Living on Borrowed Dimes
By John Waltzer
Everyone has done it but some will fib about it. You walk into a casino and spend every dime you have on you and you walk out cursing the casino, your very existence and the existence of everyone around you. You went to the casino to win and instead you went for broke before you even considered leaving and the only reason you are leaving is that you are now b-r-o-k-e, broke. Congratulations.
People Contact with Gambling
The fact is that millions of people each year come into contact with some form of gambling and many people cannot play without realizing a win or going for broke. I used to be that excessively until my dad put a roaring halt to it. I would go gambling and win big, buy something or spend every dollar I had on something stupid and then start over. Usually, I would start over on his ‘dime’ not one of mine because my dimes were spent as soon as I ‘earned’ them.
Truly Involve in the World of Gambling
The reality of gambling is that when you are truly involved in the world of gambling, there is no reality. Many people who live inside the world of gambling know this is true yet they do nothing to change it because they love it. It is who they are. I believe that the reason gamblers who find no value in money are because there is no value in their dollars, because there are no dollars to speak of, only chips. Moreover, if the chips run out, then you just start over again with someone else’s chips or you work for a while and convert you are hard earned dollars into chips.
Archie Kara’s the Greatest Gambler
Archie Kara’s is considered to be the greatest gambler on earth. Rumor has it that Archie showed up in Las Vegas years ago with very little money to his name, immediately found a backer and turned his benefactor’s $10,000 into $20,000.00 in a poker game called Razz. Archie’s raked in millions on dice, pool, and in the poker room. Once, he was noted for winning all of the Horseshoe’s $5,000.00 chips. He’s been quoted in many publications as saying , “ I’ve been a millionaire over 50 times and dead broke more than I can count , but I sleep the same whether I have ten or ten million dollars in my pocket.” Moreover, millionaire (today anyway), Archie Kara’s is not the only one who feels this way.
True Gambling Personalities in a World
I grew up in a world surrounded by sports gambling and I have seen it too many times in true gambling personalities. Though Archie may have said it, many gamblers feel the very same way. There are professional and recreational gamblers who share those very same sentiments even if they do not bet at the level where Archie bets. I am a strong advocate for recreational gambling, yet because I share that very view, some would say I am distorted in my thinking. However distorted my thinking may be, it is true, I sleep the same whether I win or lose and it does not matter what the amount is. Keep in mind though, I am not betting at the level of Archie Kara’s.
Inexperienced
What’s shocking to many ‘normal’ people who have never been on a ‘run’ or have never experienced two weeks straight in a casino is that people who feel this way about money , really do feel this way about money. It is who they are and they accept that about themselves. They cannot explain it and are unimpressed with thousands in wins and unscathed by thousands in losses. They really do snuggle up under the covers as either comfortably way win or lose. Moreover, usually the casino takes care of their room and board, so why think about a place to sleep!
Don’t Be Reckless
The thing about this lifestyle is that if you live it, you must have someone who will back you when you are reckless and let us be honest, that is not a good thing. If you are going for rich or going for broke when you gamble then eventually, you will hit broke. Moreover, you may have someone there for you ready to pick up the pieces but it sure is an imposition for you to do that to someone else. However, Archie Kara’s, Stud Unger, Johnny Moss and many great gamblers of today and days gone by have done it. They have lost thousands, and won millions, lost millions and then started all over again and it has been on someone else’s dime.