Thread: Gambling

IME the benefits of gambling have been oversold where as the costs to socities are ignored. A pathalogical gambler is more likely to jeopardise his/her marriage, undermines the work ethics (like regular drinkers), possibly have suicidal thoughts, financially handicap the whole family and commit social crimes that would severly harm the society.

So what is your take on gambling?

interesting topic.

i remember reading a newspaper article that detailed the amount of house foreclosures within a certain mile radius of casinos....and it was alarmingly high if memory serves. i'll try to look for it later.

on the flipside, gambling has been an extremely lucrative enterprise for native american tribes. they're making billions of dollars off the white man...payback's a bitch.

i like the ocassional poker night (every other month or so) and i try to get to a casino every few years. i'm probably down a bit over all, but i really enjoy it and see it as entertainment similar to a sporting event or concert. and as a bonus, the drinks are (seemingly) free!

what really bothers me is the lottery. it's little more than a tax on the 'poor'.

Gambling losses are tax deductible...provided that you win enough to cover your losses (i.e. if you win $1000 and subsequently lose that $1000 later in the year it's deductible as a loss).

So you win and lose the same amount, but end up in profit - sounds a bit suss and wide open to abuse - or is the loss deductible because you paid tax on your earlier winnings?

Gambling's alright as long as you don't place bets you can't cover, harmless fun, I know plenty of big time gamblers that make big money at it. As for gambler's committing social crimes you are talking out of your ass, its junkies you should be pointing the finger at not punters.

I enjoy poker and blackjack. I work in Las Vegas frequently and always view whatever loss I may incur as the price of several nights of entertainment. I also can set a loss limit and walk away if I want to.

The problem comes with people whose gambling stems from addictive behavior. I too have known several people who quit drinking/drugs only to end up with a gambling problem. My former brother-in-law had a gambling problem and ended up borrowing money from us -- he never told his wife he had lost at the track, then when he won couldn't help but brag. She thought it was pure winnings and spent it on furniture, and he still had to cover what he had borrowed on the previous losses.