Gambler's Anonymous - 20 Question Survey

[DAAnMAAn]

I remember this episode of gambling with an edge...and thought it a strange case. AP in question never said he had a problem per say, just wanted to make his spouse happy/quiet/get off his back/whatever. So put himself in the state exclusion list and found out how difficult it is to get off it...in addition, found that he couldn't even get on the parking lot, attend restaurants or shows, nada...which he claims he didn't realize.
Regardless, it is not impossible to get off once one gets on, but said AP player said it doesn't bother him or doesn't want to go thru the hassle or what have you....once again, strange.
I don't know if we were told the whole story on this
Episode. Suffice to say, a gambling problem for one person is not necessarily a gambling problem for another. One guy can lose $50 and get sick about it and throw up and shake and etc...while another loses a hundred grand or more (Michael jordon or whales for example) and don't give it another thought....so have to decide what your tolerance level is, what the bankroll level is if any, and when to apply the gas or the brake. That is what I did for the last 12 years in Vegas and still surviving some bad downswings and enjoy the occasional nice upswings. anyway, find out what works for you. Everyone is different.
Cheers

[Vman96]

If he actually put himself on a state banning list, then I'd hope for his sake (if he wasn't going to follow through on quitting) that no major companies were in his state.

If I would exclude myself from Missouri, bye CET and maybe Penn Gaming. Not sure of the latter's policy nationwide. Hell BeeeJay, a great trip writer from one of my other forums is now banned from all CET and Boyd until about 2021 because he wanted to ban himself from their NJ online gaming sites only.

[FloridaPhil]

Gambling is only a "problem" when it causes problems.  Some non gamblers will say any gambling is bad.  Same thing for smokers, drinkers, over eaters or even dancers for that matter.  The issue as I see it is "control".   One of the questions on this survey was if I ever lost sleep over gambling.  I answered yes.  There are nights when I was so upset because I gave back a $500 jackpot that I stayed awake contemplating my actions.  Does this make me a problem gambler?  Heck no, but it does make me an enthusiastic one.  There are also nights when I so excited to go to the casino the next day that I keep waking up to look at the clock.    Is a $500 loss going to affect my lifestyle?  Of course not.   Would a $50,000 loss?  Not really, but it may make me want to jump off a bridge because I was stupid enough to risk it in the first place.   This is one of the big negatives I see in the betting bigger is better strategy which in my opinion is truly "dangerous".   No amount of comps or "edge" is going to cure a broken marriage or keep someone from spiraling into depression.  Not having an "off" button is the real problem.  This is true of almost everything in life.

[alpax]

Without getting too much into it, I did bring this up at the because of the references made between the spat between Billy and FP. In all seriousness, it should be attended for those that are seriously affected by it.

As FP mentioned, it could be other things that people do to try solve their life's problems. I have seen from others the negative side of drug/alcohol addiction or infidelity.

Putting yourself on the exclusion list in which G.A. requires its attendees to do may be much worse than what you are asking for, as DAAn and Vman brought up.

I did find the podcast of the GWAE episode that discusses G.A. There are 2 guests on this episodes, Sammy Katz who talks about the G.A. As DAan stated, we may not heard the whole story.

The second guest being Mickey Crimm, who shares an interesting story about how he lived in Laughlin, NV completely on the casino's dime in the past.

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Alcohol Anonymous is the other assistance organization that comes to mind. Mr. Dancer reveals in the epsiode that he had a marriage prior to Shirley (the spouse during the Million Dollar VP run), but was set apart due to alcohol issues with the spouse.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=alpax]Without getting too much into it, I did bring this up at the because of
the references made between the spat between Billy and FP.[/quote]This reminds me of something that happened to me years ago.   A friend of mine and I were in the habit of stopping by a local bar on the way home from the office.  The same people were there every afternoon.  One day I noticed a guy sitting across the bar that I recognized.  I mention to my friend "See that guy over there.  He's in here every time we come by.   He must be an alcoholic!".  My friend who was older and wiser than me said "Did you ever think he's thinking the same thing about you?"   Billy calling me out for being a problem gambler is the same thing only at a different time and a different vice. 

[DaBurglar]

I'm flummoxed by this thread, but the primary takeaway I got was the point made at G.A. meetings that they have speakers there who explain why and how casinos are total black holes that suck in the wealth of surrounding communities and the people who frequent the casinos, and they are unbeatable (unless your name is Ted). I already knew this, but of course hearing others say it means a lot...

I have not played VP since September.... I previously had allotted each month 1200-1500 bucks, and more importantly 4-5 days a month for VP and casino activity. This for me was a very small amount of money but large enough to potentially lead to worthwhile wins or at least worthy comps and benefits. I had other more important motives though in going to AC every month, but the steady deterioration of AC and the absurd one sided VP results led me to just stop and do other things.

I'll still play live poker when worth the time, and incidentally, live poker is still the last game left where a person can come out ahead if they truly know what they are doing.

But in my educated opinion, the obvious and undeniable event of massive wealth concentration in the hands of very few people that is the source of so many problems today is embodied in the casino industry proliferation we've seen since the 1990s

[markinca]

I answered yes to 4:

4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling? <- I would imagine most people who have ever gambled at all would say yes to this?

7. After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?, 8. After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?, and 14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned? <- again, these seem like they'd be pretty common among even very casual gamblers.

There are a couple of questions I need clarification of:

1. Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling? <- I'm not sure what this means. Like, you're gambling so much that you lost track of time and forgot to go to work? Or that you took a few vacation days off work so you could go to Vegas and gamble? Definitely guilty of the latter, but not the former.

9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone? <- Last dollar of your day/trip's gambling budget? Or last dollar to your name?

[drg326]

Sometimes I feel like the questions are worded ambiguously on purpose; almost a "better to worry an 'ok' gambler than miss a problem one" because the question screen was too strict.

I think gambling comes down to YMMV - your milage may vary. People need to remember to only play with what they can afford to lose - and expect to lose it. Just like craps - always assume the next roll is a 7.

[Eduardo]

I answered yes to a cheeseburger, tacos and Coca-Cola. I may have clicked the wrong link.