Gambling is a deadly game

By Al S. Mendoza

 

THERE’S a big difference between a gambler and a gamer.

A gambler mostly bets money and a gamer rarely bets money.

I am game to a lunch bet on who would win between Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn.

Well, to be honest, I also bet some money in some of Pacquiao’s fights.

Their July 2 bout in Brisbane, Australia, will surely draw money bets from casinos around the world, most notably Las Vegas in Nevada, USA.

That’s because Pacquiao is a world celebrity.

Although a bit old now at 38, Pacquiao still commands a following.

And his being still a world champion is a come on for gamblers.

I had won some, lost some, in bets during a Pacquiao fight.

At one time, I won big due to the sheer number of participants.

It’s the volume, really, not to the amount of money we had bet.

You assemble dozens of bettors and you collect quite a sum once you win.

Not to justify, but my bets—in Pacquiao fights or basketball games—are mainly called friendly.

Meaning, I don’t bet thousands.

Just loose change basically.

A friendly bet is waged mainly just for fun.

The winner chiefly takes pride in winning.

The amount of money won is unimportant.  It’s the bragging rights that count.

The loser in a friendly bet doesn’t feel the pinch.

No pocket-puncher, too.  Nor a wallet-slasher.

That is why mostly, the bet is either a lunch or dinner.

The two bettors engaged in a friendly bet get to enjoy their lunch together—with the winner not minding to foot the bill.

At times, the winner would even buy a bottle of wine to spice up the meal, making the occasion a friendship-cementer.

At times, too, another friend or several friends would join the fun—their meals co-shouldered by everybody.

Why this gambling spin all of a sudden here?

It’s the tragedy at Resorts World casino complex, all right.

The casino attacker’s firing binge, coupled with his putting on fire casino tables and rugs, had killed 37 casino staff and guests.

Police said the obviously mentally-deranged man, deep in debts because of gambling addiction, had killed himself by plugging a bullet into his chin.

He did it after apparently setting himself on fire inside a room of the casino complex in Pasay City, where more than 12,000 people had been evacuated.

Sadly, the 37 fatalities died of suffocation after they locked themselves in a room.

Police surmised they’d be shot dead if they scampered out from gunshots they presumed could come from terrorists.

Just because of one man addicted to gambling, the 37 had perished tragically, senselessly enough.

I remember what my father (bless his soul) said to me when I was a kid starting to learn how to play mah-jong: “Son, if gambling is good, every human being will do nothing but gamble.”

A counsel for all time.

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