Today I received a petition for me to sign about what is known as the ‘crack cocaine of the gambling industry.’ What are being referred to here are poker machines, or pokies as they are called in Australia, or slot machines ass they are called in America. According to reports a gambler can easily lose $1000 an hour on these machines. That is a staggering amount.
Mind you, I find it hard to believe how anyone can willfully put that amount of money into a machine, which is designed to make profit for the clubs rather than the person playing it. But it works on the premise of greed and ‘someone has to win it, why not me?’ Now, I don’t know about you but I can think of a whole lot better things I could do with $1000.
Then there is the story of the woman who spent all her time on the machines, stopping only long enough to pick her kids up from school and grab a couple of hours sleep before her night shift duties as a nurse. What does this say about her relationships? This sort of addiction is not only harmful to marriages and families but also friendships and endangers her job and work place relationships.
Over the years I have heard or been close to people with many stories similar to this. A friend I knew years ago ended up with her marriage in tatters because of her husband’s gambling addiction. In the end for the sake of her young son, she felt she had no choice but to get out of what was a volatile and dangerous situation. Because the fact is gamblers when they lose are not good company and they take out their frustrations on those around them which are usually their wife, or husband as the case may be, and family.
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