The Dangerous Lure of Gambling

B1GTide

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You are taking very small issues and blowing them all out of proportion. There is nothing wrong with wagering on a football game and many people enjoy it every weekend.
About 2.5 million Americans have a serious gambling problem (meaning that it has impacted their family), 5 million are compulsive gamblers and nearly 20 million have other varying degrees of problems controlling their gambling.

I wouldn't ban it, but this isn't some minor problem. And the more it is normalized in our society, the greater the problem becomes.

By all means, enjoy the game. Place bets as you please. I certainly won't judge. But know that others are not as fortunate as yourself.
 

AlexanderFan

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I've known quite a few people who gambled, I've never had any interest. I work too hard for my money to give it away, and if you've ever seen my TideFans weekly picks, you'd know I'd be giving it away in handfuls. :ROFLMAO:

No thank you.
I went to a casino one time. I put $20 in a nickel slot machine, in fifteen minutes the $20 was gone. I didn’t expect to win, but at least wanted to be engaged for a little bit. $80 an hour is way too steep to be entertained when you can spin slots on your phone for free.

I imagine the rush is something akin to big time sports, and it’s probably as close as some people will ever get to that feeling.
 

crimsonaudio

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I understand how the anti-drinking/ gambling crowd operate in Alabama. They start with small out of context comments and grow from there until they want any mention of gambling banned from the channel. I have followed this channel for a long time, and this is the first thread I remember attacking the gaming component of football. I do not want that to go unchallenged. Hopefully this is the last of this thread.
If you'd been here for a long time you'd know we don't ban people simply for opinions.
 

Joefus

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I started making small wagers this year on games when the line seems way off to me. I’m up but I only play one or two games a week if that where I feel SURE. Ex was Ohio st and Penn st this year. I’m rarely ever that confident but I made 400$ off Vegas idiots believing in Penn st. There’s usually money to be made if you’re willing to do a little research. I also waste lots of money playing the lottery knowing full well I’m throwing 4$ away each time.
 
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CB4

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About 2.5 million Americans have a serious gambling problem (meaning that it has impacted their family), 5 million are compulsive gamblers and nearly 20 million have other varying degrees of problems controlling their gambling.

I wouldn't ban it, but this isn't some minor problem. And the more it is normalized in our society, the greater the problem becomes.

By all means, enjoy the game. Place bets as you please. I certainly won't judge. But know that others are not as fortunate as yourself.
Just as a side note Gamblers Anonymous (GA) takes no position in terms of whether gambling should be legal. Just as with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) those groups exist to help those with gambling or alcohol issues. Their position on legalization/restriction is “we have no position”.
 
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CB4

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I went to a casino one time. I put $20 in a nickel slot machine, in fifteen minutes the $20 was gone. I didn’t expect to win, but at least wanted to be engaged for a little bit. $80 an hour is way too steep to be entertained when you can spin slots on your phone for free.

I imagine the rush is something akin to big time sports, and it’s probably as close as some people will ever get to that feeling.
You have no idea. When I was in the “throws” I craved it like a junkie craves crack or an alcoholic craves a drink. When watching a horse race or a football game it was like the “outcome” depended on my involvement. Winning was euphoric but never enough. I needed the next “greater euphoric” moment. Losing only fueled me more to seek that next high. The high was the same as the junkie with “substance” addiction. Compulsive gambling (a process addiction) alters the brain chemistry just like we see in substance abusers. Pornography, shopping/spending additions work the same way. The continual involvement does eventually cause physiological problems and “a stinking way of thinking”.

The late night host and Scottish comedian Craig Ferguson talks openly about his alcoholism by saying “I don’t have a drinking problem. I have a “thinking problem”. I threw the towel in on alcohol years ago. Yet there is still a part of me still holding on to one end of that towel, trying to pull it back”. Same holds true for me as a compulsive gambler. Deep inside there is still a part of me wanting to “pull it back” so I can be “normal” like the rest of you. And that is okay. As long as I have the awareness that I can’t.
 
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AlexanderFan

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He is a bookie.
Small issues like suicide and financial ruin….

The ease with which you can bet now will only increase the number of people with issues.

How would you know if you had an issue with gambling, until you actually gambled? Same with alcohol.

I appreciate all the candid comments and self awareness from those who live this potential nightmare.
 

BamaFossil

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I've never understood compulsive gambling. Being both cheap and logical (understanding house odds etc.) keeps me from even being tempted. Furthermore, the weekly Pickem reinforces my conviction that I'd be a pigeon ripe for plucking.

I really appreciate the comments from CB4!! CB4 provided an insight into compulsive gambler thinking that was heretofore completely oblivious to me. Thanks CB4!
 

Redwood Forrest

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Two things here. First, there many addictions. Drugs. alcohol, tobacco, gambling and then those that get us all. We are addicted to salt, meat, sweets and all those things. Is it minor surgery? When it is you having minor surgery, that's fine. When I am having minor surgery, there is nothing MINOR about it.
So when some loses home and family, it is not minor or harmless to them
A friendly wager is not gambling. Betting only becomes gambling when greed is involved. The Bible tells us that the LOVE money is the root of all evil. What is the love of money, but GREED. So, the friendly wager, or the fun wager is not greed. My wife and I bet meals on college football. The winner enjoys a FREE meal from the loser. We also brag to the server and the cashier about winning the meal, which is the real fun.
 

uafan4life

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I enjoy gambling; it's quite fun.

However, I view it strictly as purchasing entertainment. I have a budget for spending on all sorts of entertainment and I stick to it.

Much like the rest of life, discipline is required.

Of course, I've known many people who've spent much more money in a single trip on fancy dinners, extravagant purchases, concerts/shows, golf outings, and/or other forms of entertainment than I've ever spent in any given year on gambling...
 

uafan4life

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Yep, as a compulsive gambler with over 20 years clean time, gambling for the former athlete is an existential way of remaining “in the game”. The worst thing you can be as a gambler is highly competitive. That is my story. The same thing that wired you to win on the football field, basketball court, hockey rink, or golf course is the same thing that destroys you as a compulsive gambler.
Very good point.

While I definitely throw some money away on purely fun carnival games and the occasional, high-risk-super-high-reward parlay, I've been able to combine my competitiveness with my logical side to predominantly focus on games with some element of skill and player advantage - exercising my competitiveness in the analysis and execution of the best mathematical theories for the given game.

To the greater point - no temptation isn't tempting, by definition, but no temptation is worse than any other temptation.

A good life requires self-discipline. This applies to everyone and everything in life - from eating to work to hobbies to shopping to entertainment.

From a scriptural perspective, if anything on this Earth was inherently detrimental to mankind by its mere existence and if anything on this Earth was inherently too much for mankind to handle, God would not have allowed its existence.

God put alcohol on the Earth to gladden the heart of mankind. It isn't evil. The only evil is when individuals abuse it and injure themselves and/or others.

God put food on this Earth to ensure mankind's survival. The only evil is when people hurt themselves or others by abusing it.

God put medicinal plants on this Earth to benefit the health of mankind. The only evil is when people hurt themselves or others by abusing it.

The only evil that exists in this world that is of this world is a given human being's evil choice...
 

4Q Basket Case

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I understand how the anti-drinking/ gambling crowd operate in Alabama. They start with small out of context comments and grow from there until they want any mention of gambling banned from the channel. I have followed this channel for a long time, and this is the first thread I remember attacking the gaming component of football. I do not want that to go unchallenged. Hopefully this is the last of this thread.
If you'd been here for a long time you'd know we don't ban people simply for opinions.
You can, however, be suspended or banned for expressing an opinion in an unacceptable manner.

The mantra is, “Disagree all you want. Just do it in an agreeable manner.” IOW, simply say you see the issue differently, and present your logic.

No need to denigrate the opposing view, be condescending or sarcastic. And if you denigrate the person(s) holding the view, you’ll probably get some blowback.

Debate all you want….just do it in a courteous manner.
 

RammerJammer14

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As an aside, earlier this year I was at a bar in Las Vegas and struck up a conversation with a couple who turned out to be in the slot machine business, selling and leasing machines to casinos around the country. They told me that in the big casinos, a machine that doesn’t make a minimum of I think $2,000 an hour is removed from the floor and sent back to the manufacturer.
 
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uafan4life

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As an aside, earlier this year I was at a bar in Las Vegas and struck up a conversation with a couple who turned out to be in the slot machine business, selling and leasing machines to casinos around the country. They told me that in the big casinos, a machine that doesn’t make a minimum of I think $2,000 an hour is removed from the floor and sent back to the manufacturer.
Make - as in profit - or generate - as in revenue?

Those are very different things. The return-to-player percentage on slot machines averages close to 90% with US standards being 80% to 100% for any given slot. Video Poker machines, on the other hand, average close to 95% with US standards being 85% to 105% (when played perfectly).

I would easily believe the latter. Machines that don't get regular play often get removed.

However, the math makes the former a little hard to fathom...
 

Joefus

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I started making small wagers this year on games when the line seems way off to me. I’m up but I only play one or two games a week if that where I feel SURE. Ex was Ohio st and Penn st this year. I’m rarely ever that confident but I made 400$ off Vegas idiots believing in Penn st. There’s usually money to be made if you’re willing to do a little research. I also waste lots of money playing the lottery knowing full well I’m throwing 4$ away each time.
Full transparency I bet on the Florida ole miss game on a hunch today and this game is stressing me out
 

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