It started as a pimple on the elbow. Today it has metastasized. Draftkings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and a dozen more have become a cancer which will kill the Cubs, the Bears – all the teams and sports I love.
They will crush college sports too. And high school after that. But more devastating will be the misery for those whose lives have been taken over by the cancer of betting after they started with the harmless $5 bet, advertised incessantly on TV and radio.
A few days ago, I read the betting biography of Allen Loeb in The Free Press online publication, which I highly recommend. The title is Hi, My Name is Allen and I’m a Compulsive Gambler.
The first two paragraphs summarized the powerful piece:
“I started gambling in the hallways of my middle school in Chicago when I was 9 or 10. My friends and I would play some corrupted version of poker; we would give each other no-interest loans, and be late for class.”
“I didn’t know it then, but this was the beginning of my years as a compulsive gambler. I was on my way to rock bottom – a place I’d go to visit three times before I cleaned up my act.”
Loeb goes on to tell of all of the phases of his life ruined by gambling. His first disaster was in college when he confessed to his parents how he had become hooked on gambling and would stay up until 2 A.M in the morning each night to find out how many points Golden State beat Portland by, to see if he had won back all the money he had lost.
Loeb went into therapy paid for by his parents and eventually got clean. He was not too complimentary about the therapist who had been a gambler himself, but he did quote what stuck with him from the sessions: “Did you ever wonder why you took all of your money away from yourself?” Allen says he has asked himself that question countless times over the last 35 years.
The article went on to describe how he became a successful screenwriter in Hollywood and then after getting clean became hooked again. He lost all of his money two other times, going into states of depression and ruining his life.
This is the life of a compulsive gambler, and we are hatching probably millions more with online gambling now legal in 38 states.
Bill Bradley, one of the greatest college basketball players ever, who went on to become a United States Senator, has spoken out against legalized gambling on sports for many years. He sees it as a plague which will only spread faster now that the ads smother my beloved Cubs on TV. Eventually the players themselves will be corrupted by it.
Unfortunately the money it brings in has infected the politicians who allow it across most of the country.
When I see and hear the commercials on every ball game I tune into, I feel angry and even sick.
Allen Loeb’s story crystallized it like only a professional writer, and hopefully a reformed gambler, could do. His story is the story of so many people who just can’t resist one more bet that will save them. I must admit that even I am tempted to bet on a Cubs game or buy the next hot stock touted online, but I resist, knowing the damage of so many lives that an “innocent $5 bet” has ruined.
Do you have a personal story about gambling you would like to share?
7 Comments
Lloyd – This is a powerful piece. I could not agree more. I found it ironic that a 22-year-old Ottawa Senator (Shane Pinto) was suspended for 1/2 of a season last year for gambling, while his team proudly wore their home game helmet sponsor’s BET99 (Canadian Sportsbook) logo.
Great to hear from you again. Wonder how many U.S. Senators or Reps are hooked? Bill Bradley might know a few.
Growing up in Miami, horse racing was a big deal with Hialeah, Gulfstream, Tropical and Calder race-tracks. I was working a summer job 50 years ago and was just making minimum wage (maybe $2.25/hr). I went with my parents to Hialeah race-track one Saturday. Classy crowd. Fun time. I placed my first $2 bet. My horse lost. I’m thinking to myself..”I worked an hour to be able to place that bet and I lost it in under 2-minutes.” Cured me of gambling forever. I always think what would have happened had I won? I probably would have won 4-5 hrs. worth of minimum wages within 2 minutes. Today, I might be a charter member of ‘Gamblers Anonymous”
Robert,
I love the story. Keep writing.
My grandfather always said, “the only way to make money gambling is to be the bookie”. That was true in 1954 and still true today.
This is all so sad. We used to love college basketball…but now I can’t watch it knowing the betting going on behind the scenes.
I like Michigan State this year. Let’s hear for Tom Izzo. May he coach til he’s 90.