It is foolish to criticize Alan's show as deceptive.

Even though it's called "Alan's Best Buys", even the dimmest of viewers should be able to tell within moments that it's simply an infomercial to advertise products and services for local merchants. The show doesn't even have commercials, so it should be obvious to the viewer that the money is coming from the businesses being profiled. If anything, Alan's model is more honest than the countless "advertorials" we see nowadays on sites like Yahoo, which run paid pieces to promote businesses under the guise of real news.

So I have no issue with that, and you shouldn't, either. Alan aged out of viability as a TV reporter, which forced him to reinvent itself. That's showbiz. Even highly respected DJ Rick Dees, who basically put Los Angeles' KIIS-FM on the map, is having a hard time finding work in his later years.

I don't want to get much into discussing the situation between Alan and his son, but if I can offer a little advice to Alan, it's to have an open dialogue with him (in private), and come up with a payment plan which you can stick to. Alan, I believe your son is mostly upset that you have seemingly made little effort to pay him anything recently, yet he sees you're wasting money gambling on -EV games, so he feels that you're putting -EV casino games over him. You should stop gambling (at least until this is rectified), and then come up with some sort of reasonable plan to pay him. If you really cannot afford to keep the business afloat these days, perhaps it's time to shut it down, and live on your pension and social security. At least you have those. I think that all he's looking for is a commitment you can stick to, even if it's for a lot less money than originally planned, and even if the $1000/week payments stop going forward. That's what I got from reading his messages.

I will say that it's not your responsibility anymore to support your adult children, especially if you are having a hard time yourself. However, you should keep any promises you made to them, and if you can't afford to do that, then talk to them and come to some compromise.

My son is only 7 years old. It will be a long time until I have to deal with adult-to-adult issues with him, but it would break my heart if my relationship with him deteriorated like this in my later years. You only have two children, and those are the only two children you'll ever have. While that doesn't mean they should take advantage of you, if some of the situation here is also your fault, you should do your best to come to terms. That's more important than gambling or anything else.