During New Labour's deregulation of Gambling laws, allowing the building of a Super Casino and 100 smaller casinos around the country, they regularly pointed to the success of America's Atlantic City - a town which has been transformed by the gambling industry. The Casinos of Atlantic City have been said to have helped regenerate the area, bringing wealth and jobs to a city that was largely lacking in both. However, they have failed to also point out that the casinos have brought with them compulsive gamblers, elevated bankruptcy rates (twice the average of neighbouring areas) and crime such as money laundering: Atlantic City showed a jump in crime when gambling was legalized. The city went from 50th in the nation in per capita crime to first (source: http://www.library.ca.gov/CRB/97/03/Chapt11.html). Las Vagas, meanwhile, revolves around the Gambling industry and is notable for the fact that it has the second busiest crime lab in the USA after the FBI labs at Quantico.
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