October 22, 2010

Gambling Addiction: The Pleasure of Pain

I've never given much thought to the concept of gambling addiction...I'm no saint, but I can walk away from any table at the drop of a hat, whether I'm winning or losing. That's why I was really affected by The High Is Always the Pain and the Pain Is Always the High by Jay Caspian Kang.

The matter of fact way he discusses the way pleasure and pain interweave for a gambler, the different perspective on what it means to win and lose...it's an article worth a read no matter your stance on casinos and gambling. The article is part of a seven part series, and I'm really looking forward to learning more about addiction and coping with it. Below is an excerpt.

Some time later, I drove home. All the money, of course, was gone. As I drove home through the network of highways that tie up a concrete bow just east of downtown Los Angeles, I felt no compulsion to slam the Outback into a guardrail. In fact, losing almost all the money I had in the world in six hours stirred up only a cold, scraped-out feeling of knowing--the calm that freezes out your brain when you watch someone younger make the same mistakes you made at their age.
Staring out at the empty skyscrapers, I tried to figure out what might be the right reaction to losing $12,000. At the 7-Eleven on Venice and Sepulveda, I bought a bottle of Nyquil, drank half of it in the parking lot and drove the rest of the way home in a warm, creeping fog.

[via The Morning News]