I may get rated down for going against the grain, but ***** it, here goes:
I am 100% in support of peoples' right to run casinos, if they choose. This is not because I like to gamble, nor is it because I run my own casino. I will never patronize one and I will never run one. But this is because I don't have any faith in my own luck, not because I'm opposed to the casinos themselves.
To the people who dislike the extra spam: I absolutely agree, 110%. The last thing Lower Jeuno needs is even more people spamming junk to clog up our chatlogs. But, as I support free speech in the US even while disagreeing with the views some people choose to express, I also support everyone's right to use /shout however they see fit. Those annoying guys who like to bother us by shouting "spam spam spam" for 40 lines? Good for them! They just get onto my blist, that's precisely why it exists. Rather than shouting at people to stop spamming (thereby creating more spam), simply typing "/blist add spammer" is quick, efficient, and quiet. Spam is a bother, but there's nothing we can do about it with a clear conscience.
To those who claim that casinos are a scam: Duh. Of course casinos are a scam; that is how they profit. Anyone who has taken math to a 6th grade level can tell you that a 40% chance of winning does not constitute good odds. Even most children, if they are old enough to understand and play this game, are smart enough to know that the casino is going to take their money, if they persist in patronizing them.
To those who specifically object to casinos taking advantage of young children who play this game: You may say that children have underdeveloped decision making skills, and so it's unfair for casinos to take advantage of that for their own gain. Once again, absolutely correct. This is why it is illegal for children to gamble. Realize the context of this discussion, though: FFXI. A game world. People who lose gil in FFXI to a casino have (quite fortunately) really lost nothing at all. In fact, in the case of younger people, they have probably learned a valuable lesson. Much better that they should lose some gil in Lower Jeuno than that they should turn 21, take a road trip to Vegas, and gamble away their graduation gift because they have no experience of the folly of gambling. If these kids' parents aren't teaching them about gambling and why it's a bad idea, then it's a wonderful thing that they gamble in FFXI. They'll learn their lesson the hard way, and not actually lose anything at all. I'm not saying it's good for casinos to prey on these kids, specifically, but they're not really hurting anything.
So I say, more power to the casinos. While I don't think gambling is a good thing, I am very glad to see that players have made this world completely their own. They saw a niche and filled it, working outside the box (the auction house). It gives the world (IMO) a little more verisimilitude; Lower Jeuno sort of feels like an old marketplace, with people hawking their various wares and "services." I think it's great. And if it gets too laggy for me, my blist just gets a little bigger. No skin off my back.