Gambling Problems...

GET HIS ASS TO CHURCH! Some come to God because they see the light some because they feel the heat, either way it will help by surrounding him with supportive people and depending on the church may have a free class to help with addictions like this.

nope, you've got to let him go broke and hit the point where he seeks help. If he's really got a problem he'll steal from you and break your heart until he realizes his life has to change.

sounds like he isn't good at gambling. Just curious, where does he play?

Protestant Child wrote:

I have a member of my family who has a gambling problem.

thing is, he's 45 and needs to really fix his problem or thats it for him really- He'll be broke on the street at 55. Sad, but true. Then, to boot, it will be another 10 years before he could be on Social Security, if its still there.

What should I do to get him off? He feels like life is great and couldn't be better- he practically lives in a casino and lives off free drinks and snack foods they carry around.

Should I just tie him to a poll in a church for a year while he hears the word of the lord? honestly is there anything to do for him?

Does he have INCOME? If he has some sort of income that allows him the whole day to sit there in the casino and eat free food (albeit bad food) all day and he is actually spending less than he makes...I mean, maybe he just likes the atmosphere and just sits at slot machines and doesn't pump that much in.

I'm against gambling in general and feel it to be evil actually, but you've got to tell us more before we can decide if he has a problem or not. Just being in the casino all day every day isn't necessarily a problem -- unless he has a family he's ignoring, but that's a different kind of problem.

Flagpole Willy wrote:

I'm against gambling in general and feel it to be evil actually, but you've got to tell us more before we can decide if he has a problem or not.

What about gambling would you consider evil?

He can't have too bad of a gambling problem if it's going to take him 10 years to become broke and on the street.

I love gambling. Luckily I'm not compulsive. I know people who are and it has destroyed their lives and severely impacted those around them.

Tell him to stop playing $2 moneyline favorites in baseball. It'll kill ya. Play nothing but home underdogs the rest of the NCAA season and you'll end up with a nice chunk of change.

SC Slim wrote:

Flagpole Willy wrote:

I'm against gambling in general and feel it to be evil actually, but you've got to tell us more before we can decide if he has a problem or not.

What about gambling would you consider evil?

1) The vast majority of people who gamble are people who don't have money to waste. VERY common for someone to go into a store and use food stamps for food and then any cash they have to buy alcohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets. Hoping for that big score by throwing all that money away on lottery tickets keeps poor people down. The average person who plays the lottery (and again, they're almost all POOR people) spends $32 a month on lottery tickets. That's $1,664 a year. Lets say that instead you invested that money in good growth stock mutual funds earning 10% annual return. In 40 years, that money would be worth $892,000. If those mutual funds did closer to the average of 11.4% of what the stock market has returned annually since 1978, then they'd have $1.3 million dollars. Absolutely insane to think you could actually win a lottery. Obviously people do, but you could list all day the things that are more likely to happen than hitting a big lottery jackpot.

2) I'm not a big Bible thumper, and I certainly have issues with lots of things in the Bible and with many practicing Christians, but I do fully agree with the one passage that says this - "He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye." Many people will look at getting rich and getting rich QUICK as the way to go. This can be an overwhelming force and it drives some people to evil behavior -- murder, theft, etc. People who work hard for their money (or smart for their money) and save and invest and work on their business so that it grows...these are people to be admired. Someone who throws away a decent portion of their income each month on lottery tickets or other gambling is going down the wrong path. False hope, the hope of getting rich quick without having to work for it...pure evil.

Flagpole, I will respond to you because you seem to take this quite lightly.

My family member will not ascend into God's Kingdom in Heaven. He has debased himself with this evil. It saddens me that the bright person he was only 10 years ago is now almost gone. He surrounds himself with evil. He doesn't even visit on holidays. Gambling, drinking, and partying are his way of life now. His income does not matter at this point, its his soul.

So while you may take Gambling lightly, I do not. And if you are nonreligious, sac-religious, or any type of satanic/luciferian cult worshiper, just remember this:

My Family and I enjoy our simple lives. We have food to eat, a home to live in, and stable livelihoods working in the country. We are rich in the sense that our family is happy. I see 20 people on a daily basis that come to our orchards to pick fruit and berries, and they come from the city. They look unhappy and after a half an hour or an hour of picking whole grown, natural and unpesticided fruit they go on their way, their faces, eyes, and spirit brightened.

Why would one give up that way of life if it is so enjoyable to the spirit?

My family member gave that up, and its sad, the only thing that seems to keep him going is even more gambling, drinking, women, and vice- and thats just not right. He may have some money left over at the end of the day, but my point is simple, that doesn't matter. Do you understand that Flagpole?

I think you need to read my second post in this thread. I definitely do NOT take gambling lightly. I think it is EVIL. However, evil in and of itself doesn't necessarily make something a problem. Bill Gates could lose a million dollars a day gambling and he'd be fine. Not true for most people. On the other hand, if a guy has an income of $200,000 per year (from stocks or investments or whatever) and he wants to spend $100 a day in a casino then while I might belive that is a waste of his time and doesn't allow for great relationships, outside of that it isn't necessarily a problem.

If you believe in God, then you also believe in God's grace. Someone who neglects his extended family and spends his time in a casino isn't necessarily shut out of Heaven my brother.

I think all gambling should be outlawed. I'm a practicing Christian (very active member of a United Methodist Church).

Gambling is evil. I do believe it has gripped your family member. His income is part of the equation though. Does he have it to lose? I still think it is evil either way, but the depth of the affect of the gambling is less if he has some money. I think your thoughts that he cannot go to Heaven are not right. There is always Grace brother.

I'm sure you have some data to back up your claims.

Comparing casino gambling to buying lottery tickets is like comparing the Olympic Marathon to the three legged race at your company picnic. Most casino games, slots excluded, require some amount of knowledge, training, and skill to be good at, lotteries are pure chance. You can learn to be a better blackjack player, you can't learn to be a better lottery player. If you know what you're doing, casino gambling is barely even gambling.

Flagpole Willy wrote:

The average person who plays the lottery (and again, they're almost all POOR people) spends $32 a month on lottery tickets. That's $1,664 a year. Lets say that instead you invested that money in good growth stock mutual funds earning 10% annual return. In 40 years, that money would be worth $892,000. If those mutual funds did closer to the average of 11.4% of what the stock market has returned annually since 1978, then they'd have $1.3 million dollars. Absolutely insane to think you could actually win a lottery. Obviously people do, but you could list all day the things that are more likely to happen than hitting a big lottery jackpot.

Holy funky math Batman!

$32 a month is $384 a year, which is quite a bit different than $1664.

Even assuming the $1664, at 10% that gives you $736k, not the $892.

The $384 a year is worth around $170k.

really? wrote:

Flagpole Willy wrote:

The average person who plays the lottery (and again, they're almost all POOR people) spends $32 a month on lottery tickets. That's $1,664 a year. Lets say that instead you invested that money in good growth stock mutual funds earning 10% annual return. In 40 years, that money would be worth $892,000. If those mutual funds did closer to the average of 11.4% of what the stock market has returned annually since 1978, then they'd have $1.3 million dollars. Absolutely insane to think you could actually win a lottery. Obviously people do, but you could list all day the things that are more likely to happen than hitting a big lottery jackpot.

Holy funky math Batman!

$32 a month is $384 a year, which is quite a bit different than $1664.

Even assuming the $1664, at 10% that gives you $736k, not the $892.

The $384 a year is worth around $170k.

$32 a week. Sorry.

Ngyen Wah wrote:

If you know what you're doing, casino gambling is barely even gambling.

Ha! Spoken like a true money loser. Casinos love it when people have thoughts like that. Dude, do you think those casinos operate out of the goodness of their hearts? They take so much from each person who walks in the door it isn't even funny. how do you think they keep building and keep those neon lights on all the time with free or discounted food and drinks and low hotel room bills? And, if you happen to end up being good enough to make more than you lose at blackjack or whatever, you are quickly identified and picture posted and not allowed to return -- the casinos share that info too.

Barely even gambling. Dude, you don't know what you're talking about.

Flagpole Willy wrote:

$32 a week. Sorry.

Do you have a link for that?

Poor people gambling does not mean gambling is "evil," it means those poor people are stupid and probably explains a lot about how they became poor in the first place.

Gambling is entertainment and I consider some gambling losses to be money well spent. Anyone who plays the lottery or goes to Vegas and expects to get rich is an idiot.

Casinos also do not ban winners. They track the amount of time a person plays and their average bet. They may monitor winners more closely to ensure there is no cheating taking place, but any casino that kicked out winners would quickly be out of business.

SC Slim wrote:

Poor people gambling does not mean gambling is "evil," it means those poor people are stupid and probably explains a lot about how they became poor in the first place.

Gambling is entertainment and I consider some gambling losses to be money well spent. Anyone who plays the lottery or goes to Vegas and expects to get rich is an idiot.

Casinos also do not ban winners. They track the amount of time a person plays and their average bet. They may monitor winners more closely to ensure there is no cheating taking place, but any casino that kicked out winners would quickly be out of business.

1) Gambling is entertainment -- I guess some people just like losing money. Not me.

2) Going to Vegas -- people don't go there EXPECTING to get rich, but they go with the thought that it COULD happen, and pretty much it can't; we hear a story about twice a year about someone hitting it big in some casino somewhere in the world. How many casinos are there and how many people play every single day?

3) Casinos do not ban regular winners -- Yes they do. Here's just one story I found in about 2 seconds -

I know a guy who was kicked out of Vegas Casinos because he was taking them to town in blackjack.

Flagpole Willy wrote:

They take so much from each person who walks in the door it isn't even funny.

At least be consistant, fogpole. On one hand you say every one loses, then you cite an article says consistant winners are banned. Well, which is it?