A special note: Due to my feeling under the weather, I’m dictating using software trained to recognize my voice. I work hard to catch the typos, but there’s a chance I missed a few. Additionally, this software adds extra spaces at the end of each sentence. I realize this is not AP style, which I like to stick to, but it cannot be helped.

I just got done watching the Ultimate Black Jack Tournament on television.  It’s a new twist on an old game.  Seven players play against each other in an elimination style format.  It should be interesting to see if this catches on with the television market like Texas Hold’em did a few years ago. 

Christians have a dubious relationship with gambling. They condemn the vice of Las Vegas, known so often as Sin City, yet they’re ambiguous toward state lottery drawings and Indian casinos, largely because of vast PR campaigns and the sentiment that what the Indians do on their own land is their own business. The problem is the gambling is a business. Like all businesses, it’s run with the intention of benefiting the owner. That the house has a built-in advantage on any game is a given. Sometimes the odds are pretty close to even money. Other times, such as in lotto games, the odds are astronomical. I’m always amazed that some folks seem genuinely surprised when they don’t win with their lotto ticket. They never consider that their chances of winning lotto are about the same as their chances of being hit by meteor. Even if they do, for some reason they still play. But some folks take consolation in the fact that their loss goes to benefit a park or a school or whatever it is that the state has announced as the beneficiary. Unfortunately, the majority of people who gamble on lotto are under a certain income level. Most state lotteries can effectively qualify as a tax on the poor.

Similarly, Indian casinos bring their own set of problems. It’s no question that the rates of alcoholism and suicide are significantly higher on Indian reservations. Bringing casinos to the land raises the risk of these problems increasing. Add to it the high crime rates and the prostitution typically associated with gambling, and you raise the cost both in money and in human life. Some of the First Nations have discovered this and refuse to allow gambling on their reservations.

Gambling is still all around us. Until very recently, gambling online was easy. All you needed was a credit card and an internet connection. With a new law, however, the government has made it more difficult, if not impossible, for people to borrow money from Visa to lose it online. Still, if state run lottery is not your thing and an Indian casino is not nearby, perhaps you live in a state with specialized gambling zones where limited stakes gambling is perfectly legal.  In Colorado, the argument was made back in the early nineties that limited stakes gambling would revitalize mountain towns long dormant after the collapse of the mining industry.  It has, but unfortunately, most of the longtime residents packed up their bags years ago, unwilling or unable to tolerate their new neighbors, the gambling establishments.  Winding mountain roads are now crowded with large tour buses carrying gamblers from Denver and the rest of the Front Range up to these towns.  Blackjack and other slow moving games have been replaced by video poker machines and slot machines because of their ability to rob their players faster. If it were put to a vote again like it was in the early nineties, I have little trouble believing Coloradoans would reject creating these special gambling districts now that they’ve seen them for what they really are.

What is the allure of gambling? What catches people’s interest in taking something they’ve worked hard for and putting it in jeopardy on a game of chance? Is it the attraction of winning money, or is it merely the thrill of taking a risk? I believe it’s a little of both. People who enter game shows are really risking only their time, not their money. The game shows keep getting contestants and people keep watching.  Similarly, professional poker players still play, and people will watch the tournaments if they’re televised.  But while game shows qualify as entertainment, tournaments are strangely billed as a sport.  In my mind, it’s less a sport than bowling or curling.  There is some skill involved, but little physical effort.  Given my disability, it’s probably the only “sport” that I can participate in. 

Certain games associated with gambling may be helpful in helping teach your kids about odds and mathematics and even improve their concentration. However, these games can be played without wagering real money. Teach your children that any time they gamble, they risk resources that have been trusted to them by God. Have them read the parable of the talents and ask them if they think God would want them to wager their money on something they’re more likely to lose at than win.  By setting the bias against gambling in your children at an early age, you increase their chances for a brighter future. 

Speaking of the future, I’m probably going to rethink watching shows about gambling. It sends the wrong message to my kids that gambling is fun. While it may be enjoyable entertainment, I don’t want to see my children getting too comfortable with the thought of risking money on a roll of the dice or a flip of the cards. Better yet, maybe I should play a game with my children. Once I'm feeling better, that's what I'll do. Hold me to it.

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