HawkWow":5t9pgqaq said:
If I cannot discourage people from betting (and that would be my first choice), I'd like to at least make sure they are maximizing their chances. Once the biggest part of my life, I will never gamble again.
I never thought much about gambling, it was always just something that never appealed to me.
And then:
I had this amazing model I used to work with quite a bit. One of the most gorgeous women I have ever seen in my life... just, incredible - every single part of her, and not only that - great personality, loyal, smart as a whip. I was in awe when she stepped in front of my camera. Her husband was a nice enough guy but the dude had a gambling issue.
He went in several times for rehab, she stuck by him - worked crap jobs to pay off the debts he rolled up. Then one day she stayed after a shoot that I called off in the mid afternoon because she was too sad for pictures. She stuck around, and we had a talk (we were good friends by then) well, she'd gone to use a credit card and found out he rolled up another ten grand in debt on her at a casino. That poor gal, after all she'd done for him, she sat next to me in the office and cried for several straight hours and then we talked most of the night - until dawn actually. He called her and said "will never happen again" but I could tell in her eyes and her body language that she was done with him.
I just kept thinking "What a stupid stupid stupid stupid man -he will never get a shot at a woman like that ever again." And I also realized it must be some kind of fierce addiction, because I know a few alcoholics who would have gone stone sober in a heartbeat to avoid losing a woman like that.
I was never comfortable with the gambling culture before that, but after that incident and witnessing first hand the damage it does, I kind of always equated it as being as bad as crack or heroine.
I'm not impressed that it's such a huge part of sports now.