The Gambling Addiction

By Bob Branco

 

Do you know anyone who gambles on a regular basis? Even if the gambler doesn’t admit how compulsive he is about it, can you figure it out? I think I can.

I have known people, especially senior citizens, who continuously buy scratch tickets and go to the casino on a regular basis. These people seem to have no regard for what may happen to them financially if they lose. They just keep on throwing their money away and living for the moment, because it gives them an emotional high.

Here is an example of how a compulsive gambler behaves. Years ago, I knew someone who used to purchase dozens of scratch tickets at a time. Let’s assume he spent $100 buying them. After spending that money, he purchased another ticket and won $100. He came home and proudly told his wife how happy he was that he had won $100. What he didn’t tell her was that he had spent $100 to win it, so in reality, he broke even and didn’t win anything. People who behave this way are so wrapped up in the concept of winning that they fail to recognize how much they had to invest in order to win.

I have only been to a casino once in my entire life, and I had bad luck there. Because I care about living within my financial means, I decided not to go to a casino ever again. With that said, I am not a compulsive gambler, so it is easy for me to make that commitment.

It is very difficult to give advice to those who gamble, but there is one thing that I would like to make everyone aware of. No matter how much you gamble at the casino, the casino always makes more money at the end of the day than the total amount of winnings given to all the customers on that day. In other words, the house always wins.

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense, because casinos are businesses. We can only hope that those who gamble on a regular basis realize their personal situations and play it smart.

(Originally published in Word Matters)

 

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This essay was taken from my book, Weighing Things Up, Book Two; More Essays on Trends, Technology and Present-Day Society.