I have often thought that gambling is akin to playing pool. When you're going for that lot-of-green shot in the corner pocket, you take a gamble whether you will make it. Skills comes into play, but one could lay odds on making or not making the shot. Yes, indeed, it's a gamble. Nothing is a sure thing in pool. You could miscue, for goodness sakes.
Money won is sweeter than money earned, they say. Winning big bucks gambling in pool is a high like no other, and it can be quite addictive for some folks. I have had some addictions in my younger life -- smoking cigarettes, as an example -- but I never did acquire the gambling addiction.
There's been a buzz on the forum about the recent coin heist debacle with Scooter, et al. Well, coin heists have been going on with pool people since I was a teenager. I remember many a player coming into the pool room with with bags and bags of quarters. It is sometimes difficult to unload the quarters. Casinos have always been a good vehicle to unload coins. Back then, it was mainly soda machines. Today, it's mainly car washes. :embarrassed2:
The phenomenon of that easy money quickly is what attracts some pool peeps into a life of crime, whether it's coin heists or cheating in casino games. It's that lure of quick money, just like gambling in pool, that is the draw.
I know one young man in the pool world, who shall remain nameless for purposes of this thread, who was a professional coin heister. He'd travel the country and return home with five figures. He had the method down pat and could do it in the blink of an eye. He also could play a pretty mean game of pool. I'd rate him a strong B player. Best part about it, nobody knew who he was. So when on the road, he also would partake in high-stakes action on a field of green. If he lost, he didn't sweat it because he could go out and make it back in one night in coin heists.
After getting to know the young man a little, I offered counsel to him, advising him to get out now and start a business. I recognized he was actually extremely, extremely intelligent. Whatever he wanted -- money, women, winning in pool -- he was capable when he applied himself.
Eventually, car wash owners began to utilize the latest technology to catch anyone robbing their machines. Lady Luck ran out for my friend, and he got caught. Judge let him off with a slap on the wrist, a fine, and probation.
Sometimes young men are thrown into a life of crime because of their environment. His father did a long stint in jail while he was growing up, and his mother commit suicide. I truly believe if given a nurturing upbringing as a child, his intelligence would have taken him through college and he would have been a successful businessman. :smile:
Well, after being busted and put on probation, he couldn't land a job that paid the bills, and soon he was back on the road again, looking for isolated car washes at night. And again, he was caught, but this time, he did a couple years in prison. I liked the kid and felt bad for him, but I was also happy that he realized that he needed to turn the corner and get a normal job. Jail has a way of reforming folks, and in this regard, I had high hopes for this young man. He was talking the right talk, and when he got out, I just knew he'd be walking the walk. Yay!
He never did heist another coin machine, but that fast money, that high one gets when gambling, was too much, so he started selling pot, got caught, and he's now doing 10 years in prison. It's a sad story of a child never realizing his strengths, but it illustrates the gambling addiction and how making "quick money" is sometimes too much for some folks. This, unfortunately, was how he grew up.
Is he a bad guy? Does he deserve to be in prison? I can see both sides of the coin on this one [pun intended].
Money won is sweeter than money earned, they say. Winning big bucks gambling in pool is a high like no other, and it can be quite addictive for some folks. I have had some addictions in my younger life -- smoking cigarettes, as an example -- but I never did acquire the gambling addiction.
There's been a buzz on the forum about the recent coin heist debacle with Scooter, et al. Well, coin heists have been going on with pool people since I was a teenager. I remember many a player coming into the pool room with with bags and bags of quarters. It is sometimes difficult to unload the quarters. Casinos have always been a good vehicle to unload coins. Back then, it was mainly soda machines. Today, it's mainly car washes. :embarrassed2:
The phenomenon of that easy money quickly is what attracts some pool peeps into a life of crime, whether it's coin heists or cheating in casino games. It's that lure of quick money, just like gambling in pool, that is the draw.
I know one young man in the pool world, who shall remain nameless for purposes of this thread, who was a professional coin heister. He'd travel the country and return home with five figures. He had the method down pat and could do it in the blink of an eye. He also could play a pretty mean game of pool. I'd rate him a strong B player. Best part about it, nobody knew who he was. So when on the road, he also would partake in high-stakes action on a field of green. If he lost, he didn't sweat it because he could go out and make it back in one night in coin heists.
After getting to know the young man a little, I offered counsel to him, advising him to get out now and start a business. I recognized he was actually extremely, extremely intelligent. Whatever he wanted -- money, women, winning in pool -- he was capable when he applied himself.
Eventually, car wash owners began to utilize the latest technology to catch anyone robbing their machines. Lady Luck ran out for my friend, and he got caught. Judge let him off with a slap on the wrist, a fine, and probation.
Sometimes young men are thrown into a life of crime because of their environment. His father did a long stint in jail while he was growing up, and his mother commit suicide. I truly believe if given a nurturing upbringing as a child, his intelligence would have taken him through college and he would have been a successful businessman. :smile:
Well, after being busted and put on probation, he couldn't land a job that paid the bills, and soon he was back on the road again, looking for isolated car washes at night. And again, he was caught, but this time, he did a couple years in prison. I liked the kid and felt bad for him, but I was also happy that he realized that he needed to turn the corner and get a normal job. Jail has a way of reforming folks, and in this regard, I had high hopes for this young man. He was talking the right talk, and when he got out, I just knew he'd be walking the walk. Yay!
He never did heist another coin machine, but that fast money, that high one gets when gambling, was too much, so he started selling pot, got caught, and he's now doing 10 years in prison. It's a sad story of a child never realizing his strengths, but it illustrates the gambling addiction and how making "quick money" is sometimes too much for some folks. This, unfortunately, was how he grew up.
Is he a bad guy? Does he deserve to be in prison? I can see both sides of the coin on this one [pun intended].
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