'Loose Talk'
By Benjamin Benedict

There are times in life when you feel that you are on a roll. The feeling is something like being on a roller coaster ride, although the term itself comes from gambling, which is disappointing.

If I had my way, Vegas would be a one-horse town, lotteries wouldn’t exist, horse racing would not be big enough to be televised, and card games would be played on rainy nights for matches.

A friend of mine was driving back to town on one such rainy night, and stopped to pick up someone hitching. The poor guy was drenched and very grateful for the transport and shelter.
            “How come you were out there?” My friend asked.
             “Well,” the guy replied. “I was playing cards and put everything I had on what seemed like a sure thing. Only it wasn’t.”
My friend pulled over to the side of the road. “Get out.” He said.
“Why?” The guy was bemused.
“You were fool enough to go for broke. Your head should be under a tap.”

I applaud the sentiment. Gambling is the biggest waste of time known to man and win or loose, you loose on a personal basis. We are warned about everything from drink and drugs to carbon footprints, but bad as these things may or may not be, at least you get something for your money. With gambling you get something if you win, but looking at it objectively it is just shuffling money around. Nothing else is going on there. And the amount of time and energy spent in this futile pastime is phenomenal.

People say that the stock market is just another form of gambling, and you can see the point, but there are many millions of people who invest for the income, which is essentially sharing in the company’s profit and growth. It is far from an ideal structure and I am sure that many of the city’s ‘high- flyers’ are just well informed gamblers, but there is an undeniable purpose behind it all, and this purpose has been instrumental in creating our prosperity. Pure gambling might help create a string of racehorses or tax revenue, but these are incidental to the sterile motive behind the process itself. 

It is not hard to figure out the lure of gambling; the easy money, get rich quick come-on. People talk about the hope it gives to those without any. If you have money to gamble with, you have cause to hope by not. The other attitude is “I can afford it. It amuses me.” You really can’t find anything better to amuse you? I don’t mean ‘better’ in a moral sense. I mean ‘better’ as in more amusing, more gratifying, edifying, fulfilling, satisfying. If you think that you can manipulate outcomes, try playing chess – or is that too much for the old noggin. If you are a thrill seeker, run the rapids, climb a mountain, sail around the world, or maybe go bowling.

No, if you want to gamble, gamble on yourself. Someone is bound to say, “That’s what I am doing.” But that of course is not what I mean. I mean put your money into something, which you are going to create and be involved with; a dish of food, a party, a business, a garden, a lover, a brick wall, a painting, an article for netlistings, even. Bet on yourself being better. Back yourself in the achievement and fulfilment stakes. Make more of yourself, not of some notional outcome.

Well, it’s great to have that off my chest. I was on a bit of a roll there myself.

Send your opinions regarding Mr. Benedict's writings to bbenedict@netlistings.com