Professional gamblers and broken glass factories

Some debate as to whether So You Want My Job: Professional Gambler has any place on a website called The Art of Manliness...

"...I am disgusted. If you actually read this article, you will see that it directly contradicts much of what this site claims to stand for.
...The author states flat out that..
1) Gambling is not an honorable profession.
2) He made money as a leech.
3) Professional gambling precludes any chance of success in relationships or family.
It would seem to me that this is a classic case of gaining the world and loosing [sic] your soul. If this is your idea of success, I want none of it.
If this is a taste of things to come Brett, consider me an ex-reader"

Me? I just have two questions. Is Christatos Aristad a real person and does he always put this much effort into his metaphors...? 

"And luck is the biggest bitch in the world. She will leech you dry and then bury you alive under a pile of flesh eating beetles before building an explosive broken glass factory on top of the pile, then burn it down."

This indictment on the wagering life, then again, hits home with the minimum of effort:

"That hollow look in a man’s or woman’s eye when they sit down at the table during their child’s birthday is probably the saddest thing in the world"

Yet another heart-warming portrayal of gamblers in the movies...

Yup, Jay Baruchel's character is as endearing as punters come in the independent film Real Time, "a comedic-drama about a compulsive gambler who is given one hour to live by a hired hit-man".

The film features Randy Quaid (and what the hell is going on in his private life, to be sure?) with an Australian accent, in a role you'll find hard to square with the bumpkin hero pilot in Independence Day.



(parts 4, 5, 6, 8 here)

Breeders' Cup from Clockers' Corner

Nice look behind the scenes at last weekend's Breeders' Cup. Sooo glad to see (2.55 in) that grotesque female tattoos aren't just a British disease..

Even Casanova needed a hobby

Turns out the great lover was one of us when he found time for, er,  resting...

"Gambling was a common recreation in the social and political circles in which Casanova moved. In his memoirs, Casanova discusses many forms of 18th century gambling—including lotteries, faro, basset, piquet, biribi, primero, quinze, and whist—and the passion for it among the nobility and the high clergy. Cheaters (known as “correctors of fortune”) were somewhat more tolerated then than today in public casinos and in private games for invited players, and seldom caused affront. Most gamblers were on guard against cheaters and their tricks. Scams of all sorts were common, and Casanova was amused by them.
Casanova gambled throughout his adult life, winning and losing large sums. He was tutored by professionals, and he was “instructed in those wise maxims without which games of chance ruin those who participate in them”. He was not above occasionally cheating and at times even teamed with professional gamblers for his own profit. Casanova claims that he was “relaxed and smiling when I lost, and I won without covetousness”. However, when outrageously duped himself, he could act violently, sometimes calling for a duel. Casanova admits that he was not disciplined enough to be a professional gambler: “I had neither prudence enough to leave off when fortune was adverse, nor sufficient control over myself when I had won.” Nor did he like being considered as a professional gambler: “Nothing could ever be adduced by professional gamblers that I was of their infernal clique.” Although Casanova at times used gambling tactically and shrewdly—for making quick money, for flirting, making connections, acting gallantly, or proving himself a gentleman among his social superiors—his practice also could be compulsive and reckless, especially during the euphoria of a new sexual affair. "Why did I gamble when I felt the losses so keenly? What made me gamble was avarice. I loved to spend, and my heart bled when I could not do it with money won at cards."

You know you've made it, indeed when you get your own page at Jackpot.co.uk. Read about his wagering exploits in his own words here.

School secondary to poker? We have just the thing...

Better get in for one of these quick, for the wagering teenager in your life, before reality overtakes irony and leaves it gasping in its wake.

Unless decent schools are still the norm in your country, that is...

"23 x 35 inch color poster shows great and is a superb addition to any room. Unframed and heavy glossy stock poster. The required classes for any college student (Remedial Math, Advance Finance, Sex Education) are all listed with corresponding poker hands (Pair of deuces, quad aces, Pair of Queens & Pair of Kings). Includes a Guide showing Winning Poker Hands, keeping you on your toes"

Available from Royal Flush Poker & Gaming Supplies Inc. Click on picture to enlarge.