It all started with the death of Dick Butkus.
(That is quite a name, now that I think about it.)
Dick Butkus was an American football player for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1973. He’s considered one of the toughest and most intimidating linebackers in NFL history.
(If you have a name that sounds like “dick butt-kiss” you have to be tough.)
Butkus had a successful career as a player, a commentator, and he even did some acting. He became a sports celebrity, especially to those of us in Chicago.
This story isn’t about Dick Butkus.
I’m not a gambler. I don’t know anything about parlays or over/under or whatever. I created an account on a gambling app a while back because a coworker was doing it and he kept talking about it and all the talk made me want to try it to see what it was all about.
I placed a $20 bet on the Chicago Bears to win the game they played right after Butkus died, joking that the spirit of Dick Butkus would guide them to victory.
And maybe it did, because the Bears won that game and my $20 turned into $90 because the Bears were not expected to take that game. I thought I had spent $20 on a joke, which in hindsight doesn’t sound that smart but that’s kinda the point I’m getting to about gambling in general.
That win made me realize why people get addicted. I felt a rush. I understood instantly how someone could get hooked on the thrill of winning, and not just winning, but winning money. Real profit with a just a few clicks.
My mind wandered with thoughts of how much money I could possibly win. I have debts I’m working to pay off. I have stuff I want to buy.
The thoughts were intoxicating. So I placed some more bets: small bets, and kinda silly bets like putting three bucks on a ping pong game when I don’t follow professional table tennis. I placed bets based on which player I thought had the cooler name.
(Dimitrij Ovtcharov is a much cooler name than Connor Lee, btw.)
Not a smart way to gamble, but it was working for me (luckily). I was satisfying a curiosity and keeping it playful to not allow my mind to take it more seriously. And I didn’t bet any money I would be upset never getting back.
I set boundaries for myself early to protect myself in case any potential winnings would compromise my reasoning later.
Soon after I placed bets on the Texas Rangers during the World Series because I heard they were listening to Creed to get pumped up for games and I thought that was funny.
We started listening to Creed at the office. It became our own little meme.
(Did I just type “our own little meme”? It was an inside joke. I called an inside joke among us coworkers “our own little meme.” Maybe I’m on the Internet too much.)
The Rangers won the World Series and I won enough money to purchase a guitar because I wanted to learn how to play. I don’t know any Creed songs, but I can play Wonderwall. And honestly, I learned that song because of the meme.
After that, the inside joke at work died down and I lost interest in gambling. And I wanted to cash out while I was ahead. I learned from a mistake I made long ago… (cue ominous music)
I took twenty dollars to a casino boat and started playing Blackjack. I had won over $200 dollars in chips at that table, and I got this nagging feeling that I should walk away with what I had.
I ignored that feeling and ended up losing it all, including the original twenty I brought with me. Lesson learned. So after Creed led the Texas Rangers to a championship and me to a new guitar, I retired from my life as a gambler.
It’s like Kenny Rogers said, “You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.”
I ran.
I still had the temptation to gamble though. My mind wandered again, trying to figure out how I could gamble and make some good money. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but one thing I did right was remembering in that moment that a lot of people have had that exact same thought. And if they hadn’t figured it out, there’s no way I was going to.
I bring this up because I’ve seen a lot of ads for gambling recently, and I have an educated guess as to why (as it pertains to the USA specifically):
I think the rise of online ads for gambling (e.g., DraftKings, Stake, FanDuel) is tied to how poor the economy is. Gambling attracts people who hope for that big win. The chance to gain money with little effort is enticing. And who falls for it the most?
Desperate men.
It’s not just men, but men make up over sixty percent of the gambling population, and if I had to guess, I’d say men act more on their feelings of desperation than women do.
Maybe I’m wrong on this. I’d love some data to confirm one way or the other. But as a man myself, I know how it feels to fail to live up to expectations or be afraid that you’re not seen as “man enough.”
It’s not healthy and it’s based on a misguided and antiquated understanding of gender roles, but that’s where we are. We (white, hetero, cisgender) men have all the privilege, but the patriarchy is such a dysfunctional system that it makes even the privileged egregiously unhealthy.
Gluttony cannot thrive without its benefactor Starvation. One group withers in order that a select few may drown in excess.
And the fact that celebrities like Drake (ew) and streamers like Adin Ross (double ew) promote a gambling app means a lot of young people are being influenced to try it. Because money matters to men in suits more than the health and wellness of human beings. It’s harder to exploit people if you start caring about them.
And since money matters more to them than people, they will prey on our fears, our insecurities, and our financial hardships. Because of course they will. They always have. Capitalism is a game, and a game by necessity has winners and losers. When the economy isn’t great, the predators go on the hunt. The game is about winning, no matter what.
Am I totally anti-gambling? No, but I think it’s best to just not do it. It’s safer that way. I tried it. I’m glad I got out when I did. Experiencing how I felt after getting lucky with my bets and winning money made me realize how easily someone could be lured into habitual gambling. I was winning. It felt good. It released all the feel-good chemicals in my brain and I got a guitar out of it.
There were times in my life when I might not have used the same discretion and fallen into their trap. And you know the old saying: “The house always wins.”
Think of it this way: are you the hunter or the hunted in our capitalistic system? If you’re a hunter, then shame on you, but most likely if you’re reading one of my blog posts, you’re among the hunted.
A vampire’s fangs seek the arteries of a human’s neck.
That doesn’t make you weak. It just makes you a target. Now is the time to be strong. Now is the time to be smart. Time to cancel subscriptions, spend less, and care more about human beings than material possessions or worldly status. Spend less time on the Internet. Focus on reality and guard yourself against propaganda and marketing. Connect with your community. Find fulfillment in art and creation. Learn a new skill (Did I mention that I can play Wonderwall on the guitar?). Stop watching 24 hour new stations. Grow a garden. Read a book.
Don’t let the vampires in suits sink their teeth into you.
Know when to walk away, and know when to run.
Dead-Logic 