The Happy Gambler

"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done"

Gambling.  That’s it – think of it as another health-care.  

You’ve spent the last three hours at a $65 per hour clip at a slot machine gobbling up your credit – bringing your debt down its true value.  But at the same time, you’ve had three drinks, a cig or two, and are, deep down… satisfied.  Sure you can forget the money tomorrow, but you feel a little better… 

Oh it doesn’t happen to you?  Yeah me neither.  The few times I’ve left a casino, I’ve felt bitter over losing that money, not quite drunk and drunk enough to let the bad taste of losing money aimlessly cinder for a moment or three, along with the taste of those cigarettes and bitterness.  I didn’t feel healthy at all.

So where did my money go?  Hmm… I won’t trace this back.  I really don’t want to know.

But I do see a bigger problem.  There are mothers and fathers that have children in tow, ready to tug them right into their world of debt and sorrow.  These fathers and mothers need to be tugged back.   They need to be controlled otherwise chaos will ensue and ensure that their worlds will collide – independent George will cease to exist.  To tug on them, and their heart’s strings, they must be controlled to a quota.  Let them enjoy to their heart’s content, the little glories of winning and losing, over and over again.  The wins are there, and when they are, it does feel sweet – lucky.  But when the losses come, only a quota can be lost based on a regulated gambling card.  This card can withdraw your monthly quota for gambling, ensuring you’ve got food to eat and gas to heat.  But the wins can still come, and they can be yours.  But the losses will be limited. 

So now we leave the casino in check – nothing in overindulgence.  Remember, over-indulgence can be un-healthy – ask your doctor.  So now that we haven’t over indulged, where did the $100 I spent over the last few hours go?  Wow - $50 of those dollars went to the health care program?  Do I hear $60… $70… $80… $95???   What can this number be – what if my losses in casinos went to health care?  A health-care casino.   I can lose money, win money, and have health care propped up.  My $95 over 3 hours.  That could pay for a tangible amount of health care.  This could have saved a life…  

If a form of this gambling were to increase health care - if a tax existed on gambling to ensure that a portion of the winnings or losings – whatever you’d like to call it, went to build hospitals and teach doctors and nurses and therapists and analysts and technicians and janitors and cooks and cleaners?   Sounds like a lot of people to teach, but I’m sure there’s a lot of money in gambling.  There has to be.  What if everyone cashed out in a night?  Would the casino be able to foot the bill?  What, there’s an imbalance?  Cash does come out of a casino, and it’s definitely more than what was in there to start the night.   Like I said, a lot of money. 

Wow, so now I stumble out of the casino, wallet lighter, yes, but I know where it goes – my health, your health care, our health care.  Sure I may have inhaled some smoke, but no excuses right now – I spent it on health care.  The three drinks feel good now – deep down satisfied.  I may not have won, but I feel satisfied… 

Health Care and the Casino… I feel a little healthier now… the bitterness is gone.  

Who wouldn’t want to gamble in a Hospital?