I asked the first question regarding the Bronx program because you seem like the most mentally weak person I have never met. I asked the question about IQ because I don't know you and was trying to figure out if you are as dumb as some of your decisions indicate or if you are so weak mentally that it leads to many non-sensical decisions.

This irrelevant discourse on why Pai Gow Poker is a -EV game is illustrative of the problem Mr. Borovetz faces. It is also common knowledge.

That you can limit yourself to +EV gambling games (and, by all accounts, have rigorously dedicated most of your waking hours to pursuing them) does not make you any less of an addict than Mr. Borovetz, just a less self-destructive one. You have have the discipline to turn your addiction into a sustainable lifestyle. He is blatantly incapable of this. Your advice to him is worthless.

You're an enabler of his behavior if you tell this guy "Pai Gow is bad, learn to gamble like me." Regrettably, the same goes for Mike Sica. The idea that Mr. Borovetz's problems will be solved if he is taken under the wing of a professional gambler who can teach him the virtues of +EV gambling and money management is ludicrous. A true friend would advise this man to seek help from whatever support system he has left outside the realm of gambling, to seek help from professional counselors, and to live a life as far removed from casinos as possible.

You need someone else to control your finances asap or youll be back at zero in a few weeks. Compelling read you should write a book or at least consider a writing gig online plenty of websites only want a sample of your work not a background check etc obviously you need to legally give control of your finances to whoever your closest friend or family member is and selfban from all casinos and online sites

It's pretty clear to me based on his answers that he has no intentions of quitting gambling. Perhaps that will change as this thread develops but it does seem unlikely.

he could win 500k and it would gone in a few days

its pretty clear how moronic that is though... Like that terrible Erik Lindgren interview where he says he wont stop sports betting, but start betting smarter or some crap. IDC if OP is copping to anything itt. He should, he screwed up. But he never would have had he not been exposed. cmon girl quit poker and start a new life. Keep playing poker and youll keep ending up in the pits. The only solution is stopping all forms of gambling. common sense

lolol when thousands or millions of people can do your job why hire a criminal?

I don't have much money anyways to play a whole lot of events as 5k is really not that much down here in Vegas during the WSOP. Right now for the next week or two I will not quit gambling but maybe after the WSOP is over I will take a long hard look at everything and try and decide on a next step. Maybe that book thing might not be a bad idea. I have tons of other stories that happened to me that I didn't have the energy or space to write about.

By the way, won $70,000 at Borgata in January from $1500 playing paigow and gave all that back too. Allen saw me with a bunch of 5k chips that I obviously didn't value whatsoever. $70,000 would be huge to have right now for me, just another in a long list of scores playing a -ev game in which I promptly gave back.

People who con others all the time do not always do it for money. Part of the thrill of the con is getting the attention/recognition as well when money is not likely going to be had.

You may think you are telling the truth, but you have so many years of conning others that at this point you are likely a victim of your own con, and believe everything you are saying to be true even if it is not.

I believe you are likely a degen, and your story is a fairly common one for a degen. It amuses me a bit, but it does not surprise me, and I do not care how much of it is actually true because I regard it for what it is - a mild source of temporary entertainment for me, and nothing more.

You will not get much money from people in this thread, but you can sure milk them for attention/sympathy/anger, and you will find that may give you a similar rush as gambling. That is not really what interests me so I will likely not be posting again here, though I may read it later to see how many are being dragged along the drama con.

Not so much. That story has been done many times over and over. Again, watch Trailer Park Boys on youtube to see a more comical version of it.

If you write a book, go for the e-book variety and self publish and make sure that many of the people here praying for you come and give support on your comeback. Monetize them later if you cannot now! Be sure to leave yourself some time to hit the airports.

All the best.

Not disagreeing with you, just stating the obvious.

Wow.

To those of you who think you have to point out that Mike is a degenerate, good for you. Feel better now? I think he and everyone else realizes that. If you've never been in a situation where willpower alone wasn't enough. Again, good for you. But assuming you know all there is to know about depression and addiction to the point of no empathy says as much about you as it does about Mike.

Clearly even now Mike is delusional about his problem. He still believes in the myth of "one big score". The $5k is either already gone or soon to be gone. If he ever does manage to go on a run, it is the worst, not best thing that could happen to him. Any score will just result in another round of his proven cycle and reinforce the compulsion.

I'd urge Mike to leave Vegas now. Try and forget that poker exists even though it is currently his only skill. And go "home" and try and build some sort of life, even if that begins with working a couple of crap jobs 80 hours a week.

Yeah, you've blown your shot at a "legitimate" job. Actions have consequences. But you still aren't ready to accept your consequences. Even the most soul bearing admissions of 15 years pissed away doesn't mean you've decided to accept responsibility. You seem to think that there is still an option where you continue to scrape up a stake and score and all is well. Sadly you are likely going to go thru several more cycles. Perhaps wind up incarcerated yet again before you finally bottom out.

I agree with the advice about going back with your parents. At the end of the day, and through everything that has happened, they're probably the only people who are really on your side.

You can mow lawns, maybe deliver newspapers, be a day laborer, drive a cab, wash cars etc. Be up front about your issues (though I may not go into as much detail as you did with us) and hunt for a job. You might be surprised in what you find. In the meantime, do as much as you can for your parents, free of charge. You might have a book to write in the future, but first you've got to make the happy ending happen. Americans love redemption stories.

fair enough.

and not trying to be a dick but you could win the main event and youll lose it all in a short period of time.

you gotta stay away from gambling.

and airports.

Best post ITT.

What made you post in all the scammer threads bashing them when you knew that you also were out there scamming people?

Do you often use glantz/chainsaw/whoevers names to mislead people into giving you money? Have they ever caught you doing this (other than chainsaw finding out in this thread)?

Writing a book won't solve the problem. He could make J.K. Rowling cheddar from a book deal and he would still blow it all like Archie Karas.

Meh, that part is easiest to understand. The world is full of examples of sanctimonious people being the biggest scum (that said, not all sanctimonious people are like that, some really are pure in their sanctimony).

He has visions of repairing his image on 2p2 and in the poker community and living the life as a respected poker pro.

Mike, that is more delusion. Find another life. You've pissed in this well and the water is sour for you now.

If you only have $5k that will be gone soon unless you run well in poker or make a miracle run at the table games. What this means is that you will most likely begin scamming people again shortly. Are you going to keep us updated with your current status (ex. Hit up a few tourists for a five hundred dollars today. Played some pai gow).

I find it extremely hard to believe...

Never mind the airport scamming, probation violations etc., this right here could be the saddest part of your story. If you don't want help you will never get help.

You're not just coming clean. You are also taking some solace here. There is a part of you that is enjoying being told that your tales of "epic degeneracy" are compelling. You must rid yourself of the desire to be accepted (or be seen as notorious) by the "poker community" and simply walk away from this life.

Must not have heard many stories then.

Yes it is sad and it is pathetic, but these tales are FAR far from "one of the saddest".

What an embarrassing life. I have no sympathy for you. Take some responsibility for your actions for once and get your life together. Pai gow isn't some mystical force field that pulls people in...its a dumb game of chance with the odds stacked against you. How hard is it to NOT gamble 6 figures into nothing on more than one occasion?

And you're STILL gambling too boot. Man, your poor parents. And conning people at airports? Do you have a shred of shame or decency left or has that ship completely sailed?

Yes, this isn't rock bottom.

Also rumored to be Kaiser Soze