I was taking a stroll on the Boardwalk yesterday evening, walking from the Showboat to Caesars to meet some people for dinner. On the way, I saw at least half a dozen panhandlers sitting on the boards or in wheelchairs looking for money. Some asked passers-by if they could spare some change, and others just sat there with casino coin buckets.

   This is something that really detracts from the Atlantic City experience. I know the beggars have the right to be there, just as Nevada courts have ruled that people are free to hand out sex rags on the Las Vegas Strip. There are a lot of homeless people in Atlantic City, and many of them aren’t ready to accept the help that the Atlantic City Rescue Mission offers. For  starters, they’d have to give up drinking and drugs, get up early in the morning and buy into the Mission’s religious message. And yes, the same thing happens when I go to New York or Philadelphia.

   Yes, times are tough, and I’m sure some of the panhandlers are legitimately hurting. Today’s Atlantic City Press had a front-page story about how the recession is hurting this area especially hard. But when I pass these people, I can’t help but wonder if they really need the money to survive, or if they’re looking to feed an addiction like booze, drugs or tobacco.

   Sometimes, I will toss a dollar bill or some spare change into their buckets. A few of these people are quality entertainers, and are worth stopping to listen to. A few others have a lot of spunk, or it is very obvious from their appearance that they cannot work.  I still find it annoying, but it is a fact of urban life in hard times.

   What’s even more bothersome – and anybody who has hit a hand-paid slot jackpot in a boardwalk casino knows – is the people who appear out of nowhere after you get paid. The slot attendants leave, and someone who was not sitting anywhere near you approaches you with a hard-luck story and can you give them something to help out. I think most of these folks are outright hustlers. (Last year, a woman asked me for $18 for a room saying she was a dealer visiting from Las Vegas. But she had a thick New York accent.) I just tell them to go to the Rescue Mission. I wish the casinos would be more vigilant in booting these people off their properties.

   And that’s my rant for this time.

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