"Guy lost 60K gambling/playing poker, has 3 kids, ..." sounds like the perfect story (example or excuse) for Sheldy, his lobbying group CSIG (Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling) and other casino brick and mortar magnates like former CEO Steven Wynn to use supporting their case to ruin online poker, sports betting etc. for the rest of the American populace in upcoming court battles after the latest Wire Act DOJ opinion reversal. Oh yeah, I forgot. NOT!! As my pappy always used to say (actually he didn't but I am a "Maverick" movie fan) - "one man's problem should NOT be collateral damage for a society."

While I agree with your general premise, this grown man lives in his parents basement, has 3 kids he doesn't support and stole thousands off his ex so he could light it up at the casino. If that's not an addiction to gambling, I don't know what is.

plenty of ppl abandon their kids or steal from friends when they dont have an addiction. they are just *******s. he cant even be bothered to get a minimum wage job to fund his gambling let alone constantly rob stores or prostitute himself like a junkie would.

ppl that are just irresponsible are called addicts now. he has the safety net of his parents help so that he can make these kinds of choices. if you dont care about being a burden to your parents/children and being looked down upon by society then why is living for free in your parents basement even bad? he has lots of free time, doesnt have to work, and still has a sex life.

ive had what would probably be described as a video game addiction. but i am really just "addicted" to stuff that i really enjoy doing and variety in life isnt that important to me. if cost was not a concern i would probably eat my favorite meal everyday for weeks until i tired of it then do the same thing again with my new favorite meal. i played a couple of online games constantly for years like a full time job but once i got bored of them i basically quit video games entirely. if i was addicted to video games then why would my desire to play those games or any other video games stop?

You moved on to harder stuff, like NVG ?

I don't think we disagree, I just don't think so many things that are called addictions are really addictions, they are just people making bad choices.

This guy seems lazy as **** and not motivated to change anything. That isn't an addiction, that's enjoying what you do more than the alternative.

I go to work every day, haven't missed a day in two decades. I'm not addicted to work, I just enjoy the paycheck more than I enjoy being broke.

When was the last time you were broke^?

Nice dedication btw

Thanks for the input,
Sounds like this gambling gene is epigenetic

should of folded pre

Calling it an addiction doesn't imply it's something he can't overcome or absolve him from any responsibility for the situation, it's just a way of framing how difficult it is for him to resist the temptation. I don't enjoy gambling at all so it's hard for me to imagine the pull it has, but if for some reason i had to give up internet access cold turkey forever i'd lose my **** and it's hard to imagine exactly what i'd sacrifice to maintain that addiction. Fortunately my primary addiction in life isn't self destructive and is basically free.

Sad story, hopefully the guy in the story learns from his mistakes

First are bad choices, skipping all warnings, irresponsibility, and then addiction.
Although when I imagine world full of responsible, only good choices making, healthy living, family oriented, selfless people rationally navigating trough life, it sounds like hell and heroin looks like good choice.

Hopefully it was just variance and he recovers financially.

Seriously. I'm sure his intentions were good but the primitive brain beat out the evolved brain. Has happened to me enough not to judge. I highly doubt a sanely thinking person would continue instead of pumping the brakes on poker. It shows the level of insanity not his morals.

I think some people are quick to judge and place negative labels as a personal self esteem by comparison boost.

Variance is a major contributor to the allure of gambling. The adrenaline rush. The losses followed by the comebacks. The highs followed by the downs. It makes some people feel alive more so than others. If you gamble +ev the same highs and lows are there just like the guy pounding his head against a house edge. The ratios just differ determined by the size of your advantage/disadvantage. At the end of the year one has nicer things and sleeps well at night while the other falls asleep wondering the best place on his body to hold the barrel against.

I read a WSJ article years ago that said most compulsive gamblers are very intelligent with indomitable wills. One friend asks you to take your first trip to a strip joint with him that weekend. Another friend asks you to take your first fishing trip with him that same weekend. One friend asks you take your first trip to a casino with him that weekend. Another friend asks you to take a trip with him that same day to Barnes & Noble because he wants to check out card counting books in their gambling section. Your life just became a coin flip.

deadbeats who don't take care of their kids should be judged harshly

There’s one person I don’t feel bad for and it’s the woman the wife the mother of 3 children

She choose him lol

variance is the main reason gambling exists.

Any addiction is a brain disease. It is scientifically proven. Debating it is like debating if water is wet or not. Judging someone for being a degenerate that would drop $20 in a slot machine vs feeding their family is like judging someone with cancer.

Like I said I think judging people is either a misunderstanding of the situation or just a way to feel better about oneself by comparison.

I’m not a liberal hippy by a long shot but I think anyone can benefit by trying to understand vs forcing their own personal views on a situation.

i'm not forcing anything
i'm also not enabling people by acting like they aren't making the choice to gamble over taking care of their kids.

there's about a thousand ways someone could do this.

it's all on this guy, not the gaming industry unless there were some special circumstances (google terrence watanabe or similar name and las vegas)

how did he make the $60K cash he lost? i'm guessing he didn't deposit or cash bankroll that figure. i'm thinking some of it is prior winnings. could be borrowing too.

very interesting comments, i appreciate them... not sure if i agree but i certainly don't disagree strongly

i will say one thing and it might be an earlier contradiction of what i wrote earlier.

your kids/spouse are either first in your life or you don't care about them. i don't think there's much grey area on that, unless there are special circumstances (like someone who has to travel alot to make a good living is hopefully doing that mostly for his kids welfare/security)

We need more guys like this online, games are getting tougher by the day. -)

This thread will take on a whole new life once someone digs up John's "Thinking of quitting my job and becoming a poker pro" thread.

Is it baseball season yet?

As someone who has struggled with a gambling addiction for 35+ years I always feel empathy for the people involved in these stories.
To those that are saying this guy had the choice whether to gamble irresponsibly or not I say it isn't that simple. Some people are able to see and understand their addiction for what it is - a chemical imbalance that floods their consciousness and controls their actions (Daniel Kahneman would call it System 1), but many more aren't able to.
I'm able to see this in myself because I learnt to practice mindfulness meditation a long time ago, which has allowed me to òbserve the compulsive urges as they arise without always reacting to them, which has given me a better understanding of them and the ability to tame them a little, but most people with these compulsive urges don't have the tools to do this. They go through their lives confused that they are unable to stop these urges despite the damage they cause. They despise the fact that they do these destructive things to themselves and their loved ones. They think they are weak willed. Society tends to reinforce that belief (although this is slowly changing as science gets more understanding of the brain) which makes the people affected feel worse about themselves, and often the situation ends in suicide.
Compulsive gamblers generally don't understand why these urges overtake their conscious actions (Kahneman's System 2) and why they can't control them. I was lucky to have been introduced to a technique that has let me see these urges for what they are, but I haven't been able to stop them nor find out what started them in the first place.
Judging these people as morally decrepit and weak is misguided. A lot of them seem to be quite brilliant, creative people who would have a lot to offer mankind if a cure for their problem is ever found.