I wanted to read this entire thread but I gave up after 5 pages of unsolicited wacky advice from people living in mom's basement. not once did Mike actually ask for advice, but that didn't stop anyone LOL.

Obviously. He only "actually asked" countless strangers for money until this thread was started about (not by) him.

Notice he didn't say that that he hasn't gambled!

You don't need to know much really. And the dealer is allowed to answer questions so they can pretty much show you how to play.

just chiming in to say that its great that Mike is going forward to try to fix his life. It obviously doesnt excuse his past behavior but at least hes trying to go forward.

All you haters who say this and that. He has a serious problem which he finally accepted and is trying to fix. If he relapses or not, at least hes doing something about it and that says a lot about a person.

lol.. did you read his last post?... How long has it been, a week? Its pretty clear he has already been back gambling. That's not a relapse, that's not even trying to begin with.

He only "tried" to stop gambling out of the shaming of this thread. He is smart enough to tell people what they want to hear. I simply can't understand all the well wishes for this dude. He is not a nice person. I could empathize with an addicted gambler. My grandfather went into 300k debt from gambling. I can't feel for an *******, scamming thief though. He deserves the hell he is living in.

One thing that has never been addressed by Mike, which I am very curious about, I hope he will address. How does he afford to travel back and forth across the country and pay for hotels on a scammers budget?

I believe at last update a week ago mike had about $2000 left to his name. Assuming he hasn't gambled any of that money I suppose that is enough to live the last few weeks and buy an airline ticket across the country to visit his parents? but now what?

There are reports of him all across the country at airport and tournaments. How are you affording this mike?

Is it me or do the numbers just not seem to add up? Can getting people to give a few hundred at the airport really generate enough cash flow to live in hotels and fly back and forth about the country or are there other more lucrative scams for which he hasn't outed himself?

I relapsed 1 time in Northern California and immediately went to GA the next day. Is that what you want to hear?? Do you feel better now??? I am trying and if you don't believe it that's on you. I am not doing it FOR YOU. Keep hating on me though, I know it makes you feel better.

Yes.

Amazing. . if you are a good enough "sales" person to get people to give you 15 years of free money to live in motels, travel the country, and gamble ( and to assuredly hear "no" 1,000's of times and not be deterred). . think of the living you could have had if you put these skills toward good and not evil and actually got a sales job.

Yup, I have been told I would have been an excellent salesperson if I had bothered to commit to it the right way.

I realize you were addressing someone else specifically, but...

In my case, yes, it was.

Yes and no.

Yes, in that even though I'm not one of the people rooting against you, I am in the camp that wants you to be honest with the thread if you're going to continue posting. (Actually, I'm with SGT RJ in that you're probably better off excusing yourself from 2+2. But if you're getting motivation by trying to prove the haters wrong, then so be it.)

No, in that I'm not big on schadenfreude.

You're not doing it for your thread detractors, per se, but I somewhat feel like the difficulty of this recovery serves as a small form of penance for those you wronged. (I might be in the minority on this part.) In my mind, you're doing it partially for them.

And here is the crazy irony. . i GUARANTEE you that it is easier to work as a sales rep from an office supply company (which is a difficult job) than it is to get unsuspecting travelers to give you 100 bucks. . and with the former they give you a company car and with the latter you go to jail!

This.

Sell legitimate products. Always a need for salespeople. Sky is the limit in sales.

In your one-day-at-a-time path, this is still a few stops down the road, but some type of sales position doesn't seem like it's out of the realm of possibility as a form of income. (Note: I know NOTHING about the sales world except for those who sell group tickets and season tickets for professional sports teams.)

Of course, first things first. And I'll let more knowledgeable people opine as to whether or not someone could get hired for (for example) telemarketing even with a criminal record.

I have come to the conclusion after being a 2+2 member for close to 3 years that SGT RJ is an AWESOME MODERATOR on many levels and I mean that 100%.

Bye mike, hope you do well. Lets us know how you are doing 6 months from now... Best of luck

So just to be clear, while you are theoretically making efforts to stop gambling, you are making no efforts to stop scamming... And people are still supporting this lowlife because?

Telemarketing is one of the few jobs where a felon can get hired easily. I have seen documentaries on former pimps working as sales managers. The nature of the business is very in and out. I remember reading that world famous boxing trainer Freddy Roach did this when he first started out as a trainer as pay cheques are slim until you get a world class fighter.

I think this is known as a "lateral move."

Did you win or lose? How did you feel afterwards?

lol how many winners go to GA the next morning? i'm honestly curious, i've never been.

It's possible he was way down at one point but left up a little.

Yes. The nature of pimping is very in and out.

i'd love to know. i love this thread.