I would be interested to know members definition of what they think a VP ADDICT is....wondering if I fit into their definition.
I would be interested to know members definition of what they think a VP ADDICT is....wondering if I fit into their definition.
You may be a VP addict....... if you wear Depends while at the casino.
Take off that stupid mask you big baby.
Originally Posted by spojoey
Just kidding Alan. I couldn't resist.
I think anyone consumed by it is an addict. What do I mean by consumed? Well, when they go to a casino it's the game they play virtually all the time. And when they're not in the casino they think about it to the point that they make it a part time or even a full time job. They might write weekly articles about their play or even books about it. They might even try to cover up their addiction by calling themselves a "professional" as if that title should allow them license to play longer. The addict might even spend food money and travel money just to support their interest in the game and tell the IRS that eating and partying were necessary because of video poker. Now that's a VP addict.
It's could hold true for any number of subjects. The truly addicted are the ones who look like they're in a trance watching the screen as they pound away on the buttons. It's quite funny.
I met a guard at the Montana Women's State Prison in a bar in Billings. The conversation got on gambling and he told me that a third of the women in the prison were there for gambling related offenses like accumulated bad checks, embezzlement, etc.
The casinos here are small. Up to 20 machines. One casino owner told me that one of his expenses was replacing chairs that women urinated on because they were in such a zone that they wouldn't even get up and go to the restroom.
I thought the only difference between a recreational gambler and a problem gambler or addict, was that the addict chased losses. In video poker would this mean trying to recover or wipe out previous losses by moving up in denomination to try and hit big winners?
In defense of women: there is a common condition among women who have had vaginal birth of a child that they lose bladder control. This is a women thing and it hits many women and might have nothing at all to do with gambling addiction.
I have a problem with defining people as addicts playing video poker unless whether they win or lose is the criteria. The reason I have a problem is that there are gazillions of things that people are addicted to that do not get defined as addictions because the culture prefers to not acknowledge that they are addictions.
For example, watching television four to seven hours a day is an addiction with no real benefit, and it occupies time and energy that could be used for other things. Watching television trains people to buy products and services, so it drains resources. But there aren't any TV Anonymous groups with 12 Step plans.
Buying products and services one does not clearly need is also an addiction.
So why talk about video poker addiction as opposed to these other addictions?
It trains me to hate ambulance chasers and prescription drugs more and more.Originally Posted by redietz
I don't think an addict worries about his losses as long as he's not broke At least I didn't anyway. When I was addicted to the ponies my main worry was not having $2.00 to make a bet. Had to hit rock bottom before I knew I had a problem. I can gamble now (much later) with no problem at all.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/mybenefit/fb...tml?sid=dus001Originally Posted by redietz
I welcome all TV addicts to my weekly Best Buys TV Show every Saturday at 5:30-PM on KCAL Channel 9 in LA. Then I can get my VP fix.
People who watch network TV day-in/day-out must be addicted if they are able to put up with the saturation of medical, autos, and lawyer commercials over & over again. It's self-abuse.
VP addicts aren't just the losers, although the vast majority of them are. People who gamble for entertainment and suddenly get lucky with a big hit or series of big hits, then can't resist getting reeled back in by juicy sounding offers are serious addicts. These people will eventually lose because that's what they ALL do. Ask any casino manager.
ALL VP "AP's" are addicts. It's the nature of their game. They MUST gather every point possible in any way possible, and they MUST go to this & that promotion where they feel they have a temporary artificial mathematical "edge". Puppet work at it's finest.
Finally, anyone who's life is so overly controlled by gambling that it controls their every waking moment is the worst of the worst kind of addict. While they make up every excuse in the book in order to shove off to a casino--often at a moment's notice due to uncontrollable urges--when they're not gambling they're either talking or writing about it on a forum they control so it will never go away.
Addicted players are much more likely than not, to have experienced one or more nasty divorces because the marriage(s) quickly became second fiddle to the gambling. And when said subject is unable to ever go on any vacations unless it's to a gambling destination, more divorces are imminent. Some hard-core gamblers even sacrilegiously have been known to get hitched INSIDE the casinos! No folks--not merely in the property's chapels, but on the casino's floor!
Now if THAT doesn't tell the story, NOTHING does!
In other words, addicts are overwhelmingly controlled by the casinos, and they can be found to always be doing exactly what the casinos want & expect them to do....and how to do it.
[QUOTE=redietz;34729]I have a problem with defining people as addicts playing video poker unless whether they win or lose is the criteria. The reason I have a problem is that there are gazillions of things that people are addicted to that do not get defined as addictions because the culture prefers to not acknowledge that they are addictions.
For example, watching television four to seven hours a day is an addiction with no real benefit, and it occupies time and energy that could be used for other things. Watching television trains people to buy products and services, so it drains resources. But there aren't any TV Anonymous groups with 12 Step plans.
I lost tons of money being addicted to playing the horses but never lost a dime watching TV, hamburgers, or any other addiction I may have. I'm sure drug addicts and alcoholics spend plenty on their addiction but those I wouldn't know anything about.
Being addicted to TV doesn't really cause any harm. Being addicted to food may--depends on the person's control. But being addicted to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, hookers, etc. are all things that can and usually do create great harm in one way or another. That is called a bad thing. So moderation or exclusion is the key, and that at times requires great self-control. Those who do not have that trait are without question our greatest deniers.
This is what a real addicted gambler does. They lose everything:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_2688929.html
With an addicted gambler no win is big enough.
You probably will end up losing everything, but you don't necessarily have to lose everything. You may have what I call a pump, someone or something that will keep pumping you money. I think Rob is right on the money from my experience.Originally Posted by slobdinger
Maureen O'Connor's pump ran out.Originally Posted by spojoey
Please distinguish the difference between a recreational gambler and an advantage gambler. I agree with Rob to a certain extent. To many times I've witnessed my fellow AP's take the money from a beatable game and lose it playing the sucker games. If effect, all they are doing is moving the money from one side of the casino to the other. Those of us who have the discipline not to do such things are definitely a small minorityOriginally Posted by spojoey
Last edited by slobdinger; 12-19-2015 at 01:49 PM.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote