i like this guy i work with

he's really really sound. we've been myspace messaging (lol) like mad for a while now and today he starts telling me these THINGS

like that he's addicted to gambling at the age of 18. as in has £500 in the last week and just put the last of his money which he needs for rent and bills etc on the football as a last resort. getting paid monthly sucks right, not going to get paid for ages now.

but anyway he's not really doing owt about it

i like him lots but i guess i mean... stay away yeah?

probably the right/best thing to do.

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[ o ]==#

do you watch hollyoaks?
just think of how muchn it would suck to go out with Darren.

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Now honies play me close like butter played toast

^ This.

I really dont get gambling.

I think you should shake him down, THEN dump him.

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His last request was a bulletproof vest or a god

There's no point to it. The odds of you winning anything are always on the negative side. But bad habits are bad habits...gambling, like smoking is a sickness. It's all about addictive personalities.

You piss your money away thinking you'll score it big..just like you piss so much money away in your lifetime by sucking down smokes that doesnt do anything but harm you.

Nothing good comes of any of it. But the governments allow it cuz they are milking the rewards..making money off you.
Casinos stay open despite it's seedy nature due to the fact they score big off easily led, stupid people. A public that allows themselves the indignity of being stripped of all their hard earned cash.

The same thing with smokers. Pot is illegal because the government cant control that. They cant profit from it. They can, however, profit from smoking cigs. All government controlled. Funny how when they can earn money off it's citizens they dont mind allowing certain drugs to be legal....and just to look like they give two shits about your health, they place an ad on the carton telling you how bad smoking is for your health and those surrounding you.

Hmm, I ranted a bit off topic even here, but it all ties in. I'm home sick from work, and bored.

I think its a warning sign that he's making you aware that he has a problem so in case he tries to take advantage of you financially in the future, just because he can't help himself. Just to cover his ass so he won't feel entirely accountable because he "warned you."

I don't think he's telling you this because he wants help if he's not at all interested in doing anything about it as you said.

I dated a loser with a gambling problem for a while. He lost £10,000 on credit cards in one night playing poker. The problem is, it tends not to be just one thing, they are compulsive with EVERYTHING. So you end up stuck at home eating value toast cause they are broke as hell, never going out whilst they complain about how they are going to win it big next time and generally drink far too much (which they always seem to have money for).

Well, the people who get addicted to it are always going to be the minority, plenty of people gamble for fun and don't end up with a problem. If you're doing it for the money you're on to a loser, especially if you're chasing an existing loss, but if you're only spending what you've got earmarked for a recreational spend then you'll be fine. The common annecdote about Vegas is 90% of visitors leave with a loss but 95% say they enjoyed the trip.

That said, it's obviously tragic if gambling addiction takes hold, and sort of thing can arguably ruin lives beyond the scope of drink/drug abuse etc., but I wouldn't agree that everything about gambling is inherently evil.

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His last request was a bulletproof vest or a god

You should stay away from him if he is addicted to gambling.

Or you could persuade him to just go into a homeless drop-in shelter and throw his money on the floor. At least that would be charitable.