Gamblers Are What They Live
by Susan Sinclair (pen name)
Gamblers, for the most part, are a rare breed. Many gamblers will not think twice about laying down their last dollar on a craps table or on a blackjack hand but ask them to donate a dollar for the Presidential Campaign and they’ll tell you they “work too hard for their money to just throw it away .” After all, gambling isn’t throwing money away. In fact, gambling is kind of like day trading. It’s investing in an opportunity.
Gamblers are dreamers and the bigger they gamble the bigger their dreams begin to be. Eventually, some of the coveted casino whales will be left with nothing. One of the biggest gamblers in history was Nick Dandalos who lost millions in the notorious card game at Binions Horseshoe. Dandalos supposedly died broke. Still, he lived a notorious life in the world of gaming and he was famous for sayings such as: “The house doesn’t beat the player. It (the house) gives him the opportunity to beat himself.” Gambling for Nick Dandalos went from high stakes games betting millions of dollars to lowly $5.00 table minimums. When he was asked how he felt about that fact, he simply said, “Hey, its action.” Dandalos, and many others like him, are gamblers and the action is in their blood until the day they die.
Publius Syrus once said, “The better the gambler, the worse the man.” This is one quote many would argue for and many against. I have seen wonderful men and women play all casino games only to walk away losers and I’ve seen some of the vilest people known to this world walk away winners. However, maybe in the day of Syrus the statement would be more factual than of today because I’ve seen some wonderful people who are some of the best all around gamblers. Yet, in the days of early gambling, many gamblers were crooks—if in doubt remember Bugsy. Hey, people are people and there will always be a few bad apples in any bunch. In a casino, you may find a bunch of bad apples one day and the best of the crop the next. Gamblers live their gambling lives just as they do their daily lives and you should never forget that because if they cheat in the casino, they’ll cheat you in a heartbeat without a second thought.
William Bolitho was quoted more than once for his notorious insight, “A gambler is nothing but a man who makes his living out of hope.” How sad Bolitho must have been to try to make this statement into one of negative pronouncement. I would love to make my living out of hope as well as faith and luck. Gamblers, true gamblers, do make their living out of hope but believe me when I tell you that if they are honestly living on their gambling winnings then they are riding on more than hope and it looks a whole lot like skill to me.
My favorite all time quote in reference to gambling is the following quote to which the author is unknown, “Dear Lord, help me to break even. I need the money.” And this is the sentiment that many gamblers, professionals or recreational, have surely felt at some point and time. The great thing about this quote is that it shows that gamblers never forget to pray. OK, so maybe they shouldn’t be praying over their gambling but at least some gamblers are still praying!
In closing, let’s revisit the caption above quoted from Publius Syrus which puts me on a soapbox for a moment. Syrus judged gamblers perhaps too harshly because he didn’t understand them, maybe he envied them and most likely he never knew one or he wouldn’t have needed to judge gamblers as a whole entity as if they were a condemned group of individuals. Whatever his reasons, Syrus missed an opportunity to get to know an unusual group of individuals who live by the “action” and possibly even die when the action as they know and love it, is over. What a shame that Publius Syrus never knew, truly knew, gamblers as the majority –the individuals who are the excitement, the individuals who continue to contribute to the history of one of the world’s most popular pastimes.
