Winning Big

26 October 2021

By Frank Scoblete

All casino players want to win. They do know that the casino has an edge over them and many will know how those edges are achieved. Still, they want to win; otherwise what’s the real point of playing? A part of the fun comes in the anticipation of just such winning.

Craps, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and carnival-game players all play to beat the casino out of the money. Perhaps the players who fantasize about winning the most money, scads of money, tons of money are the slot players, especially those who play the giant progressive machines.

My friend Elle told me, “I dream about winning big. I dream of millions. Of buying a new house, quitting work and going on unlimited vacations to exotic locales; staying at the finest hotels in the world. Will it happen? Will I hit it big? Probably not; but a player can dream, can’t she?”

She sure can and she joins millions of other players who are dreaming basically the same dream.

However, there are some players who have indeed “hit it big.” These join many of the triumphant lottery players who have also hit it big. Players who have won tens of millions of dollars know the delicious feeling of finding out that their lives have changed markedly.

Still here comes a little pinch, or a big punch, of sadness as some lucky players discover by accident or foolish design that their great win soon became a great burden or an irresistible force for ill for themselves and their families.

Just about everyone who “won it big” became the center of a circle of relatives, distant relatives, friends, distant friends, acquaintances and of the people they had never met; people who wished or even scolded these winners to give to charities of their particular choosing. (“Just write the check out to me and I shall give it to this very worthy charity.”)

Strange people incessantly phone-called those that “hit it big” or sent emails to them daily, and some even made social media requests for these “lucky winners” to come forward with their charity towards others. These folks wanted gifts to help them out of serious debt or they cited dire circumstances. Were all these folks in need of such gifts? Maybe some were needy people but I am guessing that most were not needy at all but just wanted to take advantage of the “lucky” winner.

Some winners fell for the entreaties of the “beggars” as one winner once told me. “I gave so much money away to those beggars – and quote me calling them beggars. I found it hard to say ‘no’ to anyone who asked me for money if they had a good story to tell.”

He continued: “I gave to charities that I normally gave to but I increased the amount substantially. I gave to charities that turned out not to exist! I had so many people call me to tell me that they could be my economic advisor. I never knew I had so many relatives; they were coming out of the woodwork.”

One older man told me, “I started getting calls right off the bat. Yes, I heard from relatives whose names I had long forgotten. Some would talk to me as if we had a relationship all these years when I only vaguely remembered them as a child. They weren’t even embarrassed to ask for money. Some of them almost demanded a part of my win to keep the money in the family.

“I wish I had been smart and told everyone who called me to go away but I didn’t. It took me some time to finally realize I was giving my money away for no good reason.”

Some big winners are people who actually did themselves in. I recall many a story of big lottery winners who bought cars and houses and boats and went all around the world and what happened? They wound up broke. I even recall some who went into serious debt; not because of outsiders or relatives mooching off them but because they couldn’t control themselves.

I recall one mega-winner blowing all his money on strippers and booze in a drunken frenzy until he found he couldn’t even afford a Playboy magazine. Did he achieve love from all these women and clubs? Not at all. If he couldn’t pay for his drinks he was thrown out of the clubs and he was ignored by the ladies who had previously begged him for his money. He never got another lap dance from them. In the end, the results of his spendthrift ways only got him a sap dance.

The desire to spend, spend, and spend over and over, sometimes can’t be contained and spills out, ultimately causing personal disaster. I do think some people are not intellectually or emotionally equipped to handle loads of new money when they never had that kind of fortune. And some people are just spenders. Just take a look at credit card debt in this country.

Now, if you should win a ton of money, what should you do? First, change your phone number and email address. Make sure you have a legitimate monetary advisor. Never give to charities that are not main stream. Some guy’s special charity is probably some guy’s wallet.

Anyone who can get in touch with you immediately say, “I am not giving away or donating money to anyone for anything!” You might want to make that your answering message.

Or send the money to me!

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete’s web site is www.frankscoblete.com. His books are available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books and at bookstores.