GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - View Single Post - Ever know somebody with a gambling addiction?

xenigo · 06-19-2012, 04:50 PM

A family member of mine over the past couple years has developed quite a gambling addiction. Actually, he purports to be a gambling expert... and he claims he mostly wins. Except he brings massive amounts of money to the casinos, and always leaves with nothing to show for it. He's delinquent on child support, he's lost multiple jobs because of his financial desperation (constantly asking his bosses for raises), he's taken out payday loans with interest accumulating seemingly exponentially week after week. He's about to get sued by his creditors.

All of his bank accounts have been closed, and he's being chased by the banks. He's running from the casinos now because he somehow discovered some point-of-sale loophole that allowed him to withdraw $1000 with a zero dollar balance on his bank card, while the POS had a failed terminal connection unbeknownst to the casino cashier.

He'll borrow money for gas to fill his tank, and with that $50, he runs to the casino... and loses it again. He borrows $20 for food... and loses it at the casino. Could you ever imagine someone not being able to hold onto a single dollar, without gambling it?

So I was opening some of his catastrophic mail the other day, because he didn't want to open it himself... and I said to him "heh, I get to live your life vicariously through you... and it's sort of like experiencing this train-wreck for myself..." and he got all bent out of shape for calling his life a train-wreck. Well, shit... what does he consider it then?

He used to be a big technology enthusiast, and despite the fact that he's always had a pretty decent income... he doesn't have any toys because he pawned everything to gamble. He was talking about how crappy his MVNO Android phone is, and how he'd like to buy a new one but can't afford it... I said "well, it all comes down to what you value... and you value gambling above and beyond everything." He said "I don't value gambling..." and I responded "obviously you value gambling, or you wouldn't spend all of your money on it... I don't value gambling so I don't spend my money on it. Dollars are votes of confidence." And he proceeded to get ticked off that I said that. What the fuck, right? It's like holding up a mirror to give someone an idea of what they look like... and them denying their identity.

And what I ultimately don't understand is this; If you go to the casino, and you look at the massive palatial scale of their architecture... and then you go home, and look at your shitty house, shitty car, and shitty life... could it not be any more clear who's "winning"? How do people not see it?

I've offered to teach him everything I know about SEO, and blog building... and show him ways to create content and monetize traffic. But he seems to have absolutely no interest in that. I can show him how to build an income source that would completely eliminate all of his current cash-flow problems... but he can't be bothered to pick up the phone or Skype me in for a desktop sharing session.

He'd rather drink Four Loko's and eat weed cookies. If it doesn't involve someone handing him a paycheck at the end of the week, it doesn't matter to him.

06-19-2012, 04:50 PM
xenigo Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 8,067	Ever know somebody with a gambling addiction? A family member of mine over the past couple years has developed quite a gambling addiction. Actually, he purports to be a gambling expert... and he claims he mostly wins. Except he brings massive amounts of money to the casinos, and always leaves with nothing to show for it. He's delinquent on child support, he's lost multiple jobs because of his financial desperation (constantly asking his bosses for raises), he's taken out payday loans with interest accumulating seemingly exponentially week after week. He's about to get sued by his creditors. All of his bank accounts have been closed, and he's being chased by the banks. He's running from the casinos now because he somehow discovered some point-of-sale loophole that allowed him to withdraw $1000 with a zero dollar balance on his bank card, while the POS had a failed terminal connection unbeknownst to the casino cashier. He'll borrow money for gas to fill his tank, and with that $50, he runs to the casino... and loses it again. He borrows $20 for food... and loses it at the casino. Could you ever imagine someone not being able to hold onto a single dollar, without gambling it? So I was opening some of his catastrophic mail the other day, because he didn't want to open it himself... and I said to him "heh, I get to live your life vicariously through you... and it's sort of like experiencing this train-wreck for myself..." and he got all bent out of shape for calling his life a train-wreck. Well, shit... what does he consider it then? He used to be a big technology enthusiast, and despite the fact that he's always had a pretty decent income... he doesn't have any toys because he pawned everything to gamble. He was talking about how crappy his MVNO Android phone is, and how he'd like to buy a new one but can't afford it... I said "well, it all comes down to what you value... and you value gambling above and beyond everything." He said "I don't value gambling..." and I responded "obviously you value gambling, or you wouldn't spend all of your money on it... I don't value gambling so I don't spend my money on it. Dollars are votes of confidence." And he proceeded to get ticked off that I said that. What the fuck, right? It's like holding up a mirror to give someone an idea of what they look like... and them denying their identity. And what I ultimately don't understand is this; If you go to the casino, and you look at the massive palatial scale of their architecture... and then you go home, and look at your shitty house, shitty car, and shitty life... could it not be any more clear who's "winning"? How do people not see it? I've offered to teach him everything I know about SEO, and blog building... and show him ways to create content and monetize traffic. But he seems to have absolutely no interest in that. I can show him how to build an income source that would completely eliminate all of his current cash-flow problems... but he can't be bothered to pick up the phone or Skype me in for a desktop sharing session. He'd rather drink Four Loko's and eat weed cookies. If it doesn't involve someone handing him a paycheck at the end of the week, it doesn't matter to him.