I hope this isn't giving you any pleasure recounting these degenerate stories in some sort of weird way of you trying to absolve yourself of feeling guilty about the crimes you have committed.

and who are you?
let the man finish

His attachment to poker and this particular online community is very strong. That he is writing a full mea culpa is not surprising. He is probably going to describe learning to play poker as a form of salvation in the coming posts. The exact opposite is true. He's best served forgetting poker exists.

the challenge is not to fight an urge but rather to struggle for MASSIVE personal change. if Mike is taking this seriously then GA and casino exclusion are mandatory as well as handing over financial control of his money (when he gets a job) to someone. i'm very curious how relationship with his parents/family is...has years of being a degen cut him off from the people he needs right now?

I went to this rehab in January of 2001 and stayed there until August 2001. For a while I was doing well but at this place they encourage you to look for a job after 6 months. I found another sales job with a car and the same crap happened. I would drive to the casinos instead of working and soon I was fired yet again and the rehab told me to leave. I didn't understand though about the whole probation part and that I was supposed to report to a probation officer. I left and took a greyhound bus to Las Vegas(my 1st time coming). I had $220 when I got off the bus and walked right into the Golden Nugget and lost that in 5 minutes playing paigow. For the next 30 days and I am not exaggerating, I walked from Golden Nugget to Treasure Island, stopping in almost every casino on the way begging for money, begging for food, etc... I was trying to sleep in casino lobbies and would get woken up by security telling me to leave. I wore the same clothes for 30 days - no shower, no nothing. I was a complete mess and in serious distress. Around the 30th day or so I walked into Treasure Island Casino and saw some guy playing $5 slots. I don't know what story I told him but he handed me $200 and told me good luck. What did I do with the $200??? Instead of getting a room and sleeping or buying some new cheap clothes, I went to the paigow table and turned it into $1000. I was so tired though that I actually left the table and got a room at Treasure Island. I asked for a late checkout and slept for almost 20 hours. When I left the room and checked out I went into the gift shop and bought a T-Shirt and some socks and some shorts. I had about $700 left and went back to the paigow table at TI. The next thing you know I ran it up to $15,000 and this host comes over and offers me RFB(free room, food, beverage) and limos. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I was given this big suite and I immediately took this limo to the mall and bought all new clothes, socks, boxers, a movado watch - it was surreal to me. I wanted to see the Amazing Jonathan at the Nugget so they got me tickets and the limo took me down. They gave me VIP Madonna tickets for the big concert in a few days -all for winning $15,000 of their money. Well, that "high" was short lived because i went down the next day and lost all of the money back. I was so depressed and now I had nothing. I went back to the mall and tried to take back the movado watch but they wouldn't give me cash back, only would mail me a check within 6 weeks so I started yelling and carying on - it was horrible. I went back to Treasure Island and proceeded to try and sell my Madonna tickets. I got $500 for both of them when security found out and told me I had to checkout because I wasn't allowed to sell comped tickets to anyone. I checked out of TI, took the $500 and went to Mirage, gambled it and lost quick and was back to square one. I certainly did not want to walk around the whole strip like I just had done after living the good life for a day or 2 so I decided to start asking people for money in the hotel lobbies - which led to the airport thing

More in the next few minutes(again trying to be as honest and detailed as possible to everyone because it's the right thing to do. When I am finished I will answer questions but I will answer 1 right now about why I didn't use a fake name at the airport. I didn't want to ever get a fake id or use a fake name because that could/would lead to much more serious charges against me when I am talked to by the police. Obviously, most people will not give a complete stranger $200 or something even with a good story. Some passengers will complain to the police that there is a guy asking for money and the police will stop and ask questions. If I have a fake ID or a fake name and they want to run my name for warrants, they will find out quick that I have no valid social security number and there would be no records matching that fake name. Then I would be charged with giving a false name to a police officer amongst other things and believe it or not I have paid some people back when I have hit for a decent score. I will keep their business card and western union or mail them a money order for the amount they gave. That's the honest answer.

photoshop potential itt

Fair enough answer. Keep the story coming before I pass out!

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I found this thread really sad. I've always liked Mike's posts here, and I can't imagine anyone who wasn't a complete mess resorting to hustling people for loans in airports.

I bet he convinces himself that he actually will pay the people back. He had made good on some of the complaints on that scambuster site.

Yeah, I'm not sure that they're mocking the disease as much as they are the symptom of scamming people in airports.

Should have bought a Timex instead. Whenever you took a licking it would keep on ticking.

Good choice on the boxers, I assume tighty whities would be a bit restrictive in your double life.

Amusing story, though I do not entirely believe every detail, since people of this type do lie all the time, even when they think they are telling the truth and/or remembering events, but it is an entertaining read for those of us who are totally indifferent about the events/outcome of the author. Most of his stories so far are variations of episodes of "Trailer Park Boys," which filmed a new season after nearly a decade so it seems the general public has a demand for this type of story telling.

Hey PSUMike maybe some 2 Plus 2ers can pitch in together and get you a stake. I would be down to throw in a few hundred for you. Hopefully others will be willing also. GL to you

This is one of the saddest stories I've ever heard. Is there any hope when the compulsion is this bad?

I decided at the Mirage that I would need to come up with a good story to get money from people because I was so addicted to gambling I needed that fix all the time. Just like an alcoholic or drug addict, the addict in me just needs to play. I came up with some story about missed flights and job interviews and would look for guys dressed in suits -who looked like they traveled a lot. of course most peoplesay no but maybe 1 out of 10 would give me $60, $80, $100, even $200 or $300. That is what I was doing to make money in Las Vegas from early September 2001 - June 2002. Most times I would take the money and lose it right away but a few times I would have a nice run like I did at TI. I took $200 and won $15,000 at Mirage - I took $100 and won $25,000 at Bellagio and I took $200 and won $25,000 at the Venetian - All within that year. Of course though the same thing happened each time - I would lose it all back, try and sell comped tickets and get thrown out of the hotel/casino. Around May of 2002 I decided to head back to California and start playing at the card clubs again. I took another greyhound bus, went into a couple downtown hotels and managed to get $300 or so. I went to The Bicycle Club and met this guy there who I would ultimately confide in about what went wrong in my life and how I was able to get money by giving some sob story at various hotels. He offered to drive me around and wanted gas money and some extra money for waiting. I agreed since it was probably cheaper than taxis all the time and he started driving me to all of these nice hotels. I would make a few hundred in a couple of hours and he would drive me to the card clubs to try and win a lot more. Well 1 day I went to a hotel in Long Beach and there was a police officer nearby that I didn't see. The person I had asked money from told me no and told the officer. He asked me for my id and ran my name and told me I had a no bail bench warrant out of orange county. It was a probation violation for not reporting. I was eventually brought down to the orange county jail and was sentenced to 90 days. It was a horrific experience and that is a kind description . I had to fake suicide because I was being threatened by big guys in my cell in there for robbery, attempt murder, etc.. and here is this nerdy guy in for a 90 day probation violation. I told the CO I was suicidal and they stripped me naked, put me in a cell with no mattress and cold air blowing down from the vents. I had some velcro thing on me and I sat in that cell and cried for 24 hours. Finally a psychiatrist saw me the next day and I told her I was not suicidal. She got me out of there and I was put in a different cell with calmer people and I finished out my 90 days and got released.

When I was released I called my friend from the Bike and he told me I had to report to the probation officer or I would be locked up again. I saw her and finished out 2 years of probation while living in motels, under bridges, etc... I don't know how I didn't get violated again because I was still gambling in casinos whenever I could hustle up any money. 1 day my friend suggested to me that I go to the LAX Airport because there are more business travelers there and it is better than hotel lobbies. I said sure and that's when I started going to airports to try and hustle up money.

Next post coming in a few minutes.

How about we help do the leg work involved in getting him self banned from every casino instead of giving him more money to gamble with? It's true what someone said that he could still find other ways to gamble, but at least the most immediate and temping source would be gone. It would be a big step. I doubt he would be able to find a Pai Gow game anywhere else, at the very least.

"Who's high pitched? This is Kelly claaaarkson"

With all due respect, it is not sad, it is pathetic.

He has/had a CHOICE not to gamble, as hard as that choice maybe, he still has that.

My Dad died in 2012 while my Mum was fighting bowel cancer in hospital, he had NO CHOICE.

So as sad as it is to you, its ****ing pathetic in my eyes.

Are you sure you actually went to Penn State? If so, you obviously aren't stupid. So either you're a liar, of you're capable of olympic standards of rationalization for your self-serving actions.

The whining and sense of entitlement you display in this paragraph are almost certainly part of what's contributing to your ability to stand in airports, scamming people out of money.

Perhaps if you'd had the money or the credit to pay a better lawyer, you could have got a better deal. But given that you were actually guilty of all the offences you were charged with, and the jail was traded for rehab, you've really got nothing to whine about here.

Yea it is pretty pathetic. I can see messing up real bad once, even twice I guess. But when you get the third job, or when you actually hit for 15k and still blow it, it is pathetic.

I had hopes that the story quality would be decent, and so far it is not bad, though the latest variation blurs the general backstory of Julian and Ricky a bit as he is doing parts of both character stories for his general narrative. His driver is a variation of the Corey/Trevor characters.

If his nickname for one of the tigers at the Mirage is a variation of Steve French then I am out of here, though it is interesting that many here are accepting a story at face value from a con man.

By the way, of all the things to be addicted to...pai gow? What do you even get from that? Like what do you expect is going to happen exactly?

lol

sure it's pathetic

you trying to tie some sob story about your dad dying into the situation is also pathetic

no actually you mocking his story about his dad is pathetic.

he's 100 pct right. this pos has a choice no to gamble and he still chooses to gamble. his dad didn't have a choice.

one has nothing to do with the other

dear lord. if even 1/4th of this is true makes feel bad for anyone struggling with gambling compulsion.

as for the other 3/4s, I'd say 2+2 is the new airport and readers of the thread are the new guys in the suit.

If you do care, sending money to this guy is about the worst thing you can do for him.

this is unquestionably true

i assumed the guy who offered earlier was trolling

Around the end of 2003, early 2004 the whole poker boom exploded with the airing of the 2003 WSOP on ESPN. I like many others, would scream at the tv that i could do this, I could bluff, I am not afraid of shoving all my chips in because I have no value of money anyways. I flew back east and after hustling up almost $500 at Newark Airport, I went down to AC and started playing small $50 tournaments at the TAJ. I bought some books and read and watched ESPN reruns and started winning some of the nightly tournaments they held. Again though, same theme throughout - won $3500, gambled it right back playing paigow, won $2000, same thing. The TAJ was putting on its various poker series throughout the year so I started playing satellites to qualify in. I played a few tournaments and made 3rd place in 1 of them for like $10,000 I believe. That was also around the time I met Little Man Mike Sica. He had just won his bracelet that summer so he was playing every tournament they had. I started talking to him and of course right away I asked him if he would put me in any tournaments. He laughed and said "do you know how many people have asked me that just today?" Well we started hanging out down there a lot and he said he liked my game and started putting me in various events(his choosing). What he didn't like however was my appetite for gambling. He would get pissed that any cash or any score(no matter how small or large) was immediately gambled into the pits by me. He started telling me poker is my only shot, not those fool games. He offered to hold my money for me so I wouldn't degen it but of course at the time I said no. I only knew him at that point for about a year and even though I trusted him in my gut, I always liked holding my own money and would tell myself that I would not gamble in the pit again(YEAH RIGHT). In late 2005 after the world series of poker ended I was in a free fall. Forget airports, I was coming up to random strangers in the poker rooms(people who I might have just met 1 time) and tell them I was getting a money wire and I needed to borrow $2000, $3000, etc... I remember a Foxwoods trip in the spring of 2006 where I must have borrowed close to $25,000 from like 6-7 different people - each time I would take the few thousand right down to paigow and bet $3000 1 shot. If I lost(which I mostly did) I would walk around the room trying to borrow more money. If I won, I bet 5k to try and hit them quick for a big score. It never worked that trip and people were coming up to Little Man telling him that I was going off the deep end borrowing thousands from various people and asked if he would pay it back for me. Of course he said no but he said he would put me in tournaments and if I hit a score he would personally pay all of the people back. Well in December of 2006 I won a $1060 circuit event at Harrah's for $66,000. There was a line of about 5 people that Little Man navigated through and paid everyone back for me so I didn't gamble it beforehand. When all was said and done I had about $32,000 left. He wanted me to play the 5k circuit main the next day or 2 days so he told me to buy in ahead of time which I did. He wanted to hold the $27,000 or so I had left but of course me being stupid I said no. I took the $27,000 back to the TAJ and went over to the baccarat pit(I had just gotten into that game by watching other people play it) and I turned my $27,000 into $100,000. I took those 5k chips over to the cage and cashed out. They gave me $100,000 in 10k packets hundred dollar bills and I went back to my room and was in heaven. I was counting each packet, organizing each bill to face the same way, etc... I knew I should have called Little Man and he would have come over and taken that 100k from me but i didn't. I couldn't sleep so I took 30k down to try and win another 100k. Bad move - I lost it in 5 minutes. I went back to my room and grabbed 40k -same thing, lost in 10 minutes. I couldn't stop myself, I went back to my room, got the last 30k minus about $1000 and lost all of that. In a span of 1 hour I won close to $80,000 and then lost almost $100,000. I threw up.

Next post in a few minutes.