Well, I can’t omit Bill Maher’s 8-minute weekly comedy monologue, especially because this week it’s about betting. I’ve always called gambling, betting enterprises, and lotteries “taxes on the stupid”, because people who spend their money that way don’t seem to know that the expectation of money is far less than they’re spending. And it’s a regressive form of taxation, as the poor spend more than the rich, both absolutely and relatively. It’s just an easy way for governments to raise money. I don’t approve of government-funded gambling at all.
In this episode, a good one, Maher recounts the history of gaming in America, and although he opposes it, he also says it’s okay because he’s a libertarian. On the other hand, he argues that gambling is un-American because it puts fate rather than initiative in control of your life. (Maher clearly is not a determinist.) You’ll appreciate the picture of a young, entrepreneurial Maher at 6:56.
Did I ever gamble. Well, when I used to be in a place that had slot machines I’d put a quarter in one and that was it (I never won). One time I really did want to make a substantial bet was when I was in Scotland some years ago, and wanted to bet that the Queen Mother would live to be at least 100. My girlfriend wouldn’t let me go into the betting parlor, and in the end I would have won: she lived to be 101. I was betting on her genes.
The guests include former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland.
I could be a libertarian and say, If people want to throw their money away, it’s their money. I am less encouraged, though, that behind them stand greedy politicians who are encouraging them in order to get the tax revenue. It used to be that sin taxes were to discourage vice. Now they are to raise revenue.
I gambled (sports betting) for three years and hated it. I did so to augment my meager entry level salary. I made money all three years and bumped up my income by 15%.
But I was lucky. I was schooled by professional gamblers, whose winning percentage was about 60 percent. I was also sickened when I saw a player at Caesars lose $10k in 30 minutes at the blackjack table. He did everything right…and still lost. As soon as I got a job that paid me enough to cover my bills, I quit gambling.
Bottom line, most gamblers are total losers. Last week I was in Palm Springs and was forced to walk through a casino full of poorly dressed, cigarette puffing slobs. I wouldn’t trust any of them to walk my dog.
Gambling is legal in our state, so there are a lot of glitzy commercials from private online gambling companies. They are all aimed at leveraging confirmation bias that you will win win win. I can expect it will have a substantial commercial presence during the Super Bowl.
Gambling is not one of my vices and I’m loathe to criticize the vices of others.
That said, like most drugs of addiction usage follows a power law, including that one. (using similar brain systems).
Like y/our liquor store whose business depends on the 10% of our population who are alcoholics, rather than normal drinkers… the “gaming” industry is supported almost entirely by problem gamblers, not PCC(E) or my few quarters if we’re in a casino (or bets on royal genes!).
And there’s so much “suggestive sell” and “push” tech devoted to sucking people in to sports betting – mainly young dudes of course. I’m sure we’d be upset if billboards and phone notifications were pushing heroin.
D.A.
NYC/CT
Many years ago, the Geological Society of America held its annual convention in Reno, Nevada. I didn’t spend a cent on gambling, and I hated even walking through the casinos because of the cigarette smoke, which seemed to pressurize the cavernous and noisy spaces. Yet in every hotel, one had to walk through casino to get to the hotel rooms. After the convention was over and the attendees had scattered to their respective haunts, I heard through the grapevine that the GSA would not be encouraged to visit Reno again. We didn’t spend enough money!
I’m cases of white-collar crime, it’s often the case that the small-town city clerk or the bookkeeper for the towing company or whatever turns out to be a compulsive gambler. Ergo, even in the unlikely event that you win big at the riverboat casino, a lot of that money is stolen.
This reminds me of one of my favorite poems (if anybody knows the source, please chime in!):
I once lost my tuition at Atlantic City*. I had to sell my motorcycle (a 1968 BSA, all chrome) to fund the spring semester. The only betting I’ve done since is to yell unseriously in response to something absurd; “wanna bet”?
*in my defense, I was 19 and we were there to celebrate my friend’s upcoming wedding (they’re still married!). It was a memorable weekend; one morning I woke up alone in the fog on a beach.