Gambling-Number 1, Number 10 and Number 19

With the greatest of respect to my uncle, this is probably going to be one of the hardest things I have ever written.

For the past 7 years or so I have been gambling.  It was amazing when I first started, pretty much after I left college and had a lot more time on my hands I'd go on the machines in the bookmakers and for the next 6 months, I would win everyday. I'd spend about 2 hours on machines and always win at least £50 and I was that cocky to think that I didn't need a job as I could do this for the rest of my life. How wrong I was. I don't really believe in luck but there is something about the whole "beginners luck" thing which really does strike a chord.

Now there are a ton of different ways to gamble and a ton of things to actually gamble on. ANY sport you can gamble on. No matter what it is. In some cases you can bet in play which means that whilst the game is going on you can place a bet. This is very much open to corruption (one example is of the 3 Pakistani cricketers intentionally bowling no-balls which some idiot paid them to do and had put large amounts of money on for a no-ball to be bowled at a particular time).There's even virtual racing. If you were betting on horses and you couldn't wait for the next race then you can bet on a virtual race. One bookmakers has this every 5 minutes. Some would say, that's an easy way to lose money, but if you're a gambler, it is a way you COULD WIN money. I really do think that maybe everyone that starts gambling will at some point believe this. It's obviously not a good way to think.

Then there are the killer machines. These things can literally drive a person crazy because they are designed to take your money. I've seen people get so frustrated and angry at them. People have spat on them, punched, kicked them and once I even saw a guy square up to one and started screaming at it, shouting "Why are you doing this to me?" It's a machine. It has no feelings and emotions (like some people in one of my jobs) and if anything, when people are spitting, punching, kicking and screaming at machines, they really should be doing that to themselves. I'm seen people shouting at God and asking him why He doesn't let good things happen.

The machines in the bookies are made so the bookies can make crazy amounts of profit everyday. There's a reason why more and more bookmakers are opening everywhere. I know of about 20 within a 15 minute walk from my house. There are so many because they can afford to make a lot more as they are making so much profit.

The roulette machines are probably the most addictive thing that I and I think many other people have experienced. It is so easy to make money from them and at the same time so very easy to lose money and you of course lose a hell of a lot more than you win. There have been times when I have put money on one number, for it to come in and then I win money that easily. But that is just when the machine wants to pay out. There have been times where you could back every number apart from one and the machine will land on that number and maybe even double. I have seen this happen so many times.

I also cannot even believe that I haven't heard one person mention gambling throughout the whole of the recession.

The game of roulette in itself is sick. There are 37 numbers on a standard European wheel (this includes 0) but the odds work out as 35/1 not 36/1 as it should be. And whether your on a machine or at a real table, it is almost guaranteed that if you have a lot of money on a certain number, it will always hit the 2 numbers next to it a few times making you think "Ooh that was so close", when really it doesn't matter whether the ball landed on a number next to your main number or on the otherside of the board. It is still an eternity away from your number. This happens on machines nearly all the time but even on actual wheels. There is no logical explanation for this to happen on an actual wheel. But it really does and an example of this was an episode of Derren Brown where he got a member of the public to give him £5000 for him to "calculate" where the ball was going to land. Derren said it would land on the number 8 and where did it land instead? On the number 30 which is next door to 8. It could've been "miscalculated", done on purpose as some people thought at the time or it just happened to land next door. But if I was Derren, I myself would've done the show a bit differently and gone to a casino and claim:- "Watch me put some money on a number only for the ball to go next door to it". Like I said, no logical explanation, but this is what happens.

Anyway, my point is that uncontrolled gambling is an awful addiction. It's one that you can hide which makes it worse. It's not like cocaine or alcohol where you are actually physically and mentally harming yourself as people can see this when they look at you. You couldn't tell a gambling addict unless you looked at peoples' bank accounts. I am estimating that over the period of time I have gambled, I am probably around £10,000 worse off. As horrible, disgusting and sick as this sounds, it isn't that much money. When I say this, I mean that I am still living at home, I COULD save this money up in 2 years if I keep my jobs. I am way past the stage of "I am going to win my money back". I am now at the stage of doing Number 1, Number 10 and Number 19.