So about a month ago I was doing some business and a Mexican soccor game was on in the background with a number of people watching. I was doing other things and had my back to it all.

And when that annoucer guy went "Scooooooorrreeee!" somebody in the room made the exact sound as somebody falling off a cliff. In spanish. There was a guy leaving, yeah smoking a cigar, having his heels nipped at by a guy who was near babbling in spanish, (Northern Mexican actually), and after they left I had to raise an eyebrow to my host who explained:

They both grew up in the area and the little guy and the big guy were friends who had taken different roads growing up. The little guy was into the bookie for 16 large (10,718.11 Euros or 9,835.25 British pounds according to Google) and was way behind in payment.

The little guy got all weaselly with the mutual relatives to the point that out of frustration the bookie said "Okay! Double or nothing on the upcoming game." Which according to all odds was a shoo-in for the favorite. With the bookie taking the bad side. Just to get this finished and out of his life.

Then the upset victory or defeat, however you look at it.

The guy I was talking to went, "Oh well, he has a house he can sell off. Probably just lost his wife though."

Story two: Three generations from poor to poor again.

Yeah, a guy I grew up with got hooked on that indian casino gambling and since Grandma passed, who was holding all the trust funds, he burned through two million dollars in commercial property and 1.6 million in liquid assets in less than three years. (A million bucks is 669,882.10 Euros or 614,703.71 British pounds)

The punchline.

We moved him into the only trailer park in the area, for free of course, as his wife threw him out, and as we were leaving he sat down in a lawn chair and his new neighbor came out. He looked up and said, "You know, I used to be a millionaire." and the new neighbor handed him a beer and said, "Sure, here, have a Miller, name's... " And I left.

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In your rush to call everyone "entrenched" or closed-minded or "limited" you fail to note that the "limit" here has a very natural boundary: that point at which the evidence stops. - JayUtah

Science fiction was never meant to be an educational tool. - Editor Amazing Tales

um, gambling will do that. Its a not such a good idea.

The most money I ever lost from gambling was five dollars in quarters. I was in my second year of university, at school over the Thanksgiving weekend, and I was invited to go to Casino Windsor with some friends for an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner. After we'd eaten, some of us decided to try out the slot machines. No harm done, really. But apparently other students did run into problems with gambling. I was warned about it as a first-year student; the RAs would tell us that if we went to the casino, we shouldn't bring our Interac cards.

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"One does not require alien ruins in order to absorb a profound sense of wonder and mystery from the moon. That our civilization had actually visited it is miracle enough." Jason Roberts

There's plenty of money to be made gambling. I should be doing some now instead of posting here.

Oh don't get me wrong. I enjoy playing poker and blackjack, but always for table stakes. (You only lose the money you bring with you.) I'll even host poker games periodically. Though I haven't for the last three years or so.

__________________
In your rush to call everyone "entrenched" or closed-minded or "limited" you fail to note that the "limit" here has a very natural boundary: that point at which the evidence stops. - JayUtah

Science fiction was never meant to be an educational tool. - Editor Amazing Tales

I live in south-central Arizona, with ample opportunities to visit the casinos. I don't bother.

You see, I learned long ago that I'm one of those people who, if they don't have bad luck, have no luck at all!!!

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I don't ask stupid questions. I just make stupid statements!!!
DETAILS: Where the Devil waits to ensnare the unprepared!
Remember. Just because I'm sure doesn't mean I'm right.
Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognise a mistake when you make it again.

I could never get into gambling. A) I always lose. B) I have no money. C) There's better ways to get money.

I do love my soccer though. I'm still a "newbie" but it's addicting.

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.
"In order to increase awareness of the homeless, security have been given binoculars."

I've never lost any money to gambling, but I have lost hundreds of Reese's Pieces and dozens of Whoppers.

I lie before you a broken man.

__________________
If we don't play god, who will?-James Watson
I never think of the future, it comes soon enough.-Albert Einstein
The large print giveth and the small print taketh away.-Tom Waits
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a yo-yo.-Enoch Root, The Confusion
When I was a kid, if someone brandished a shrink gun he'd get a little bit of respect!-Myron Reducto, Harvey Birdman

So, I don't really understand the op's point.

Oh Skep!

You can keep the Reese's pieces, but the Whoppers? I feel your pain Brother, being a fellow addict. Though I follow mine with Hot Tamales. (A chewy cinnimon candy)

(Whoppers are chocolate covered malted milk balls.)

__________________
In your rush to call everyone "entrenched" or closed-minded or "limited" you fail to note that the "limit" here has a very natural boundary: that point at which the evidence stops. - JayUtah

Science fiction was never meant to be an educational tool. - Editor Amazing Tales

Don't become a gambling addict? That's what I got from it.

__________________
If we don't play god, who will?-James Watson
I never think of the future, it comes soon enough.-Albert Einstein
The large print giveth and the small print taketh away.-Tom Waits
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a yo-yo.-Enoch Root, The Confusion
When I was a kid, if someone brandished a shrink gun he'd get a little bit of respect!-Myron Reducto, Harvey Birdman

Well, myself, I gamble as a social event, not an end to itself. And I haven't even done that in years. I'm just saying there are some sad stories out there in the big city.

That was just two of them.

__________________
In your rush to call everyone "entrenched" or closed-minded or "limited" you fail to note that the "limit" here has a very natural boundary: that point at which the evidence stops. - JayUtah

Science fiction was never meant to be an educational tool. - Editor Amazing Tales

um...... ok

I might add, don't eat rat poison.

Really? Oh, crap...

__________________
If we don't play god, who will?-James Watson
I never think of the future, it comes soon enough.-Albert Einstein
The large print giveth and the small print taketh away.-Tom Waits
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a yo-yo.-Enoch Root, The Confusion
When I was a kid, if someone brandished a shrink gun he'd get a little bit of respect!-Myron Reducto, Harvey Birdman

Are you kidding?

Don't you know what a rush it is bleed from the mouth and nose and to feel your guts fill with blood? C'mon! Give it a try! They can save you from warfarin poisoning! Honest!

Just play safe and be close to the emergency room.

__________________
In your rush to call everyone "entrenched" or closed-minded or "limited" you fail to note that the "limit" here has a very natural boundary: that point at which the evidence stops. - JayUtah

Science fiction was never meant to be an educational tool. - Editor Amazing Tales

I have to eat rat poison on a daily basis. Seriously.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

And has it killed the rats, yet?

If it doesn't work, you might try the cheap route and just drink a whole lotta water and drown 'em.
That's how I got rid of mine anyway...

Yeah! And don't go the python route! That's seriously uncomfortable!

__________________
In your rush to call everyone "entrenched" or closed-minded or "limited" you fail to note that the "limit" here has a very natural boundary: that point at which the evidence stops. - JayUtah

Science fiction was never meant to be an educational tool. - Editor Amazing Tales

What if the rat poison tastes like Whoppers?

I have a short but kinda interesting gambling history. When I got out of the Army in 1988, my Dad and I took a road trip down through Death Valley and then up RT. 395 to Reno (I was stationed at Ft. Ord, near Monterey, CA). While in Reno, I won $500 playing the $1 slots. The first machine I put a buck in, I won $200. The second machine I won $300 after only two tries. I was disciplined enough to keep the $500 and only spend what I planned to spend. Harrah's had a really neat automobile museum there as well.

Since then, the only time I gamble is if there's a ridiculously huge lotto jackpot, like 150 million +, then I'll buy a ticket.

Well, the trick is to swallow the python before it swallows you. But admittedly, both options are about equally as uncomfortable.

Not all stories have morals.

This one does.


Don't Gamble.

Unless you know when to hold them and know when to fold them.

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If it's just us, it seems like an awful waste of space.
Contact Carl Sagan

http://davidsuniverse.wordpress.com/

Except that, as we know, the op supports gambling. Just not to make a living or over something not worth losing.

I do not see any place in it that it supports gambling. The op simply told the stories of two gamblers.

You're welcome.

That wasn't in the OP. But I'll accept the point anyway.

Even so... the point of the OP is still pretty clear. Don't gamble your life away, then.

One of the big lessons I took away from my bachelor's degree in mathematics is this: never play a game with a negative expectation value. I will only play Powerball when it gets above 186 million dollars, the current breakeven point at which the expectation value goes positive.

On my one and only trip through Nevada I absolutely refused to gamble. They pushed keno cards at me at the restaurant, my change included an Ike dollar which I promptly had changed into a dollar bill.

I live less than two miles from a casino and I have never gone there. I'm no fun at all.

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Microsoft is over if you want it.

The bar has been lowered for the promotion of ATM ideas; the bar for the acceptance of ATM ideas must remain high.

There is a difference between having fun with friends and betting your house on a soccer game. Some people just do not when to stop and they are the ones that should not be gambling.

__________________
If it's just us, it seems like an awful waste of space.
Contact Carl Sagan

http://davidsuniverse.wordpress.com/

Gambling shouldn't be about the money. It should be about the fun of playing the game and showing off one's good sportsmanship when one either wins or loses. My state is trying to catch up to Nevada with gambling. I go occassionally. Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose, but I always get free sodas and coffee and have fun and consider any loses the price of admission.

Though to be fair, on my only trip to Vegas so far, I won enough to pay tips for the free drinks and several dinners, not counting the comps that got me a few breakfasts, and still broke even, not counting airfare and hotel.

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"What you think you thought you saw you did not see." Agent J, MiB - Manhatten Bureau