Living in Annandale, you might be surprised to find a large casino nearby.

It's the MGM National Harbor located in Maryland's National Harbor.

Opened in 2016, it is a large-scale resort with a hotel, a massive casino, and a performance venue.

From Annandale, it takes about 30 minutes by car if traffic is good. So, if you feel like it, you can easily go there after dinner.

However, what I want to talk about is not how great the casino facilities are. When you visit a casino, you'll find that it's not just young people there.

You can see Korean men, housewives, and many elderly people as well. It's not hard to spot seniors sitting in front of the slot machines even on weekday afternoons.

As we age, it's true that our options for outings decrease.

Hiking can be tough on the knees, and traveling often requires more stamina than we have.

Friends start to dwindle, and children have their own lives, so you can't meet them every day.

But the casino is different.

Once you park and go inside, you can sit for hours regardless of the weather.

There are restaurants, restrooms, and plenty of people under bright lights. You don't need to be fluent in English to sit in front of a slot machine.

Initially, you might go just out of boredom.

"What else is there to do at home but watch TV?"

After going with a friend and putting in $50, if you're lucky enough to win $200, it becomes fun.

Then you start going alone, and what began as once or twice a month turns into weekly visits, and eventually, some people go several times a week.

This is where the problems begin.

The scary thing about casinos isn't just losing a large sum of money at once. If you lose $100 or $200 repeatedly, you might not think it's that serious.

But if you lose $200 three times a week, that adds up to over $2,000 in a month.

For someone living on a fixed income in retirement, that's definitely not a small amount.

In more serious cases, the thought of recovering lost money can arise.

If you lose $500 today, you might think you can go back tomorrow to win it back. Then it becomes $1,000, and then $5,000. You start withdrawing small amounts from the bank without telling your family.

Especially in the Korean community, these issues may not be openly discussed. People might hide it from their children out of shame and keep it from friends as well. While they appear to live normally on the outside, they could be losing significant amounts of money at the casino.

Of course, not everyone who goes to a casino is a gambling addict.

Many people go to have a meal with friends and play games for fun with about $50. Some go to see shows or dine out. The issue is whether I choose to go to the casino or if the desire to go is pulling me in.

If you planned not to go this week but end up going anyway, start dipping into your living expenses, and can't sleep because you're thinking about the money you lost, it's hard to see it as just simple entertainment.

Being about 30 minutes from MGM National Harbor makes it a convenient distance for a fun outing.

But for someone who is vulnerable to gambling, that very proximity can become a problem.

Especially for retirees who have more free time, families need to be aware that the casino might become the center of their daily lives before money becomes an issue.

The casino should be a place to visit occasionally for fun, not a place you go to out of boredom as if it's part of your daily routine.