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Why People Like to Gamble

Why do people gamble? To some, like Las Vegas's legendary Jimmy the Greek, that's like asking why people breathe. To the Russian novelist Dostoevski, it was a psychological question of the deepest importance, and one that he never succeeded in answering for himself, compulsive and self-destructive gambler that he was.

To still others, the kinds who feel no thrill at the craps table, no tingle in front of a slot machine, the question is one of simple puzzlement--- why do they do it?

Let it be quickly said that most people who gamble are not compulsive, not addicts, not really much involved except for occasional recreation. The great majority of folks who go to Vegas go for fun. Period. They like the glitter, the electricity in the air. As its business builds, the same will be true of Atlantic City. Lots of people would rather go where something exciting is happening than up to the mountains for two weeks of fishing and beautiful sunsets.

If this sort of person gambles, he or she looks at it in the same way that one might view splurging on an elaborate meal in a five-star restaurant or paying extra for the best room in the ski lodge--- just this once.

Vacation gamblers don't lose their shirts, and they usually don't win much, either.

But there is another sort of gambler, and everyone has known at least one. For Nick the Greek, for Dostoevski, for thousands of others, gambling is more than a pastime, a living, or even a lifestyle.

It's their personality, a force in their lives so pervasive that without it they wouldn't be who they are. It was something like this that prompted Jimmy the Greek--- perhaps the sanest of all the great gamblers--- to say that 'you might as well ask why breathe'.

The first question that has to be asked, before you can investigate why people gamble, is what, precisely, is covered by that loaded term?

But what about the anonymous businessman who agrees to bet thousands on the rise and fall of the New York Stock Exchange issues? What about the daredevil athlete who bets on his or her own superior reflexes?

What about the political candidate who lets his fortune and his future ride on the unknown and unknowable whims of the faceless electorate? Are these people gamblers, or are they somehow possessed of some, mysterious respectability that gambling should be denied?

In the first place, many people would tell you that gambling is a matter of luck, while those other pursuits--- betting on the stock market, physical prowess, the outcome of an election--- are matters of skill.

But there's plenty of luck involved in the business of politics, and plenty of skill in gambling. As a matter of fact, serious gamblers would much rather bet on a football game or an election than on the wanderings of a little ball around a wheel.

It may be that in any field, what separates the compulsive gambler from the person who merely takes a reasonable chance is understanding. Whether they are right or wrong, professional gamblers--- the good kind, have one thing in common with the captains of industry--- they don't rely on luck.

They have reasons for what they do, and these aren't the ones offered up by and baffled numbers of losers. Wise gamblers, no matter what the bet, understand what they're betting on.