Gambling

by Xena 18 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Francois

  The odds of you winning the lottery are something akin to pitching a quarter off the top of a 20 story building and having it land (and stay) in a teacup. Your chances of winning are about the double the chance of dying in an airplane crash.

  Playing in a casino: The house has the odds. That's why card counters and such (who only EVEN the odds can be kicked out of a casino). And house odds are better than pure chance by only something like 3%.

  If you gamble and win, having a great night once, never go back.

  francois
• 

  Xena

  I rarely play the lottery. I like the scratch off tickets better. I usually come out even on those and my mini gambling partner likes to scratch them

  I guess I find it somewhat intriquing after living the clostered like existance of a JW. But I am also imbued with a vast mistrust of anything that might prove addicting (bar chocolate of course) so I will most likey heed the excellent tips on this thread on how to minimize my losses while maximizing my pleasure.
• 

  Englishman

  Playing in a casino: The house has the odds. That's why card counters and such (who only EVEN the odds can be kicked out of a casino). And house odds are better than pure chance by only something like 3%.

  Francois is correct. The fairest game is roulette. In the UK you play on 37 numbers, 1 - 36 + 0, and winnings are payed at 36 to 1. That's only a 3% house advantage. Some casinos have a double 0 also, making the total of numbers 38, yet still only pay at 36 - 1, giving an adavntage of around 7% to the casino.

  Not so good.

  Englishman.
• 

  Dawn

  Gambling is fine....as long as you realize it's just for entertainment and don't expect to win big. Some people however can't see it that way and then have a problem with it. For me - I have a blast going to Reno every few years - play some slot machines, drink a little, see a few shows. It's a nice vacation! But hubby and I only take as much $$ as we plan to loose. Fortunately - we've either come out ahead or broke even on our trips.
• 

  c5

  I am a former Casino employee. I dealt blackjack at 2 different Casinos.

  Boy, do I have stories and advice.

  All in all, I would say recreational gambling is the norm. If you go into the casino with the attitude that you probably will lose (odds say you will), you can have a good time because your expectation is not up. And if you do win, it makes it even better. Plus, most casinos will comp you a free buffet or the like if win or lose (if you sign up for their club and then play long enough), so at least you have that. People of all ages (18+) gamble nowdays. It does seem like there are more seniors who gamble, maybe because they have more time and expendable income? Then again maybe not.

  It is a fact of gambling, but MOST people lose. :-( Casinos are not built on paying out lots of winners. That is how casinos can have thier fancy carpets and lights and stuff. I would say that 95 percent of people walk out the casino behind from what they brought in. Sure, they do allow a chance for you to win, else no one would be willing to gamble. You can (with the proper bankroll management and strategies) get ahead at some point in any gambling session. The key, and I stress this...the key is to know when to stop when you are ahead. The longer you stay and play with your winnings, the more likely you will lose it. Casinos count on that. Once in a while, you will see someone "clean house" at the tables, or win big at the slots etc. But, do you really know how much money those people invested to begin with, for that day, for that year? I had a guy win $35,000 dollars at my table in a few hours, but it was nothing compared the the hundreds of thousands of dollars that he had lost the previous year.

  Then there are the hard core and dysfunctional gamblers. I have had a few gamblers actually soil themselves at the gaming tables because they would not get up from the table and take care of bathroom needs. Others are so far behind and disgusted that they take it out on casino personnel and other players. I had a man throw his money at me he was so mad the cards were not going his way. I've been threatened and harassed. I had another man throw a condom at me. Dont know the message he was trying to send, but it was a little wierd. He was kicked out needless to say.

  Then there are the neglectful parents that leave their children and pets in thier vehicles all day while they play. No kidding, there are more than you think.

  Every casino has it's gamblers that are there every single day of every single week of every single year. It is very sad. Gambling is all they have to look forward to. It is thier life.

  I hated dealing to people on public assitance who would come cash thier necessity checks at the casino, and then blow it all. Same with people who got financial aid for school.

  I had a guy complain and blame me for losing all his living expenses for the entire month. He said he had a family to take care of and was mad my cards did not win for him. I looked him in the face and told him that he CHOSE to gamble his money, that even idiots know the odds are against you, and he had no one to blame but himself. He was a sore loser who lost something he could not afford to lose. So sad, but it was his choice.

  After seeing so many sad cases, day in and day out, I have a more negative attitude toward how gambling can affect some people, just as perhaps the child of an alcoholic may have an aversion to alcohol. Yes, I myself do gamble. I taught myself to "count cards" because dealing got to be so boring. So I occasionally go and have a little fun. To tell the honest truth, it is not much of a thrill anymore. Now, if I had never worked at a casino and was in it for so long, I may have a more positive attitude. You see people throw thier lives away and you get an attitude toward it. But I do not condemn gambling in any form as with those extreme cases, if it wasn't gambling it would have been drugs, alcohol, or any other activity that could be abused, you name it.

  I can give good advise on gambling strategy and good bankroll management. There are ways to minimize your chances of losing. But, I still think the best attitude to have is "win or lose, I am going to make this event special and enjoy myself without spending more money than I can afford to lose."

  I think gambling has been mainstreamed so that most people have tried it at one time or another. The "vice" status it once had has faded away. I know Las Vegas has done much to advertise it in a way that could attract the whole family in the last decade with Hotels that cater to famillies etc etc. Of course casinos will do anything to get more and more gamblers, more gamblers = more profits. I hear less and less from most religions about gambling being a sin.

  In order for one to make a living gambling, you must have an ABUNDANCE of patience, time, and an adequate bankroll to start. You will have bad sessions and good sessions and you must ride through them both. Most people cannot make thier living gambling as it is not as easy as one thinks.

  I hope this post adds some insight for you! I could go on and on and on....but I will end it for now. If you continue to recreational gamble, I hope you take it for what it is and remember to mainly have a good time, then you can't go wrong. :-)
• 

  cruzanheart

  I know I could probably get hooked into it really easily, but I limit myself to the occasional lotto ticket (The Redneck Retirement Plan). For me, it's a little thumbing of the nose at the Witnesses -- my forbidden fruit!

  Nina
• 

  Beans

  	What Is Wrong With Gambling? "Around 290,000 Australians are problem gamblers and account for over $3 billion in losses annually. This is disastrous not only for these problem gamblers, but also for the estimated 1.5 million people they directly affect as a result of bankruptcy, divorce, suicide and lost time at work."—J. Howard, prime minister of Australia, 1999. JOHN, mentioned in the preceding article, became a problem gambler.* He moved to Australia, where he got married to Linda, also a gambler. John's addiction grew worse. He says: "I progressed from buying lottery tickets to betting on racehorses and gambling at casinos. I ended up gambling nearly every day. I sometimes gambled away my whole paycheck and had nothing left with which to pay the mortgage or feed the family. Even when I won a lot of money, I continued to gamble. It was the thrill of winning that hooked me." Individuals like John are not uncommon. Whole societies seem to have caught gambling fever. The magazine USA Today said that between 1976 and 1997, there was a staggering 3,200-percent increase in the amount wagered on legalized gambling in the United States. "Gambling used to be considered a moral and social evil. Today it's a socially acceptable pastime," states the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. Identifying one reason for this change in public attitude, the paper says: "The image makeover is the direct result of what may be the most expensive and most sustained government-funded advertising campaign in Canadian history." What impact have efforts to promote gambling had on some societies?
  The human cost of problem gambling includes families with no money for food		An Epidemic of Problem Gambling According to an estimate made by the Harvard Medical School Division on Addictions, in 1996 there were "7.5 million American adult problem and pathological gamblers" and an additional "7.9 million American adolescent problem and pathological gamblers." These figures were included in a report compiled by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC), which was presented to the U.S. Congress. The report stated that the number of people with gambling problems in America might actually be significantly higher than recorded. Because of job loss, diminished physical health, the payment of unemployment benefits, and the cost of treatment programs, problem gambling is estimated to cost U.S. society billions of dollars every year. This figure, though, does little to portray the human cost of problem gambling—the cost to families, friends, and workmates, resulting from theft, embezzlement, suicide, domestic violence, and child abuse. An Australian study found that up to ten people can be directly affected by every problem gambler. A report from the National Research Council in the United States says that up to "50 percent of spouses and 10 percent of children experienced physical abuse from the pathological gambler."
  Among young people, gambling is increasing at an alarming rate		A Contagious Addiction Like some diseases, problem gambling can seem to spread from parent to child. "Children of compulsive gamblers are more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and using drugs, and have an increased risk of developing problem or pathological gambling themselves," states the NGISC report. The report also warns that "adolescent gamblers are more likely than adults to develop problem and pathological gambling." Dr. Howard J. Shaffer, director of the Harvard Medical School's Division on Addiction Studies, says: "There is an emerging body of evidence suggesting that illicit gambling among young people is increasing at a rate at least proportional to the opportunity to gamble legally." As for the potential for pathological gamblers to abuse the technology of the Internet, he says: "As smoking crack cocaine changed the cocaine experience, I think electronics is going to change the way gambling is experienced." The gambling trade is often portrayed as supplying harmless fun. But for adolescents, gambling can be as addictive as any illicit drug and can lead to criminal behavior. A survey in the United Kingdom found that among adolescents who gambled, "46 percent stole from their family" to support their habit. Despite the foregoing facts, one influential gambling association justifies the promotion of gambling by saying: "The vast majority of Americans who enjoy gaming experience no problem whatsoever." Even if you feel that gambling does not adversely affect your financial or physical health, what impact does gambling have on your spiritual health? Are there good reasons why you should avoid gambling? The following article will consider these questions. Children of compulsive gamblers have an increased risk of becoming problem gamblers themselves The Real Message in Lottery Ads "Promoting lotteries . . . may be viewed as values education, teaching that gambling is a benign or even virtuous activity," say researchers at Duke University, in the United States, in a report submitted to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission. What effect does lottery advertising really have on the community? The report states: "It is probably not an exaggeration to say that the message of lottery advertising is a subversive one—that success lies in picking the right number. This perverse 'education' initiative being promulgated by the lottery agencies may have the ironic effect of reducing government revenues over the long run, by reducing economic growth. Specifically, if the lottery promotion erodes the propensities to work, save, and self-invest in education and training, the consequence will eventually attenuate growth in productivity. In any case, betting on a miracle is not the formula for success we usually teach to our children." Every Home a Casino At a fraction of the cost of building new gambling establishments, gambling organizations now build Web sites that can turn any home with an Internet-connected computer into a virtual casino. In the mid-1990's, there were approximately 25 gambling sites on the Internet. In 2001 there were more than 1,200 sites, and revenues from on-line gambling have been doubling each year. In 1997, gambling sites made $300 million on-line. In 1998 they made a further $650 million. In 2000, Internet gambling sites earned $2.2 billion, and by 2003 that figure is "expected to grow to $6.4 billion," says a Reuters news report. * See the box "Do I Have a Gambling Problem?"
• 

  blondie

  I figure gambling is like drinking alcohol. Some should abstain but some can partake in moderation.

  I consider it another form of entertainment. I prefer blackjack myself.

  Blondie
• 

  Guest 77

  If your interested, get yourself Michael Franzese's book, 'Blood Covenant.' Michael was a Mafia boss or go to his website, www.michaelfranzese.com

  Guest 77