1. Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
    It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
    In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

Is it a gambling problem if you don't have big losses?

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by meyers67, Mar 21, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. meyers67

    meyers67 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    May 30, 2013
    Messages:
    1,742
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    I go on vegas trips 5 times/year and I frequent local casinos 2-3 times a week. My losses for a year are a relatively low $5k/year but I get all kinds of comps (free rooms, free dinners and shows Etc.). I consider it a low cost form of entertainment. I'm fortunate to have a good job, so my annual loss is low in comparison. Also, I'm single with no kids.

    I've been told by friends and family that I have a gambling problem. They are just reacting to the frequency of my casino visits. They don't know any of the numbers.

    Does anyone have any thoughts on my dilemma? Do I argue about it or just keep my casino activity secret?

    Thanks
     
  2. CJ's

    CJ's Plumbing the depths of debauchery

    Joined:
    May 12, 2013
    Messages:
    1,097
    Location:
    London
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    18
    Its no ones feckin business what you do with your money but your own.
    read alexb7's post on problem gambling for a comparison

    Just tell them your going on a "business" trip next time :evillaugh
     
  3. Piggylane

    Piggylane Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2013
    Messages:
    679
    Location:
    Quabbin Reservoir, MA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    159
    Meanwhile several of your friends are recycling six to eight cases of beer per week, smoking two cartons a day and shoplifting... Never mind the porn addiction and infidelity that is tearing apart their marriages.

    What you are doing is out in the open because you choose to talk about it. If you had to take a third mortgage your house to pay a gambling marker and THAT guy was always showing up at your work looking for an enveope Monday morning, well then I'd say you had a gambling problem. Enjoy what you do and hit something big and go positive! Never mind the busy bodies. They just talk to hear their own heads rattle.
     
  4. Spivderman

    Spivderman Macallan 17, please!

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2014
    Messages:
    1,154
    Location:
    Spivderville
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    23
    Just sharing my opinion like you asked...

    I would not base my decisions on what members of your inner circle say unless they accompany you gambling. However, it is possible to be an alcoholic without ever being "drunk" -- if the habit controls you and your thoughts and your actions, it's a bigger deal than it's supposed to be. I don't know your situation, but if you are waking up envisioning yourself in the casino and going to sleep dreaming of being in the casino and day-dreaming at work about being in the casino, it is occupying more of you than it deserves. If you were down $50k, would you keep going that often?
     
  5. vokalml

    vokalml Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2012
    Messages:
    156
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    3
    It's only a problem if it affects your personal life. Shoot Michael Jordan can drop 500k a trip but he has so much money it is like you said entertainment. Once you start lying or having no money in your bank account then it is. Doesn't sound like it is. Have fun man.
     
  6. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2013
    Messages:
    31,297
    Location:
    Chicagoland
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    28
    Generally speaking I agree with this. Gambling problems don't require you to lose heavily at the casino. If it negatively influences other parts of life, even if you are winning at the casino, then it can be a problem. I know I qualify on those various online addiction tests, and I think I was up (not much) at the casino last year.
     
  7. blackjacknut

    blackjacknut VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2008
    Messages:
    3,410
    Location:
    Northeast Ohio
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    56
    If you are playing with money you can't afford to play with it doesn't matter if you are winning or loosing it is still a gambling problem.
     
  8. Mrs. K.

    Mrs. K. Low-Roller

    Joined:
    May 17, 2014
    Messages:
    413
    Location:
    Southern California
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    9
    If you are turning down family time or skipping work to gamble it doesn't matter if you are winning or losing. That's what I'd call a "problem."
     
  9. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2010
    Messages:
    10,096
    Location:
    At the tables
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    Your friends don't know what a gambling problem really is.
     
  10. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2010
    Messages:
    10,096
    Location:
    At the tables
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    30
    He loses a lot more than that...
     
  11. wanker751

    wanker751 Dutch Rudder Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2014
    Messages:
    7,484
    Location:
    Chicago
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    17
    If you are gambling instead of making ends meet, then yes.

    I get the same thing from a friend in jest...

    But if you are worried...

    http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ga/content/20-questions

    I answered with two to spare! Although #14 is BS IMO and #3, who cares what others think! So I will say I only answered 3
     
  12. jaybert

    jaybert Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2013
    Messages:
    259
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    Those questions don't seem like they'd carry equal weight. If you answered yes to the last one:

    20.Have you ever considered self-destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?YesNo

    You probably have a gambling problem regardless of how you answered the other 19!!
     
  13. wanker751

    wanker751 Dutch Rudder Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2014
    Messages:
    7,484
    Location:
    Chicago
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    17
    Totally agree...
     
  14. Electroguy563

    Electroguy563 Vegas Joker

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2011
    Messages:
    8,195
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    21
    Based on your post you do not have a gambling problem, something I'm sure you for yourself already know. The problem lies in convincing others which we all know is next to impossible.

    Next time the subject comes up counter with " No worse than your golfing or fishing, or shopping, or hunting.....problem". All of these are not problems, it's what we like to do. Same as gambling. Just like any hobby or interest, it can get out of hand. All involves money, no matter how you look at it or try to justify it.

    Tell them that you are willing to talk about your gambling interests only if they are willing to be rational and objective about it. Otherwise tell them to fu#k off.
     
  15. Krh2o

    Krh2o MIA

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2013
    Messages:
    592
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    103
    Based on your losses you don't loose that much a week. If you can take the losses and enjoy it great. Could you go a couple weeks without it? If you can then you don't have a problem. It seems like you have it under control and like to casually play some games. You can afford it then go for it and have fun.
     
  16. Viva Las Vegas

    Viva Las Vegas Elvis has left the building

    Joined:
    May 31, 2008
    Messages:
    3,505
    Location:
    None
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    0
    [youtube]BCGF2CiO5-8[/youtube]

    From a series by the Las Vegas Sun on problem gambling.
     
  17. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2003
    Messages:
    29,784
    Location:
    A nice place
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    110
    "Is it a gambling problem if you don't have big losses?"

    Yes. No.

    If gambling is an enjoyable entertainment that does not dictate how one lives and thinks, there is no problem. Conversely, one can lose very little and have a gambling addiction. It's the behavior, the NEED, the obsession, the excuses made to accommodate it, the control is exerts over other parts of your life, the tolls it exacts -- and not just financially -- that needs to be assessed and addressed. A sheer $$$ amount does not the whole picture tell.
     
  18. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2008
    Messages:
    17,816
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    130
    Well said!
     
  19. bta15

    bta15 Tourist

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2014
    Messages:
    60
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    I think it's fine as long as you are being honest with yourself.

    I play poker and a win a lot of the time but some nights it's just not clicking and I lose more than I planned. When I get home and my wife asks me how I did there are times when I want to tell her I broke even or just lost a little. But I always tell the truth, if there comes a time when I lie, I'm gonna give it up.
     
  20. topcard

    topcard Here's to $10 3:2 two-deck, $5 Craps, and $5 UTH!

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2012
    Messages:
    7,883
    Location:
    Fort Worth
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    100
    My father-in-law once gave me grief about my trips... ,so, on one of those days that he had done so, I waited about an hour, and then asked him about his most recent duck-hunting trip.
    He was more than happy to go into great detail about everything that was involved...from arranging dates to securing the lodge for him & his group of hunting buddies...he described all of the amenities, including the high-dollar whiskey & cigars on the lodge's wrap-around porch each evening.
    He came home with 6 ducks.
    Then, I asked him how much the entire trip cost him...it was just over $1000, not counting his modest transportation costs to get there (Texas to Louisiana).
    After he was finished, I pointed out to him that the Vegas trip I had just come back from was three nights hotel - comped... all meals - comped... all drinks (and plenty of them) - comped... airfare - FF miles... gambling results - +$200.

    He hasn't said a thing about my Vegas trips since then... and that was several years ago.
    Now, that doesn't address whether or not you (or I) have a "gambling problem"... it simply points out that many people (most?) have an indulgence or two that they spend money on, purely for entertainment.
    Were you to ask them if THEIR indulgences constituted an addiction "problem", they would likely defend their particular indulgence with fervency.
    That's when you simply shrug your shoulders and say something like - "Oh I see...yeah...it's completely different alright...completely." (with an eyeroll, just in case they miss your sarcasm).
     
    Annual Spring Trip!
Tags:
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.