For the past couple of months I have been in the thrall of a game called Candy Crush Saga. It’s about matching little colored thingies on your iPad or phone. I am not going to explain it in any more depth, because that would just make this whole discussion more humiliating. However, if you stick with me, I am going to try to use it to make a sweeping point about public policy, ending with some severe questions about the political career of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
About the game: It’s been played about 150 billion times over the past year. There is no reward for winning; you just advance to another level in an ever-growing chain of chocolate mountains and lemonade lakes. I told you this was embarrassing. I used to be addicted to playing BrickBreaker on my cellphone, and I now recall those days as my own personal version of Athens in the Age of Pericles. I am only modestly comforted by the fact that half the people I know all seem to be in the same ditch. My sister Mary Ann got lost in the game while she was parked in a shopping mall, until a woman started banging rather urgently on her window.
“She said she wanted to make sure I was OK, because I was sitting with the car running and my head in my hand for a long time. I thanked her and said I was texting,” said Mary Ann. “I was too embarrassed to say I was playing Candy Crush. But also,” she added rather defensively, “I was listening to NPR.”
Now, here’s the thing. Candy Crush is free, but if you get stuck on a level, you can purchase extra moves, extra turns, extra weapons. The creators — a London-based company called King — won’t reveal how much money they make on this gimmick, but the consulting firm Think Gaming estimates it’s more than $900,000 a day. What would people do if they actually had a chance of winning something? This brings us to Chris Christie. Earlier this year, Christie signed a bill legalizing Internet gambling in New Jersey.
The idea was to help resuscitate the Atlantic City economy and raise a projected $150 million in tax revenue. Very few people believe the state will really make that much, but the number did help Christie to run for re-election waving what appeared to be a balanced budget. The law went into effect a few weeks ago. Now, state residents can go online, create an account with one of the sponsoring casinos and gamble on all the casino games — blackjack, poker, slot machines, etc. — in the comfort of their homes.
