Gambling

[John Henry]

Oh, let's get back to subject.

So, how much money is allowed for gambling? $999,999,999?
Y'all know that Warren Harding liked to play Poker. He also gambled a whole teapot set. Source? It was a book about presidents. Maybe you can research it .

[SirWhit]

Saying its a book about presidents is not a valid source. Give us a book name at the very least. We've asked you repeatedly to do this, and you constantly ignore us.

[John Henry]

OK, forget about that source. But, don't people gamble because they have "the love of money" which IS "the root of all evil". Also, they're covetuous.

[Spoon]

People gamble for a lot of different reasons. You can't presume to know the reasoning people use for doing a certain thing. Instead of throwing a blanket of 'this is wrong', you could listen to people and see *why* they do things. Most people I know that gamble do it for simple entertainment and don't expect to win millions of dollars. Yes, I agree that some people have a love of money and are covetous. But not everyone that gambles falls under that category.

[John Henry]

Have you ever listened to "The Nudge"?

[TigerShadow]

I'd say that most of us have; it's a favorite of mine. Why?

[John Henry]

Mr. Whittaker's against the Lottery.

[TigerShadow]

I have this episode memorized. Here's what he actually says.

Whit: You bought a lottery ticket?

Grady: Sure.

Whit: Why would you do that?

Grady: Why not?

Whit: Well, I could give you a pretty good list to answer that question. First, it's a waste of money; second, it's gambling, which could be dangerous. Third, it's illegal for someone your age to buy one; where did you get it?

Whit says that the gambling involved in the purchase of a lottery ticket could be dangerous, not that it inherently is. Whit's principle issue is really more the fact that a ten- or eleven-year-old boy illegally purchased a lottery ticket with no understanding of how the lottery works, and how gambling can hurt if you don't know what you're getting into. Whit is probably personally against gambling—for one thing, the first thing he lists is that it's a waste of money, and he's all about good stewardship; for another, he's very much a Slippery Slope kind of person—if you take one step down the slope, it doesn't take much more for you to slide the rest of the way down. But he doesn't go on a tirade against gambling, especially since that wasn't even the point of the episode.

Sidebar: I've always found it interesting that Whit bluntly tells Grady that gambling can hurt if you're not careful, and Grady's own father left their family because he had a gambling addiction.

[John Henry]

Do you Gamble?

[TigerShadow]

No, I don't. I think it is a waste of money and time, and it can be harmful if you're not careful. That does not, however, mean that I will shy away from refuting inaccurate claims against it.