It is a shame, though not surprising, that Conky could not help you get out of the situation.

omg thats so sick and sad and crazy and I dunno...

i am making a point that all people with addictions still have a choice

it wasnt a sob story fyi, it was me trying to make a point

but you can read it as you want

PSUMike1999 meets WarmDeck from BBV

Let's make it happen

I tried to explain to him for years that paigow was impossible to beat. You pay 5pct commission on every winning hand. That means every 20th time you win, you actually have lost another hand. Also since you lose all ties the house has an even greater edge.

He just wouldn't buy it and kept going back. I saw this cycle repeat for years.

fair enough

perhaps i overreacted to the post

but gambling addiction is quite sad, independent of whether they have a choice or not

i'm always surprised to see how cold this community is with regards to it considering a huge portion of us have been exposed to it in some way or another

You didn't overreact. It was just a miscommunication.

I mean, in the end, regardless of the stories, the self-justification, and the excuses, the only thing that matters is action. Scamming people for years isn't counterbalanced by explaining what brought you there. Losing all your money at the casino time and time again isn't countered by saying that you're an addict.

You either stop talking about why and start correcting things, or you're just another compulsive scammer degen with a yarn to spin. Sorry for your troubles, but you need to stand up and work on yourself hard, not just talk about it.

I must say this story has become ****ing EPIC. This is degeneracy at it's highest level. Definitely an interesting read, but it will NOT have a happy ending. That much is a certainly unless OP mans the **** up for the first time in his life.

FWIW, I'm not convinced that self-banning will work. I'd like to know what kind of job prospects he could have at this point.

In early 2008 I was in Las Vegas and I had about $1000 on me. I went to the Venetian and played paigow tiles(learned that game a few months before and started only playing that) and won $150,000. That was the most amount of money I had ever had on me and again I didn't do the right thing. I never called Little Man and asked him to hold it - I never gave it to my parents to hold for me. No, I cashed out the chips and flew to New York to visit my sisters. I checked into a nearby LaGuardia hotel and spent some time with my sisters who live in NYC. They immediately wanted me to give them all that money so I wouldn't gamble it back but I stupidly said no. I told them there is no way I would lose all of that money and they just gave up asking. I wish I had given it to them. I decided out of the blue 1 day to take a cab from the hotel by LaGuardia Airport to Mohegan Sun Casino. I wanted to win another $150,000 I guess who knew what the heck I was thinking. Anyways, I get there and I proceed to lose just about everything. I was betting $10,000 a hand and lost it all in about 40 minutes. This VP of gaming introduced himself to me after and told me he would give me butler service and get me anything I want. I told him I wanted to go back to New York because I lost close to $150,000 and I didn't want to be there anymore. They gave me a limo back to the hotel and when I had checked in I was bragging to everyone there about my big score and tipping $20's and some $50's to managers and employees. I kept extending my stay there day after day after day because I couldn't leave my room I was so depressed. I was an elite member of this hotel brand because I stayed over 60 nights a year so they believed me when I told them that I had sent my money back home and I was waiting for a bank wire. This hotel let me stay for almost 2 weeks in the middle of February without paying for my room. Finally the manager knocked on my door 1 day and told me to come down to his office to speak with him. I went down and he was with a couple of security officers and told me that I had to settle up the bill. He said I owed $4900 and if I didn't pay it right then they would call the police. I obviously didn't have the money on me to pay so they called the police and 2 detectives from Queens precinct came and took me to the station "just to question me" they said. I answered honestly to them(probably should have asked for a lawyer but I didn't) and after about 20 minutes of questioning I was arrested and charged with Grand Larceny and defrauding an innkeeper. I was sent to central booking and my bail was set at $25,000 and shipped to Rikers Island. In a span of 3-4 weeks I went from having $150,000 and at least a chance to get my life together to losing it all and sitting on Rikers Island in early March of 2008 for Grand Larceny.

Next Post in a few minutes.

yeah i'm not really sure what purpose is being served by op making all these backstory posts. i suppose he is trying to gain sympathy.

but i really don't care because it's an interesting read so far

it is quite sad i fully agree

i feel more for the people who have had there human side taken fully advantage of and given out there monies

You are getting way ahead of yourself right now. This thread is just over 1 day old and we are only on page 3 (if your settings are setup correctly). We requested that he come clean and he is coming clean.

What I find fascinating here is that Mr. Borovetz had not one, but TWO instances where he managed to turn a mere one thousand dollars into $100,000 or more.

$1,060 circuit event buy-in turned into $100,000 (plus paying off $35,000 in debts!)

$1,000 turned into $150,000 on the second big run

From a purely pragmatic point of view the big mistake was taking the WHOLE BIG SIX-FIGURE SCORE BACK TO GAMBLE!

He already PROVED TWICE that he only needed $1,000 or so. Why not just put $99,000 away and try again with $1,000 instead of risking the whole wad?
(ditto for the second time...only put away $149,000 and try again with $1,000 mad money?)

If he was pragmatic, he would have never gambled it in the fist place. He would have never made $150k in the first place. So he bets $1k and loses then what? Betting $1k each bet instead of $10k may extend his bankroll a bit longer but the result will always be the same.

Sounds like you've had more opportunities and help than most people, but you just opted be a loser every time. On top of that, a massive hypocrite and liar.

I have no pity or sympathy for people like this.
Stop gambling, quit poker.

Not sure if he bet the entire original $1,000 in one single bet to start things off (maybe I missed something in the story).

Regardless, though, he had a self dialogue on whether to leave the big score with either his friend "Little Man" in the first go-round and his sister in the second go-round.

Asking himself to leave the entire score with a safekeeper is asking too much.
If only he had allowed himself $5,000-$15,000 of it for gambling (like 10% or so) and keep the rest safely tucked away for a while...

Yeah, yeah I know it's easier to armchair quarterback this one than being in the heat of the action. Sad to see such golden six-figure scores get blown apart, though. Lots of possibilities open up with that kind of money.

It doesn't, but the ups and downs of that life can really put your moral fiber to the test.

PSUmike u have been my inseperation for months

postin just to bookmark place this mornin 8am, be back to read more when get home from work.

He said he would borrow $200 at a time and immediately bet it on pai gow in one shot. He said he borrowed a few k from people and bet $3k at a time that one weekend. That's what these degens do. What he didn't post about are the hundreds of times that he hustled $200 off someone and then bet it and it didn't work. Think about it. He was doing this practically every day (i'm assuming) for over 10 years. He's going to hit some big scores from time to time.

If he was really pragmatic he would just keep hustling people for money and never gamble with it.

Maybe he could get a job at ChoiceCenter™

I was given a legal aid lawyer(public defender) who told me that he would try and get me into a mental health court for people with poor impulse control and addictions. He asked me if I drank alcohol or used drugs and I told him no, just gambled. He said that would be tough if I don't have a drug or alcohol problem to get into a program because there are none in the area that deal with gambling. If I don't choose the program and/or don't qualify, he said I was looking at prison because of my previous felonies back in 2000. Eventually, I just lied and said I was an alcoholic also so I could get the heck out of Rikers and into this impatient program. They put me in Samaritan Village in Queens for 1 year and if I were to complete the program my felony would drop to a misdemeanor and I would be put on 3 years of misdemeanor probation. I got released from Rikers in the end of May 2008 and went to this Samaritan Village house. It was worse than jail imo. Obv I am exaggerating but it was mostly ex prison inmates there for parole requirements and it was not a nice place. I gave it 4 months and then I just split. I took a greyhound bus down to Las Vegas from New York to try and recreate some miracle magic making $150,000 but it never happened. I was sleeping in the Vegas Airport 1 night when a police officer came over on a bike and told me he had seen me sleeping there for the past few nights. He ran my name and Queens put a warrant out for me for running from the program. I was booked into the Clark County Detention Center and waited 2 weeks before 2 Queens detectives picked me up and took me on a plane back to New York. I felt like I was an axe murderer or something - in leg shackles and everything. I went back before the judge and she asked me why I left the program. I told her and she said they were willing to give me another chance. 1 month later I was released and given another program - Palladia in the Bronx. That place was even worse than the 1st house so I just left after 1 day. They put another warrant out for me and they found me sleeping in Grand Central Station. The police ran my name and found the warrant. When I went back before the judge again the DA wanted to send me to prison since I wasn't taking the programs seriously and running away. I explained these programs don't deal with my gambling so the judge ordered me back in another month to decide what to do. Another month later and the judge decided to release me to a 3/4 house - you go to group for 3 hours a day off site and then you have some freedom. I could also go to GA at night. The DA didn't want me to go into this 3/4 house because she said it is rewarding me and giving me more freedom when I haven't earned it. The judge let me go but when I got released I was told I had to wear an ankle bracelet 24 hours day and if I ran away they would know. It was in Staten Island so I was not allowed to leave Staten Island or they would know. Believe it or not with the ankle bracelet on I was doing well - I went to GA and was making real progress. After 9 months they decided to take the ankle bracelet off and that triggered me. Since they couldn't monitor me anymore I started begging for money, went to AC and just relapsed. The judge found out and they put a warrant out so I split again. I spent the summer in Los Angeles and was caught in September 2010 sleeping at LAX. They ran my name and a warrant was out for me from Queens. When I was brought back this time the judge had had enough and I can't blame her. She gave me 3 chances and I blew them all. I was sentenced to 1-3 years in New York State Prison for the Grand Larceny and shipped to DownState booking and then Fishkill Correctional Facility. Nobody there could believe I was in there for not paying a hotel bill for a few weeks. I was released from there after 1 year and was on parole for 1 year until being discharged November 2012. When I got out I called Little Man and that's when he offered to help me. I was really doing well with him - he was looking after me, holding my money this time finally for the first time and he really cared about me. Again this is not an excuse just a fact, it has been really tough for me since he passed away in November. He was a rare find in this community and he really wanted to help me in so many ways.

For the record, I didn't post all of this about me hoping to get extended sympathy from everyone. I told the story because it needed to be told and I hope it allows some understanding about how serious a gambling addiction is. Yes we al have choices and I have made my share of bad ones. I have never claimed to be perfect and I know I never will be. Believe me, there is not a day that doesn't go by that I don't think back to what I should have done and shouldn't have done in my life. I will own everything and again, being a semi-regular poster on 2+2 for over 2 1/2 years, I know how the posts will go on here about me. The people who never liked me will use this as justification to continue to hate on me and the people who liked me I hope will continue to do so.

As for some of the people who have said to stay away from gambling/poker/casinos etc... That has been suggested to me by people for 15 years now. I hate to say it is too late but I really feel like it is. I am 39 years old and although have a nice degree in chemical engineering, I have felonies on my record because of gambling and countless misdemeanors(mostly trespassing from airports, etc..) I think my job prospects are not the best at the present time. That's why I am hoping, clinging to that nice dream that maybe the cards will fall in place for me for a few days and I can win $500,000 or something at the WSOP. I have paid the majority of people that I have owed years ago thanks to Little Man's help and I don't plan on asking to borrow from a poker player again. As for the airport thing - yes it needs to stop because giving some sob story to try and get $100 is wrong. I actually won $5000 yesterday at the Bellagio so at least I didn't gamble that back. I will play a few snags at the Rio, play the monster stack and hope I get lucky. Just a sad situation for my life right now. I hope it can change.

If you guys have any real questions(not trolling me) I would be happy to answer them. Sorry for the long posts but I wanted to be detailed.

Which is more likely to lead to degeneracy for you? Live poker or internet poker?

Probably Live since it is in a casino environment and almost every time I get knocked out of a tournament I want to go off in the pits.