a tad random

Margaret Pole, countess of Salisbury, was beheaded on the orders of Henry viii, but what is very sad about this true story is that her son sold his mother and basically dobbed her in to Henry viii because he had huge gambling debts and these were paid off by the king. This addiction isn't new and this story tells us how very far some people go, so remember even if you have lied stolen or coerced money I am 100% sure none of us has done anything as horrendous as this

Fascinating story. He took his own mother's life to get rid of his gambling debts.

In more contemporary times, we have the Craigslist Killer, Philip Markoff, a medical student at Boston University. He robbed and killed (one) female escorts to get money to gamble. He had a blackjack addiction, he regularly played at Foxwoods in CT and had a credit line there.

Then there is the case of Christopher Porco. That story is really gruesome. He hacked this parents with an axe; his dad died and his mother lived. He had many money problems, was deeply in debt. His parents refused to bail him out (pay his University of Rochester tuition) after the son had forged his father's signature on a credit card. According to news reports, Porco had an internet gambling addiction.

Gambling makes one do some really crazy things.

Gambling has made me do some things I never thought possible. I'm glad I have not fallen to the depths of murder. There is a man, Gary Tomassoni, who is in prison right now. I used to watch him play blackjack from behind the table. He always played with $500 chips. He played for hours on end on two spots. When I would watch him I was jealous, I wished that I had that much money for life, for gambling, whatever. I used to think I wish I were rich like him. Well, it turns out he wasn't rich he had borrowed money from neighbors, friends, coworkers, family members and credit cards. He was married to a school teacher named Helen. In the middle of the night he shot her in the head twice, in hopes to obtain money from a life insurance policy. When he shot her, their teenage son awoke, Tomassoni claimed it was an intruder.

To think I was jealous of him. What a wake up call! when I saw his picture in the paper I recognized him. When I returned to the casino I mentioned to the people who worked there why did they let him gamble without ever asking him to stop her asking if he was OK. Even though he was spending inordinate amounts of money and was there for many many hours. They were very hush-hush about the whole thing. One dealer told me, "we have been told by our supervisors not to talk about him, or we will lose our jobs."

As you can see, with the amount of children left in cars dying in the parking lot, the increase in suicide, prostitution, rape, the robberies, the assaults, the murders, the increase in domestic abuse, money laundering, etc. all because a casino is built in the area, casinos and crime and go hand-in-hand. Pretty much the same as selling your mother to cover gambling debts & to have her beheaded

more safeguards need to be put in place for ALL casinos throughout the nation. Such as closing at the same time bars close, stop serving someone who is over gambling, after people lose a certain amount of money $500, making them stop gambling, not allowing someone with down syndrome, or who is obviously mentally incapable to gamble.
I have seen mentally disabled people allowed to gamble in the casino, coached on how to lose their money by casino employees, disgusting!

NewLife2017 wrote:more safeguards need to be put in place for ALL casinos throughout the nation. Such as closing at the same time bars close, stop serving someone who is over gambling, after people lose a certain amount of money $500, making them stop gambling, not allowing someone with down syndrome, or who is obviously mentally incapable to gamble.
I have seen mentally disabled people allowed to gamble in the casino, coached on how to lose their money by casino employees, disgusting!

Great suggestions, NewLife! I agree totally that casinos should close for at least 4-5 hours. The 24 hour thing allows folks to chase and chase their losses, and not get sleep to get perspective. I also think that credit card cash advances should not be allowed at casinos, either.

I agree with you on not letting mentally handicapped people gamble, but I am not sure how they would enforce it because it would require medical records that determine disability and such.

NewLife2017 wrote:I'm glad I have not fallen to the depths of murder. There is a man, Gary Tomassoni, who is in prison right now. I used to watch him play blackjack from behind the table. He always played with $500 chips. He played for hours on end on two spots. When I would watch him I was jealous, I wished that I had that much money for life, for gambling, whatever.

I can relate to the jealousy. I have heard gamblers brag about their wins and I was naive enough to not realize that they were not being honest. I just thought that these people throwing money around at casinos must know more than I know, and are luckier than I am. Now I know the real story. Thank you for sharing the story about Gary Tomassoni. It is a reminder that the whales in gambling are big time losers, on many levels.

BGL and Newlife what horror stories! This addiction really must warp minds! That's sad that people with mental health issues are allowed to gamble without any proper control over it. It has really made me think about casinos, I have only ever seen them on TV all flashing lights and fun! They obviously don't want anyone knowing about the seedier criminal undercurrent that is walking right beside them, very sad!

I have heard and read many stories of people who go to extremes to gamble.
Owning Mahonwy is one movie I can think of, which is a true story about Brian Mahowny, a Canadian bank employee who embezzled more than $10 million to feed his gambling addiction.
Similarly, quite a few about people who got so caught up in the addiction, they stole money from their employers to continue gambling.
In my gambling life, I have always liked watching high rollers gambliing too. I fantasize about how it would be so cool to win large amounts of money. I once watched someone at the Blackjack table winning hand after hand for about 15 minutes, all the while betting $600 on each of two hands.
He won thousands of dollars, but as we all know, that was just one session. Somebody like that is also going to have sessions losing thousands of dollars.
I am not proud to admit that I have been a problem gambler, but I am trying like heck to quit, so that gives me a certain measure of pride and self-respect, and I am happier for it.