Gambling and Bankruptcy

Every now and then somebody drops in and discusses how much they don't like themselves, because they just bet their way into the poorhouse.

Even worse, I sometimes get a chance to talk to some poor devil who's dishonored a gambling marker from Las Vegas, and now has an ARREST WARRENT out for him, and is looking at the probability of being EXTRADITED to stand trial in Vegas for what they suggest is like passing a hot check (the Vegas view of dishonoring a gambling marker).

That's the kind of corporate stupidity that comes from being run by a publicly traded company that has to report quarterly gains.

The Mob was much smarter. They wouldn't let a schlub run up a $200,000 marker, and if he didn't pay, they just WOULDN'T LET HIM PLAY AGAIN until he made good. Or just work him over a little.

Now lemmie ask you: are you more likely to use a marker (gamble on credit at the casino) if the consequence is that they might sue you, or refuse to let you keep playing, OR if the consequence is that you'll GO TO JAIL FOR TEN OR TWENTY YEARS for failure to pay?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

So I have a very strong suggestion for you.

Do not ruin your life with compulsive gambling. Find a different, less expensive compulsion with fewer bad side effects.

Compulsive swimming, maybe. Compulsive blogging. Compulsive fingerpainting.

But compulsive gambling is now plain out, especially if you're asked to sign a marker at the casino so you can keep going.

Just say no.