Your Thoughts on Gambling

[Dr. Huk-N-Duck]

Technically, I play the Lottery. Also technically, I probably buy a total of five or six tickets a year, so I’m only in the hole about $10 yearly. I don’t think Jesus will scold me too badly for losing $10 a year.

 

[ALAYMAN]

Pretty close to exactly my thoughts.

 

[Dr. Huk-N-Duck]

Pretty close to exactly my thoughts.

I think it’s situational. I have a friend with a gambling problem who has lost everything—more than once. He gets on the path of recovery and relapses once every few years. Fortunately, his kid is grown and he isn’t married, so I guess he always feels like he doesn’t have much to lose. BTW, he’s also not a Christian.

 

[aleshanee]

and yet... hawaiis legislature ... a bunch of godless liberal democrats.... continue to vote down the possibility of starting a lottery in hawaii claiming it will attract organized crime and that the crime bosses will take it over..... meanwhile those same legislators take campaign contributions and other gifts from las vegas casino owners.... and ..like i said before .... las vegas is the number one tourist and travel destination for people who live in hawaii.. and the number one reason they go there is for gambling.....

in the opinnions of many in this state... myself included.... gambling has fostered corruption and created a criminal organization in hawaii without even being here....

 

[ALAYMAN]

I think it’s situational. I have a friend with a gambling problem who has lost everything—more than once. He gets on the path of recovery and relapses once every few years. Fortunately, his kid is grown and he isn’t married, so I guess he always feels like he doesn’t have much to lose. BTW, he’s also not a Christian.

Wow, today’s sobering thought to remind me of God’s mercy and grace.

 

[ALAYMAN]

in the opinnions of many in this state... myself included.... gambling has fostered corruption and created a criminal organization in hawaii without even being here....

There are lots of reasons to treat the allure of gambling in the same vein as many other seductive behaviors, like “drinking in moderation”, but this (which you touch upon above) is probably my primary concern, and the fact the system of state sanctioned (as well as private) gambling is anchored in a predatory attitude towards the poor.

 

[abcaines]

I have come to despise pretty much anything to do with organized gambling: lotteries, casinos, Las Vegas... I have absolutely NO desire for any of that garbage.

I have absolutely no desire to go to our local casino; even for a concert let alone gambling. The atmosphere there is just oppressive to me. I have zero desire to go to Las Vegas for "family friendly" entertainment.

Aleshanee made an excellent observation about gambling in Hawaii. I fully expect that a lot of that kind of "righteous" legislation is going to be exposed in the Judgement for what it truly is.

 

[Ransom]

and ..like i said before .... las vegas is the number one tourist and travel destination for people who live in hawaii.. and the number one reason they go there is for gambling.....

I'd be curious to know how much money Vegas takes out of the Hawaiian economy. I'll bet the amount of Hawaiian money lost in casinos is a lot greater than the amount of casino winnings spent in Hawaiian businesses.

 

[Dr. Huk-N-Duck]

Wow, today’s sobering thought to remind me of God’s mercy and grace.

Yes, sad, but he can’t seem to shake it. I guess I should have added he’s a casino guy, he’s not going bankrupt over lottery tickets.

 

[aleshanee]

I'd be curious to know how much money Vegas takes out of the Hawaiian economy. I'll bet the amount of Hawaiian money lost in casinos is a lot greater than the amount of casino winnings spent in Hawaiian businesses.

las vegas is the definite winner in that one... ..... i know of very few people who have won more money than they lost on a trip to vegas.... and the winnings are never that much.. ..one friend of mine who frequents las vegas told me the money she won versus the money she lost was similar to a tax return versus the overall taxes paid each year... ...only a small amount back to keep them happy and hopeful while they continue to poor the rest of their money into the casino owners pockets... .and that;s sad because i know she figures her earnings and tax withholdings very close... she never gets much back on her taxes....

 

[voicecrying]

.... continue to vote down the possibility of starting a lottery in hawaii claiming it will attract organized crime and that the crime bosses will take it over.....

Politicians prefer to run organized crime themselves.

 

[ALAYMAN]

Yes, sad, but he can’t seem to shake it. I guess I should have added he’s a casino guy, he’s not going bankrupt over lottery tickets.

Staying on track with the nature of the thread, just seeking clarity for what you are distinguishing with that comment, do you think that there's a theological difference in the <potential> nature of sin regarding the lottery vs casino gambling?

 

[Dr. Huk-N-Duck]

Staying on track with the nature of the thread, just seeking clarity for what you are distinguishing with that comment, do you think that there's a theological difference in the <potential> nature of sin regarding the lottery vs casino gambling?

I was referring more to his particular addiction issue, which is sitting in a casino all night and gambling. On a different note, I do think moderation plays a part in this. If someone occasionally buys a ticket, I would consider that moderation. The same concept applies to many things in life: eating, alcohol, etc.

 

[Ransom]

do you think that there's a theological difference in the <potential> nature of sin regarding the lottery vs casino gambling?

In an incidental sense. The casino has certain inducements to keep people inside and gambling: buffet, cheap drinks, and so forth. So there's a temptation to eat or drink too much, the latter especially having the ability to compromise your judgment and entice you to take bigger risks.

By contrast a lottery ticket is just numbers. Being drunk doesn't affect the outcome.

 

[sword]

I stopped at a small regional grocery store in a poor neighborhood the other day to get milk and bread on the way home from work. While at the grocery story I saw a man feeding the lottery scratch off vending machine. He did not appear to have a lot of money, but he was buying a lot of tickets. I asked the cashier if he was in alot. She said he spends $100 every Friday (payday) on scratch offs and he buys a few of the multi state superlotto tickets as well. She said he had been doing that for the last few years.

I did not ask if he won very often, but I am very sure he had not won very much. I'm guessing that's his retirement plan.

 

[abcaines]

I stopped at a small regional grocery store in a poor neighborhood the other day to get milk and bread on the way home from work. While at the grocery story I saw a man feeding the lottery scratch off vending machine. He did not appear to have a lot of money, but he was buying a lot of tickets. I asked the cashier if he was in alot. She said he spends $100 every Friday (payday) on scratch offs and he buys a few of the multi state superlotto tickets as well. She said he had been doing that for the last few years.

I did not ask if he won very often, but I am very sure he had not won very much. I'm guessing that's his retirement plan.

Sad.

 

[ALAYMAN]

In an incidental sense. The casino has certain inducements to keep people inside and gambling: buffet, cheap drinks, and so forth. So there's a temptation to eat or drink too much, the latter especially having the ability to compromise your judgment and entice you to take bigger risks.

By contrast a lottery ticket is just numbers. Being drunk doesn't affect the outcome.

Yep, I alluded to this, at least partially, earlier when I mentioned to aleshanee that both the state and private parties employ a predatory nature in attempt to snare the vulnerable/susceptible. The private agents have their inducements to increase the heinous nature of their exploitative efforts (food, drink, glitz), but if you've watched any forum/format where "eyes" are looking lately you've undoubtedly noticed a gargantuan increase in advertisments (on phones, TV, etc) that show their ploy to tap into the greed factor for the targeted schmucks. In that respect, I suppose, I was expressing to Huk that the harmful intent and consequences of both are real, maybe only different in the magnitude and kind of their efforts to take advantage (and appeal to sinful traits).

 

[abcaines]

Not that I was anywhere near being a fan of gambling, but some of the perspectives of this thread have turned me more against gambling, especially state sponsored gambling.

 

[Gringo]

I've been to a casino only once in my life. I had enough sense to budget 20.00 for that day. I played the nickle machines and drank free cokes. I enjoyed myself and at the end of the day, I had come out even. But if I had not, I would have only lost 20.00.

Compare that to the thousands and thousands of dollars I've wasted over the years on this or that, that wasn't considered "gambling" but was accepted "shopping" and "fun"; things that in retrospect, I didn't need or in some cases, didn't even really want. To me, that was far more destructive.

To me, if one has sets aside a certain amount of money that he knows he can live without and if he only plays that, I don't see the problem. On the other hand, if one is irresponsible and wastes money that he needs on life's responsibilities, that's another thing.

And so, one would need self discipline to even think about "gambling".

I remember one time, one of my housekeepers also went to a casino but she won almost a thousand dollars. If I would have won that money, I would have been out the door so quickly. I would not have stuck around and played it too.

.

 

[Tarheel Baptist]

• The Bible commends earning a living and creating wealth via work, and not idleness (e.g. Prov. 12:11; 2 Thess. 3;11-12).
• Along the same lines, gambling doesn't create wealth or produce anything of value. It just transfers it from one gambler to another. The winner is enriched at the expense of the losers. It does not seem to me that you can love your neighbour while depriving him of his wealth because the odds were in your favour rather than his.
• At a casino, the house always has the advantage. Major entertainment corporations and governments invest millions in casinos because they are easy profit. Advertising for lotteries and casinos hold out hope for a better life, but it's a false hope, because the gambler always loses in the long run. Thus it is poor stewardship of the wealth God has entrusted to you.
• The relationship between organized crime and casinos has been romanticized somewhat--most casinos are owned by a few large entertainment companies, or the government--but on the Las Vegas Strip there remains one casino that was owned by the mob: the Flamingo, founded by Bugsy Segal. Segal was a bootlegger who turned to gambling after Prohibition ended. Organized crime has always had its hand in gambling, albeit generally illegal sports betting rather than legal casinos.
• There's also the connection between gambling and cheating. Pete Rose bet against his own team when he was in a position to influence the outcome of the game. Ditto the Black Sox scandal of 1919, in which eight Chicago players conspired with gamblers to throw the World Series. Gambling compromises the integrity of sport.

Excellent post!