The Winning Addiction

I have to admit I am one egotistical AP. I am 10 times more addicted to winning in gambling than any compulsive gambler is addicted to losing in negative expectation gambling. I'm hardcore about it. And I mean to hold the line until I'm dead and gone. The question is how did I wind up this way....

The fall weather had held up in Washington but then boom! Here came the cold snap in early December. So once again you found yourself thumbing south on Interstate 5 hauling ass from the cold weather. Out of Washington and into Oregon, sleeping in your sleeping bag under the overpasses at night. Up in the morning, a cup of coffee and a sausage biscuit at the convenience store and you are back out on the on ramp drinking coffee, smoking Drum rolling tobacco, and sticking your thumb out at any qualified vehicles.

Down through Oregon, then up through the blizzards of the Siskiyou Mountains on the Oregon/California border. All the while you are thinking about the town you are gonna hole up in this winter. You finally decide on Tucson, Arizona. You heard it was a good day labor town with a couple of soup lines. And a very nice climate for a homeless drifter in December and January.

You thumb all the daylight hours but quit for the day as sundown approaches. You know that Mount Shasta will be the end of the cold. Because after that you are going to drop down into the San Joaquin Valley into the warmer weather. You've already planned ahead that you are going to switch to Highway 99 at Sacramento. Much better thumbing than I-5 and you skirt the highway maze of Los Angeles and the little 4 and five mile rides that take you a day or better to clear Shaky Town.

So now you are on 99 thumbing to Bakersfield. Down through Lodi, Modesto, Merced, Turlock and Tulare. At Bakersfield you switch to Highway 58 to go up over the windy as hell Tehachapi Pass, through Mojave and into Barstow. At Barstow you switch to Interstate 40 and thumb through the Mojave Desert to Needles and on to Kingman, Arizona. Just east of Kingman you switch to Highway 93 and thumb down through Wickenberg. You get dropped off in Glendale. You know that the Phoenix highway maze is a bitch to thumb through so you use the Phoenix bus system to get to Chandler on the southeast side. You hit Highway 87 south to its convergence with Interstate 10.

At Casa Grande you get picked up by an old man in a pickup truck.

"Where you headed son?"
"Down to Tucson to hole up for the winter and work day labor."
"Well, you got lucky. I live in Tucson and that's where I'm headed now. Gonna work day labor, huh?"
"Oh, yeah. I stopped at a library back up the road and checked out the Tucson Yellow Pages. Labor Ready and Labor Force are both there. I do all the hard work in a town. But I'm not much for permanent jobs. Don't like the ball and chain."

When we got into Tucson we passed a park. It was filled with homeless tramps. A little while later we passed another park that was filled with homeless tramps.

"Holy Christ!" you say to the driver. "I'll never get any work here with this many tramps in town."
"You don't have to worry about that, kid. They're not here to work. They hole up here every winter and take advantage of every homeless service they can. We feed them for the winter. Then they clear out when the hot weather gets here. But you look like a different breed. You don't mind working. A man has to stay gainfully employed, even if it's for minimum wage."
"That's all I make with these outfits like Labor Force and Labor Ready. But I get payed everyday. That's what I like."
"Take care, Kid" he says as he drops you off on a corner.

more later....

Those were the days my friend, those were the days.

You see a guy in my business Mickey, someone who knows calls you a tramp, now that is a compliment.

For those that don't know, tramps are different than bums, a whole lot different.

It's good to be good at something. Better when your in the top ten.

I coulda been a contender if it hadn't been for this bum leg, and only one good eye.

I Dislike losing more than I like winning. The thrill of Hitting a jackpot or making Money lasts for seconds/ minutes. Losing a significant amout lingers. If I don't play for a month solid thats perfectly fine with me.

I've seen guys( sucsessfull and non successful AP's )who have to be in action all the time. They justify anything(cover play, free buffet, comps ) just to be in action.

I have even made free roll offers they couldn't go a week without playing anything (unless something great came up) I have never had a taker. They always have some BS reason.

Quote: AxelWolf

I've seen guys( sucsessfull and non successful AP's )who have to be in action all the time. They justify anything(cover play, free buffet, comps ) just to be in action.
n.

That's addiction. I'm the opposite, I don't
play enough, I hate gambling. It's really
the casinos I don't like. I find them depressing,
too many long faced old people. It smells
bad and the noise from the slots drives me
up the wall. I fell like it's beneath me to be
there, I'm an arrogant bastard.

What gets me is the guys who excel at one game, and insist in losing their money at another. And of course those players that can
not win. When they find a low limit game they finally win, tomorrow you will find them playing at a level they have no chance of
of winning at.

And Bob, this is one time I hardheartedly agree with your post.. ESPECIALLY THE LAST 4 WORDS.


Note to Zuga : he said it, not me !

Quote: Buzzard

What gets me is the guys who excel at one game, and insist in losing their money at another.

This is so true of most of the poker players I know.

Same with pool hustlers. Sometimes even playing a pool game they sucks at, like one pocket. After winning consistently at 9 ball.

It could certainly be argued that gambling is a masochist's delight.

Also, I believe it appeals, in part at least, to that "side" of us that wants to act foolishly while fully aware of the consequences of our actions.