Bennett: 'My gambling days
are over'

Author and former Cabinet secretary William Bennett released a statement today in response to press reports on his gambling habit, saying he will quit his high-priced pastime.

"This is not an example I wish to set," he said in a statement released by Empower America, the think tank he runs with former Rep. Jack Kemp, R-N.Y.

Bennett confirmed that he had not violated the law in relation to his gambling.

"It is true that I have gambled large sums of money. I have also complied with all laws on reporting wins and losses," he said. "Nevertheless, I have done too much gambling, and this is not an example I wish to set. Therefore, my gambling days are over."

Reports in Newsweek and the Washington Monthly said Bennett is a "preferred customer" in at least four casinos with a revolving credit line of hundred of thousands of dollars. According to the reports, Bennett's games of choice were video poker and slot machines.

Following release of the reports, Bennett's wife, Elayne, told USA Today while her husband's gambling has not been a strain on the family's finances, "he's never going [to a casino] again."

According to an AP report, some casino estimates put Bennett's total losses over the past decade above $8 million, though Bennett told Newsweek that over 10 years, he has "come out pretty close to even."

"I play fairly high stakes. I adhere to the law. I don't play the 'milk money.' I don't put my family at risk, and I don't owe anyone anything," Bennett was quoted as saying.