least, a natural consequence of what happens when capitalism meets consumer demand.
但是，在大西洋城看到的情形让我感到了酸楚。
But what I saw in Atlantic City left me with a sour taste.
两年前，路德教牧师艾米.齐耶蒂洛(Amy Ziettlow)对赌博进行了一次草根调查，发现了贫穷退休人员越来越迷恋老虎机的现象。
A couple of years ago, Amy Ziettlow, a Lutheran pastor, did a grassroots investigation into gambling, and found a world where poor retirees were becoming increasingly hooked on slot machines.
部分原因在于，这些老年人有了更多的时间可供支配。
That is partly because these senior citizens have more time on their hands.
然而，这也是因为赌场正在挖掘老年人市场，把自己包装为对抗孤独和无聊的场所。
However, it is also because casinos are tapping into this elderly market by presenting themselves as places to combat loneliness and boredom.
结果是，每年的1亿赌客中有一半的人超过50岁——他们贡献了该行业660亿美元收入中绝大部分。
As a result, more than half of the 100 million visitors each year are over the age of 50 — and they provide the vast majority of the sector’s $66bn-odd revenues.
虽然博彩行业坚称瘾君子非常罕见，但据宾夕法尼亚大学(University of Pennsylvania)的精神病学家大卫.奥斯林(David Oslin)估计，美国有400万老年人赌博成瘾——而且这个数字正在上升。
And while the gaming industry insists that addicts are rare, David Oslin, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania, estimates that four million older adults in the US have a gambling addiction — and that number is rising.
牧师齐耶蒂洛观察到，我震惊地发现，老年人经常把赌博列为他们最喜欢的娱乐活动。
I was shocked to learn that seniors often name gambling as their favourite form of entertainment,
他的报告描述了无数类似于我所遇到的场景：大群贫穷的老人粘在老虎机上。
Zeittlow observed, in a report that describes numerous scenes similar to those that I encountered: hordes of poor, elderly people glued to slot machines.
……
. . .
当然，正如博彩行业将会愤怒指出的那样，这些成瘾水平仍然远低于其他药物（如酒精）的水平。
Of course, as the gaming industry would indignantly point out, these addiction levels are still much lower than those for other drugs, such as alcohol.
我在此并非暗示禁赌可能会有所帮助。
And I would not suggest that prohibition might help here.
无论如何，民意调查表明，大多数美国人希望当局放宽对赌博的限制。
In any case, polls suggest that most Americans want the gambling controls loosened, not tightened.
但是，即使不说别的，这个问题也似乎需要更多辩论。
But, if nothing else, it seems that there needs to be more debate.
早先监管规定的（讽刺性）后果之一是，因为赌博通常发生在主流美国视线以外的地方，不赌博的人很容易忽略赌场里发生了什么。
One of the (ironic) consequences of the earlier regulations is that because gambling usually takes place out of sight of mainstream America, in segregated areas, it is very easy for non-gamblers to ignore what is going on.
除非你在无意中走进一家赌场。
Unless you happen to stumble into a casino by accident.
也许政策制定者、评论员和精英们都应该被要求在大西洋城逗留一晚，让他们好好看看到底是什么在驱动当今赌场行业。
Maybe policy makers, pundits and elites should all be made to spend a night stranded in Atlantic City, where they too can take a closer look at what is driving the casino industry today.
赌博一直存在着阴暗、剥削的一面。
Gambling has always had a seamy, exploitative side.
但银发赌客的兴起给这个世界带来了一个全新的曲折情节，如果还算不上一种21世纪悲剧感觉的话。
But the rise of silver-haired punters gives this world a whole new twist; if not a sense of 21st-century tragedy.