About nine years ago, I was in town gambling. It was my evening; the woman already had hers. I did well for a while, up and down. As the night progressed I started drinking and gambling more and stopped caring about the weather. Oh, I knew it was getting late and I was already supposed to be home. I started losing a lot now and started using my bank and credit cards. I played with fear, but I couldn't go home a loser. I continued playing until about five in the morning. That’s when I used up all my funds. I was in great difficulty. Suicide crossed my mind, but I didn't have the courage. I came home drunk and depressed. My wife was waiting at the front door with the baby in her arms. At first she was worried, but then she lost it when I told her the news. "What did you do? The last thing we can afford is to play. There's no grocery store and the baby needs formula." I knew all this, but I got caught up in the gaming fever. I couldn't catch up. I was depressed for weeks and that was just one of the episodes that led to my divorce after we moved to Reno. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Gambling is quickly becoming America's favorite pastime. It is now more popular than all sporting events combined. “In 1995, Americans spent more on gambling than the U.S. government had budgeted for defense: about $500 billion in total, or $2,000 for every man, woman, and child” (Vogel 1) . Gaming, or “gaming” as the industry calls it, is quickly becoming a part of many people's daily lives. For years, Nevada was the only place to gamble, but legalized gambling has now spread across the country. Whether it's lotteries, horse racing, bingo or gambling, there's a game near you. What do we mean by game? “Gambling consists of betting on an uncertain outcome or playing a game of chance with stakes” (Compton Ref. 1). People knowingly present themselves as outsiders. For the majority of the population, gaming is a fun and exciting way to spend their free time. For a smaller, larger portion of the population, gambling is ruining their lives. As a casino dealer for twelve years, I have seen the harm that gambling can do to the individual and to society. “The game came next, maybe even immediately after” (Thompson 3). No one knows for sure when the game began, but there is evidence that it has been around for a long time. "When archaeologists excavated the pyramids, they found dice next to the mummified bodies of the pharaohs that were shaven or twisted. Greek history contains stories of soldiers who shot craps to pass the monotonous hours of the siege of Troy, and the Bible documents the story of Roman centurions gambling for the robes of Christ after the crucifixion” (Thompson 4). Growing up in Illinois, my mother and father played poker in a back room at the Moose club. The mayor and a state trooper were regulars at the game. Although illegal, it was accepted and accepted. was not considered a problem With the legalization of gambling in the 1930s, Nevada faced a lot of criticism. Some states wanted to expel Nevada from the Union, but gambling prevailed.Gambling took off in Nevada with California's population explosion in the 1950s. Although subject to many early mafia influences, by the late 1960s American companies were beginning to take over and bring a new respectability to casino gaming. Today, gambling is more popular than ever before in history. What drives us to gamble when we know the odds are not in our favor? The voice in the back of my head was always telling me not to play. If I had extra money, the voice would tell me to go buy something, and if I didn't have extra money, it would tell me I needed to pay my bills. Unfortunately, I rarely listened to this voice. Why don't we provide education from an early age to listen to the voice of reason? I think people play because they're trying to fill a void or because they're bored. Gaming is a temporary solution that provides the thrill and excitement that our lives lack. Personally, I always played more when I was lonely or depressed. If I had a girlfriend or wife, I didn't play as much. Once the novelty of the relationship wore off and the excitement faded, I looked for it in the game. Deep down, I always felt like I could lose, but the possibility of coming home the house with more money than when I started (and filling the void in the process) was what kept me going. If I went to the movies or a restaurant, I would spend at least ten to forty dollars. With gambling, I always had a chance of winning and the evening would be profitable. This type of thinking is what gets a lot of people into trouble. Gambling is like a drug addiction for the problem gambler, and there aren't many drugs that give you the same high as winning money. Walk around a casino and you'll pretty much know who wins. Players who win are happy and appear intelligent and arrogant. It’s as if because they win, they have an advantage or know something that no one else knows. Unfortunately, winning only happens once in a while. Players gamble their hard-earned money for a chance to get rich quick. When players win, they become greedy and want more. If they're tied, that's how they got there and they need to move forward. When they lose, they frantically try to get revenge. Many people win by gambling, but they become greedy and end up losing. The “gaming fever” consumes them and leaves them helpless. It's a rare person who can get ahead and a smart person who can cut their losses. Have you ever noticed people playing poker machines? Electronic morphine put these people into a trance. They are completely unaware of what is happening around them. Players gain satisfaction by accumulating six packs of soda or beer; meanwhile, they lose their wages in the process. Gambling is a drug that causes a strong feeling of euphoria, but when it comes down, it causes severe depression for days or weeks. One of the biggest problems associated with gambling is alcohol consumption. Casinos encourage it for obvious reasons. Cocktail waitresses dressed in revealing outfits regularly bring free drinks while playing. Alcohol helps players relax and relieves their anxieties while gambling. A few drinks are good, but as time passes, players end up getting drunk. They do things they wouldn't normally do if they were sober. I've seen people spend hundreds of dollars gambling just to get the free drink they ordered. AnotherProblem associated with drinking alcohol is betting more than one can afford. Once a player runs out of change, they head to the ATM. After losing that money, it's the credit card's turn. This is when the game becomes dangerous. For as little as fifteen dollars and up, you can withdraw money from the casino to your credit card. I've seen players withdraw thousands of dollars from their credit cards in one night because they didn't know how to stop. If they're lucky, they get some of their money back. The one time they don't, the game kills them. If they don't stay at the hotel, they end up going home drunk and endangering the lives of innocent people. When they wake up with a hangover, depression becomes a major problem. The reality of what they did sets in. Future profits are gone and there is no way to undo what was done. Of course, you always have to go back and try to get revenge. “Pathological gambling is one of the fastest growing but ignored mental health problems in the United States” (Abbot 213). Depending on what you read, between two and seven percent of the adult population are problem gamblers and account for about fifty percent of casino revenue. Among this group, nine out of ten are men. These players usually start out getting lucky and winning the first few times they play. After a while, the odds catch up with them and they end up losing everything they have. "Several characteristics of a pathological gambler are preoccupation with gambling, ... aggressive or longer-than-expected gambling, ... restlessness and irritability during inactivity, ... chasing losses, ... . frequent efforts to stop gambling, . even if other obligations are pressing . Like alcohol, the only real cure for compulsive gamblers is abstinence. with gamblers anonymous or in mental health treatment centers Crime increases significantly in areas of legalized gambling When people are wiretapped and need to gamble, they generally do not work more but turn to crime. Every city where gambling has been legalized has seen a sharp increase from the pre-gambling era. "Atlantic City went from fiftieth to first in the country in crime per capita. . . . Las Vegas, NV still leads in crime per capita. . . . In Tunica, Mississippi, court cases increased from 1,500 in 1992 to nearly 7,000 in 1994, after nine casinos opened. Forty percent of all white-collar crimes are committed by gambling addicts” (Traditional Values ​​2). Having had a gambling problem in the past, I can honestly tell you that I considered crime to help me recoup some of my losses. Thank goodness I've never done it, but it shows how easily the mind can become distorted. As I stated in my introduction, gambling can wreak havoc on the family. Legalized gambling areas consistently lead the country in divorce rates. I have been dealing cards for twelve years and have seen thousands of arguments between husbands and wives. Usually the wife is ready to leave, but the husband refuses to leave. The wife does her best to keep her cool, and the husband doesn't care. I've seen players threaten to kill their wives if they don't leave them alone. They are obsessed and family doesn't matter. This also happens to wives, but not as often. I think it's a question of ego and that a man hates to come away a loser. After a while, the woman can't take it,.