Tales from the Huffmans

      Of all the things I see on T.V. these days, I think I dislike most of all, those ads which try to entice¹ people to attend one of the gambling casinos² to “have fun” eating gourmet foods, staying in the posh lodgings³, and winning big prizes at the gaming tables⁴.  I know I am not the only one who is not attracted to these invitations to gamble, and many of the persons who are attracted to these casinos cannot afford to visit them.  Despite the fact that the casinos support many worthy regional projects⁵ with part of their profits from the gambling activities, the fact is that these enterprises⁶ are unneeded, and often take money from those who can least afford to lose the money they have.

       I’ve never had much interest in gambling, and it’s not only because my parents told me that they disapproved of it - though they did.  For as long as I can remember I have not liked to take risks when it is evident that there are negative consequences⁷ involved.

      It is not that I lack self confidence⁸ in my own skills, or fear failing, but is it acceptable to “win” something that one has not earned, whether it may be by deceit or chance⁹?  As children we were not allowed to play “keeps¹⁰” in marble games, and we were told not to bet on the outcome of games or sporting events.  Beyond ethical or moral reasons, gambling and risk-taking both offer a small chance of success for the gambler.

       The latest information I’ve seen about the chance of winning in casinos in the U.S. is  only about 10-12 % of the money spent; thus the gambling enterprises earn about 88-90% of the funds spent at the casinos. Many “Bingo¹¹” games run as charity fund raisers¹² are even less generous than the casinos.  Many people feel this is unfair, even considering the overhead expenses¹³ of running the gaming enterprise.  The state of Iowa, as many other states do, requires that a small, given percentage of casino profits be used to fund programs which aid in dealing with “gambling addiction¹⁴.”  Yes, gambling can be addictive, and it can ruin lives.

       Gambling industries often describe their activities as “entertainment¹⁵,” but is losing one’s money really entertainment?  Yes, I have fed quarters into slot machines¹⁶, and I have played golf in a local Calcutta Tournament¹⁷, but even though I did not lose money myself, I know others did, and I felt uncomfortable about it.  Some friends tell me that they have walked away as winners from gambling, but my feeling is that, over time, all gamblers are losers.  Casinos don’t even attempt to justify this fact, but instead insist the customer is being entertained in the process.  I doubt this.

       If people want to organize friendly card games, office pools¹⁸, or family contests in which each participant contributes to a limited pot of prize money¹⁹ (i.e. football, bowl games, horse races, national sports championships, etc.,) I have no great objections, because at least in these cases the novice²⁰ has an equal chance of winning as does the expert because of the many unpredictable variables²¹ involved.  And, at least some entertainment value is present when a friend or colleague is lucky enough to win.

 

Notes:

1. entice: attract or lead someone to do something (诱使，吸引).

2. casinos: a place where gambling of various types is carried on as a commercial activity (赌场).

3. posh lodgings: luxurious, expensive attractive rooms or buildings to house people who are visiting a gambling casino (豪华住所).

4. gaming tables: tables where the gambling games are operated (赌台，赌桌).

5. regional projects: programs such as higher education, highway construction, etc. which occur in a given region where gambling is legalized (地区项目，如在赌博合法的某一地区进行的高等教育，高速公路建设等投资项目).

6. enterprises: for-profit businesses of one sort or another (企业).

7. negative consequences: undesirable outcomes of a given behavior or action (负面结果).

8. self confidence: having assurance of one’s ability or skill in some activity (自信).

9. deceit or chance: 欺骗或者机遇

10. “keeps”: games played with marbles in which the winner is permitted to take the

marbles which the loser had been using in the game (一种玻璃弹子游戏，赢者可以拿走输者的玻璃弹子).

11. “Bingo”: a game in which players try to match numbers on their cards with numbers that are called out and if players can complete a line of numbers they’ll win (一种游戏，玩者试图把牌上的数字与开叫的数字相配，如果能占有一行的数字就赢了).

12. charity fund raisers: 慈善基金募捐手段

13. overhead expenses: money spent regularly on rent, insurance, electricity, and other things that are needed to keep a business operating (企业或机构的经常性开支，管理费用).

14. gambling addiction：a strong desire to gamble (赌瘾).

15. entertainment: an interesting diversion or engaging activity (娱乐).

16. slot machines:（吃角子）老虎机

17. Calcutta Tournament: a golf tournament in which observers bet money on the player who they feel will win the competition in that golf game (一种高尔夫锦标赛，观众可以把钱押在他们认为会是比赛胜者的身上).

18. office pools: collections of money which each person in the office or group contributes, and the winner is the person who chooses the winner in some type of contest or competition (一种博彩方式，办公室或一群人中每个人贡献钱，谁在一场比赛或竞赛中猜对了胜者就赢钱).

19. limited pot of prize money: a sum of money paid by each player in a game, and which is awarded to the winner of that game (每个玩游戏的人共同贡献的奖金，用来奖励游戏的胜者).

20. novice: someone who has no experience in a skill, subject, or activity (新手，初学者).

21. unpredictable variables: The many individual factors which can possibly influence the outcome of a contest or game, and which make it impossible to know in advance what the outcome or result will be (不可预测的变量).

 

 

 

 

 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 1:58 pm and is filed under Sports and Recreation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.