I was recently surprised to learn that an old school-friend of mine nearly lost everything a couple of years ago when he got into some serious gambling debt. We'd been out of touch for a while, but I pretty surprised because he's always been a level-headed sort of guy. Anyone else had this kind of experience? Specifically people who you didn't expect to be the type to throw it all away because of addiction.
I only know of rich people who do this. This big celebrity in our country, Willie Revillame, is known to gamble one million pesos a night at casinos. He was a big celebrity and very rich before because his show was popular. Now, he is not really that famous and I do not even know if he still has money. I also know a gambler, my MIL's friend that worked for BIR before, which is a sector in our country known for corruption. The husband is super rich because of illegal transactions. The wife though gambles large amounts of money in casinos. Now that the husband is retired, she still gambles and even borrows money from my MIL.
Yea my mom all the time. She wastes all of her money on these dumb scratch tickets every night only to lose time and time again and during the times she does win, she just wastes it on more tickets...
I had a fair share of gambling experience in my life, but fortunately from the "right" side of the counter; I worked as a cashier in a run down betting parlor years back. People there were as deadbeat as they come. I was offered a watch, I was threatened and people tried to play me in my first days there. Just a few words on the joint: you could see that they were trying to get that "gentlemen club" feeling on, but when I started my job there, it was almost completely covered in red bull cans, desperation and cigarette butts. People there were not polite, not even talkative. Pre-recorded greyhound races which burn a hole in your pocket are a quite good way to make one a bitter pal. By the way, I never saw a single woman in there except for my girlfriend who would visit me sometimes. It is a small town so, needless to say, I saw some familiar faces but in their way of satisfying their addiction, they would not give a darn about who I was. The most surprising patron however was an old schoolmate of mine. He has got a degree in psychology, talk about insightful education. He bet on the most obscure football (soccer) league games in the U.K., in Turkey, in Northern Africa even. God knows who collects the live (!) data for those games. First I would not ask about his whereabouts but since we knew each other, we got to talk one day. He is a damn smart guy and a bit quirky. He uses a lot of 5 dollar words, but none seem to be misplaced when he talks; he's absolutely well spoken and dresses well, and yet he would blow about seven hundred euros one evening (about USD 750). For what? For a couple of malnourished running dogs and a hockey game he did not see. You would never suspect him to be knee-deep in gambling debt if you met him on the street. I hate those tickets with their low stake, because people buy them in dozens. I hope your mother gets over it somehow, it is awful to watch people act like that. Did you ever talk to her about it?
My biological dad got in a lot trouble with my mom in the past, because he loved to gamble all his money by playing cards with a group of friends. He was so addicted he'd not how up for 2 or 3 days... He was an alcoholic right before that. Now that I think about it, he might have had an addictive personality, guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree
Yep and since she has been addicted to scratch tickets for ages, she is so used to it that there is no talking her out of it. It's not as bad as before, but she is still buying at least 5-10$ a night worth of tickets.
I have a relative who was a gambling addict. He spent most of his money on gambling than giving it to his family. There was also a time in my life that I gamble quite a big amount and later regret it and never did it again.
Gambling is probably the oldest addiction. If you don't gamble responsibly you will be in trouble. The idea of being able to regain a loss, and going back on a winning streak seams irresistible. This is one of the worst addictions to have. They always say play responsibly.
Not only rich people do that in my country. You actually see poorer people in casinos than richer ones, which is quite unsettling to see. They let themselves lured into that neverending loop circle and never manage to get out of it thereafter. It's not their fault... all they want is to have a better life. It's the fault of those who trick them into thinking it's such an awesome thing to do!
No, but I know someone who was addicted to porn who stalked his ex-girlfriend for 6 years straight. Laced into her life like a disease that she wished she never caught. Addiction is a horrible thing when you stare at videos of women you don't know. It ruins your real relationship. The realization is it would be obvious that if a grown man can live in pornography, when his girlfriend left he would stalk her instead of attempting to mend the fence in reality. Will this type of person ever own up to their addictions and behaviors? Get some help and move on. Or will they join forums and stalk a victim further. Playing the blame game with themselves when she is not even around. But of course the believe that they themselves are the victim. Doesn't matter who asked who out first. Someone who continually stalks and can't come to terms with a woman walking away. Needs to face reality. Do everyone a favor and get some help.
My neighbor also is into gambling, she always buys lottery tickets even if she doesn't have a job. If I were her, I would just save the money, since winning the lottery is quite unlikely, so you will just be wasting your money.
Gambling is a kind of activity that will waste all your money and will sometimes lead you to debt. I am thankful that never in my life that I try to do it. Because I knew all the consequences based on the experiences of other's people that I knew who had been down and their life gets miserable because of gambling. Always remember that taking chances of winning is not always a matter of luck.
I had a problem with gambling, It started when i was 18. and i think the root was that i won 5000$ out of 50$ on sports betting over a period of 2 moths . So i was hooked. and of corse i started to loose. After 10 years i have managed to get this problem under control with professional help. recommend anyone struggling with this to get help fast.
Many people have lost their money in gambling. I have never tried to gamble but my friends do. Sometimes they claim to be making a lot of money, which is false. The problem is, they have been addicted to it, and even if they make losses, they are unable to stop gambling.
My uncle on the surface is a very organized, very successful guy, but he has had some issues with gambling. It was usually during times where he had other life pressures too. I think like any addiction it doesn't really discriminate and even people that are successful can be impacted.
My grandma's cousin had a gambling addiction is his youth, but that's only one of all the crazy things he did in his life. He was also imprisoned with his best friend (whose funeral I attended when I was a little child) and got tattooed. We all expected him to have a gambling addiction to be honest. Now he is old and can barely move, but he had a great life and I admire him a lot for his personality.
That is really why gambling is addictive. When you won the first time, then you feel like you will win again. Of course, after a lot of betting, your luck seems to be out. Sometimes, I wonder if casinos make the first time player win on purpose. So that they will be addicted to playing and hence, lose more money in the end. Good for you that you have managed your gambling addiction! As always, seeking support is very important. If you act too late and the addiction overcomes you, instead of you overcoming it, then it might be harder to resolve it.
I almost never gamble, and I think it's because I recognize how badly addicted I would be. I have trouble with not winning, and I tend to go overboard trying to win. I'm too competitive. The stacked odds inherent in gambling would drive me batty and sap all of my money. My grandmother somehow has gambling down-pat. She goes to casinos all the time, but she only ever takes $50 to $100 with her, and once she runs out of money she's just flat-out done. She usually comes out ahead, too, which baffles everyone, since she just plays slot machines.
I never gambled nor I ever will, it's simply not worth your sanity. Well, okay - let's say that you made a profit once and you're now feeling like you can beat the odds. That's wrong, it's exactly what they want you to do. Casinos make you believe that you can actually win, then you start raising the stakes until you don't have anything anymore.
I personally know of several people with gambling problems. It's actually quite common with entrepreneurs, since they're quite accustomed to taking risks. One businessman in particular managed to build up a huge fortune, both with his business and through gambling. However, bad luck struck him one evening and he lost almost everything. Fortunately, some of his assets were in his wife's name and that was salvaged for him to start again. Needless to say, his family was far from happy with him. His wife divorced him after two years as he never managed to properly recover and maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed before. I always tell folks to stay away from gambling, find something better to do with their free time.