There's nothing worse than taking advantage of a persons goodwill and you've done it repeatedly. You're an absolute scumbag with no self respect. I can understand if you've made a few mistakes in your life but to repeatedly make the same ones over and over again is just mind blowing.

Interesting story. Taking it at face value though (on account of you being a conman and all that)

WTF house games are -EV ???

Look I'll just say this - I have paid a bunch of people from the airport back whenever I have hit something at the tables or in poker. You can call me a scumbag but if I truly was how you are describing me I wouldn't pay anyone back. You might not understand but when you are in the heart of your addiction you start doing things that under normal circumstances you wouldn't do.

As for my story - you can believe what you want but it is all true.

I'm certainly no expert, but my instinct tells me this is really not all that much about gambling. Its about self-worth. In the book Poker Nation, Bellin writes about some people who are driven to lose. They are compelled to lose, and no amount of winning will ever get in the way of their real desire, which is to lose everything that they have. I'm sure that's not the exact quote, but that's the gist of it.

I pray that you re-assess your situation, get a job, and start taking pride in turning an honest dollar. People are able to arrest their addictions to alcohol, cigarettes and even gambling, but you must redirect your compulsions into positive things. You're still young. Its not too late, not at all.

What is your plan if you get to 500k? I feel like there is a 99% chance you give it all back anyways unless you can have a solid plan and stick to it. Not that you should just keep doing the same thing hoping to hit it big...

Why did you only stick with the Bronx program for 1 day? What could be so bad about it?

Also, have you ever taken an IQ test? Seriously.

What's your "Plan B" if you lose back the $5,000 now that you've ruled out the airport thing?

With just a $5K roll I would forget the WSOP tournies and do smaller ones to lower your risk. Maybe some small satellites to make the money last so you don't head back to McCarren.

The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Saying I shoulda, coulda, woulda gave money for someone to hold then refusing to do it time after time shows a lack of intelligence. Did you attend penn state?

he has a degree in chemical engineering

We have to read between the lines on some of this. PSUMike may actually believe that these are things that he normally wouldn't do. However, these are things that he DOES NORMALLY do. A serial killer could use the same excuse but it's complete bull****. In the end, everyone has choices and you ALLOW yourself to be controlled by the addiction.

This is a truly sad story that I have seen countless times including with my own son. I will say that PSU first step in the process for rehabilitation is coming on here being TOTALLY honest. 2nd step will obviously be NEVER to step foot in a poker room or casino again in his life.
Mike is obviously very smart and can be rehabilitated to find a real career(maybe working with others with same problem?).

2+2 members-DO NOT OFFER TO GIVE MIKE A DIME! It's akin to giving a crack addict crack for the high. You are hurting him in so many ways by even offering to stake him.
We have seen the story with guys like Chino, Lindgren and so many others. Backing them will never get them out of their hole. They need to hit ROCK Bottom and go through the process of getting rehabilitation,never stepping foot in a casino again.
Remember!
Problem gamblers have the highest suicide of any addicted group.

I'd ship the $5k back to my parents and ask them to put me up for a few weeks whilst I sorted myself a job out. You need to start rebuilding bridges with people asap.

Did Einstein say that?

Yeah, my brother does too from one of the top programs in the country for Chemical Eng and he's a ****ing dip****.

(I'm not saying my brother does stupid **** like what I've read in this thread...i'm just saying he's not the brightest bulb).

There is no score going to be big enough for you.
You need to make life decision that u are always going to be a losing gambler and either make serious conscious effort to leave gambling behind, not 90% of it, not 99% of it, but 100% of it and focus on yourself to live without gambling, or continue this vicious circle by justifying it by all kinds of means.
You will never ever win enough to feel content. Ever.

People who lie all the time about everything say this all the time. Common conspeak.

Your story was somewhat amusing to read, and I believe (though do not really care) that some elements of it is true, but anyone who believes anything you say at face value is just another potential con victim, even if the payout is sympathy and prayers for a recovery.

I was also telling the truth when commenting that basically all of your stories are grittier versions of Trailer Park Boys episodes, and that is because they are not that uncommon in the end.

Seems like lots in this thread want to believe your tales, so your next step is working out a way to potentially monetize it. That would be very funny if you managed to get some funding (in addition to prayers and heart tugging sympathy wishes) from this thread, I would actually applaud that multi level con if it happened.

All the best.

Not sure your purpose of asking me this question. I think I am a pretty smart guy but I have made bad choices and once I am in that addiction mindset I can't even get myself up from the table.

I'm now caught up to the end of this thread. Wow, this really is depressing. I'm not an expert on gambling addiction by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems like poker has to go as well. Poker may not always be gambling, for some it's just a skill game they love, but for gambling addicts it is indeed gambling.

Of course, what can you do? American society is not forgiving of people with criminal records, and to be fair, Mike will always be a very high risk. It's kind of hard to see him getting a real job at this point.

Um, I don't think I once in any of my long winded posts asked anyone on here for money. Maybe you can point it out to me where I did that. Also again I posted a very accurate description of my life from the time I graduated from Penn State in 1999 until now(summer 2014 wsop).You can choose to believe whatever you want, or not believe it.

Maybe I should write a book though(your suggestion to monetize it) -I'm sure the life of a promising chemical engineering graduate who eventually morphed into a degen compulsive gambler and partly survived by giving sob stories at airports would probably be a good read.

That's definitely a big problem - if you are an athlete you can be forgiven(except OJ of course or Aaron Hernandez) but for the common person, having a criminal record disqualifies you right away for any kind of legitimate job.

best advice in this thread.

forget about SNGs and the Deepstack at the rio. whether you win or not. that leads to 10 more years that will look alot like your last 10 years. You'll be 50 then, and in exact same situation you are now.

Is that what you want? 10 more years of the same?

Ship the money home, rebuild those relatioships and see if you can go home, get help, find a basic job.. no matter what, that leads to a much improved life for you over the next 10 years.

You can't quit gambling if you continue to play poker. Its like trying to quit drinking while working in a bar or quit smoking crack while selling drugs. cmon girl

Mike has done an honest job of describing the long fever that is his life. It's not an easy thing to understand from standing safely outside.
Dostoyevsky understood the fever very well.
On a more modern level so did the great American crime novelist George V. Higgins in his terrific Diggers Game which I read 25years ago but still vividly recall his title character's junket to Vegas, and its aftermath.

Dan Mahowny story. Sad. GL.