My Message to Casino Patrons: STOP GAMBLING

[RickLee]

Casual players choose blackjack and believe it is the only table game that can be beaten. In reality, most players don't beat the game. In the long run, the house advantage is intact, and blackjack is among the most lucrative games - for the casinos, not for the players.

Over the years I see the same pattern emerge. A person comes in new to the game. They win early, so the thrill of winning captures them. They come back to win more, but they eventually lose. Then they spend more time and money trying to chase their losses. Finally, they lose so much they give up on the game. Or, they don't give up, and the downward spiral of losses and gambling debts deepen out of control. I've seen vibrant people lose the joy in their lives in a matter of months.

How bad can it get? I talked to big betting players to find out.

"I lost my business because of gambling," said one older man. "I asked the casino to bar me from coming in. But I still get the urge to gamble and I can't stop. So I sneak in and play". He estimates he lost about a hundred thousand dollars so far.

A young man confessed to me "I entered the casino the day I turned nineteen. That was six months ago. I brought a couple of thousand with me. I grew it to over seventy thousand dollars. I got comped with a limo and could get a room and a private table any time I wanted. I thought my winnings would never stop growing. Then, I lost it all and more in just a couple of days. Now I'm here to get some of that back."

I know of one young woman who brings a few hundred dollars in with her. When she loses, she walks to the bank machine and withdraws as much as she can, usually a thousand dollars. If she loses that, she waits till after midnight so the bank machine will permit another withdrawal of a thousand dollars.

Another woman I know is married. She does not work. Her days are spent losing the money she has at the tables.

Finally, the worst of stories. A regular patron at my local casino committed suicide, after mounting significant gambling debts.

Treat the casino as an expensive form of entertainment. Like all expenses, if you cannot afford it, stop.

RICKLEE

[starshard0]

My message to casino patrons is to open your own.

[purplefdu]

addictions are not often something you can just walk away from...people who lose more than they can afofrd aren't just stupid, they are addicts.

[the weakonomist]

The only way to win in gambling is to never play the house. The house will beat you most of the time and even in Blackjack you risk losing more than you will gain.

If you want to gamble and win, play games against other people like Texas hold em. This still requires you to be the most skilled person at the table. Anyone that gambles for more than entertainment is simply naive.

[dschill]

Blackjack is the best at the casino's but if you were going to look for something to actually do long term id say poker is the game hands down. Yeah theres a lot of odds and whatnot to learn but once you start to get good at poker its like free money for the smart people!

[valid-val]

So true....any addiciton can be overcome and there are a multitude of ways to do it. I am an NLP Master Trainer and one of my biggest success stories of recent years was a fruit machine addict. If you gamble and cant control it have a look at some NLP techniuqes there is a lot out there on the web to help you!