Just another brilliant entry. Don't want to come across as licking any part of your body, MC, but your writing is fresh and new and paints a great picture. I personally abhor gambling, at least in its real sense. Sure, I do the lotto occasionally, I bet on teams in the World Cup every four years and have been known to (when in my job) join in the fun when Cheltenham rolls around, but never any big money. We're talking five, ten euros max. Not gonna break anyone's bank account.
I love the way you liken the falling towers of chips to the crumbling dreams and the financial meltdown, and yes, it must give you some solace to see these fat cats (down, boy, looking at your avatar!) losing big. Of course, they never learn: if they hadn't bet big (with OUR money!) in the first place the world wouldn't be in the place it is now, but there they are, doing it all over again. At least this time it's with their own money. Still, some people never learn.
My sister (before she got sick) went out with a gambler --- was engaged to him actually --- and came to appreciate the truism of gambling: gamblers don't play to win, they play to lose. What else can explain why someone, having made a big score, will push their luck further and "let it ride", or not leave the table till they've lost it all again? It's not the thrill of winning, it would seem --- that appears to be very low on the list --- it's the
frisson you apparently get when you know you could lose.
There was a "Twilight Zone" episode where a smalltime crook died and it seemed went to Heaven. He ended up having everything he ever wanted, including winning all the time at the tables. Every time. He never lost. Eventually he got fed up:
what's the point of winning all the time, he asked?
Where's the fun? Where's the risk? He asked that if this was Heaven, could he not go to the other place instead? To which the guy he had taken to be his guardian angel gave a nasty smile and asked him incredelously why he thought he was in Heaven?
Great story, and it illustrates the point. But to your idea about the roulette wheel being "the great leveller", as it were. Can't those things be rigged, like with magnets or something? I've seen it on "Hustle", and I know that's just a drama, but it seems likely. Magnetic redistribution of the weight of the wheel tilts it where the House wants it to go, so perhaps there's little chance of winning, except of course when the House decides to let someone win a little, just to keep people playing.
I hope you haven't lost too much, and I'm sure I wouldn't be able to change your mind about gambling, but for me, there's only one type of person who plays that game:
