Читать книгу The Wolf of Gambling - M.Trojan - Страница 10

Gamblers from all over the world try to fulfil the ardent desire of going to Las Vegas just once in their life. This city did not become famous because of its many Magician-shows etc. or because a few really well-known Mafia movies which by the way are based on true stories. No – Las Vegas became famous because there you’ll find the true gamblers’ Paradise. The city was built with blood money and to this day, it survives only through gambling addictions. Fraud was never tolerated and even to this day, it isn’t. It is prohibited. But that isn’t all. If someone was to crack the system, then he would be prohibited from entering Vegas the very next day. Why is that? That is because the bank always wins and the gamblers never even have a chance and never had one in the past either. It doesn’t matter where you gamble. Be it in a pub, in a gambling hall, at the petrol station, in a casino or directly in the gamblers’ paradise called Las Vegas. To gamble away money is to gamble away money. You don’t invest in a dream, you gamble away your life and all this came about systematically by means of increasing stakes and constant gambling. If you reverse this determination and use it for the withdrawal, then we have reached the right point. The city of Las Vegas is beautiful, but not one cent of it was given for free. On the contrary, the gamblers paid for every brick. Every show, everything is paid for by the guest. That is normal and generally well-known. However, as soon as you visit Las Vegas in order to gamble away your life at a slot-machine, you ought to question your destination. The Theory of Probability for winning or if you like, counting the cards which is particularly well-known in America, impedes the clear view. You cannot win, no matter which way you look at it. The addiction wins because it isolates our mind and devours our money. Don’t be deceived by objective wealth. Let the lights flash and allow the slot-machine drums to continue rotating regardless of whether you are witnessing a winning. Every gambler gambles until the time when the money lands in the slot-machine again. Often I only watched and again and again you see how somebody wins some money. As a gambler, you then think: That could have been me. Strangely enough, we only think that in the case of a winning. When we see a homeless person, we never think that could have been me. Although as a gambler, you are truly working your way towards that situation. Even when we still want to say I don’t gamble all the time, the final destination will be systematic bankruptcy because an addiction has no limit.

The Las Vegas “Rescue Mission” helps people who have nothing left or have lost everything already. An aid project for the homeless in the in the glittering world of Las Vegas – this side of the coin does not appear much in the media. Of course, in a city which promises pure wealth to the middle class, all reality is to be concealed. And the irony of the day? The possibly best-known magicians who are also called illusionists among other things were on stage for many years with their white tigers in Las Vegas. Their shows made history with a whiff of illusion. Although a magician’s show will surely not make you lose money, the situation is completely different in a Casino or a hotel with a gambling center. This also operates with pure illusion. The city of Las Vegas has 550,000 inhabitants with a rising tendency. Strangely, the city has over 100,000 homeless people which works out to be nearly a fifth or approximately 20 per cent of all inhabitants. That means that every fifth inhabitant in Vegas is already homeless. This ought to make clear how this glittering world is being financed. Only very few homeless people were born into such circumstances.

In Vegas, it is all about money; winning money, getting by, making enough money to live, risking money and so on. The city spends millions of dollars every year in order to present this image of the American dream. But when you look a bit closer, you will find no sparkle. The city looks duller than before if you look really close. The only thing which really represents an American flair is the architecture of the casinos and the hotels and also in part the way everything is presented. Such buildings could for example not be implemented in Germany. In my opinion, it is very American. You could even claim: This is only possible in America. However, there is nothing American about gambling - on the contrary. Americans are family people, caring and fun-loving people. However gambling destroys precisely that which makes Americans so unique and well-liked.

Vegas with 5,000 dollars – quickly into the casino and come out a self-made millionaire an hour later. That would be nice. But that is not the way it works – quite the contrary. The gambler will at best pay for the next new slot-machine for the casino with his 5,000 dollars. In the long run, no gambler will win even just one single dollar. If this were the case – if every gambler was a few dollars in the black (at the slot-machines), then Las Vegas would automatically shrink. However, so far this is not happening. On the contrary, Vegas is becoming larger every month – it is growing and thriving with the help of every single gambler who has stopped using his brain and spends money or throws it into a machine. Las Vegas did not grow due to tradition or American culture, but it became big due to gambling addictions. Addiction is the word which you must definitely and urgently save in your vocabulary.

Take a closer look at Vegas. Look at it as a tourist would and not as a gambler. It is full of prostitutes who either con the tourists or the gamblers for as long as they still have money. And then there is also the rapidly increasing drug-scene. Vegas had to set up a special unit for drug control. The police is more geared against illegal prostitution and drug trafficking than for example against terrorism. Vegas does not know any nuances, no grays, and no colors - there is only black and white. In gambling there are only winners or losers. But the true winners don’t play at all and it is for this reason only that they may be considered to be winners. They actually have money as opposed to the gamblers. 30 million visitors gamble away their money in Vegas every year. That amounts to a turnover of 6 billion dollars for Vegas. That says it all really. Of course, everyone would like to take a look at this unique city which became so big through gambling. However, all that glitters is not gold. Not only had the Mafia buried their dead in the Nevada desert – gambling is responsible for the death of innumerable people. The reality is not good enough for Hollywood and for this reason, we watch movies about and set in Las Vegas. However, they are never about the gamblers who are destroyed by Vegas. We see only winners, never the losers. We see fiction rather than facts.

Place any person you like in a Casino in Vegas with 5,000 dollars. He will gamble. This is due to the atmosphere which will slowly weaken anyone’s resistance. The mind is lost in Vegas because everyone gambles and nobody advises you against it. We do not see the millionaires who gambled everything away. We only see those who bought a villa in Vegas, but not the persons who had previously owned it or gambled it away.

Even at the petrol stations in Vegas there are one-armed bandits; it really seems as if everyone in Vegas wants to ensure that they get their part of the takings. One way or another, the dollar rules the city, not love of one’s neighbour and neither the magician or dance shows. It is the dollar.

When you watch documentaries about Vegas, do not consider them to be inspirational, but rather – be inquisitive. What are they trying to tell us? What is the purpose of the documentary? Especially in America, there is a serious downplaying of the addiction to gambling and moreover, they try to actively acquire new gamblers. Come to Vegas and try your luck – believe me, it won’t go further than a try. The advertisements for the shows, the Freefall-Tower advertisements etc. are only for the purpose of enticing you to go there. The visitor will try his luck at the roulette table, the slot-machines or at other games because he has no other choice. I would like to prove the point that the casinos are counting on you to come in and gamble as well as lose. To be quite honest, if I had a casino and I knew that I would lose, would I really be so nice and ask you to come by to gamble and win? I don’t think that I would take the risk and I‘m sure you wouldn’t either. No – that is not the way it works. A casino will even send a limousine to the airport to pick you up or take you to the casino. They will only offer this service if it is worth their while. Only those who gamble will be ensnared with nice gestures. Indirectly of course, the gambler pays for the staff, however he doesn’t realize it so far. The gambler does not depend on Vegas, but rather it is the other way round – the city needs every single gambler. It is only due to gambling that the city can glow day and night and keep up the pretence of being free from worries. Only the addiction to gambling keeps this construct of lies thriving. Everything has been set up against the gambler; he is to gamble; he must gamble; he will gamble. The construction of a casino is like a labyrinth. The gambler is to stay inside and it is difficult to find a direct, fast and a hasty way out. For a tourist who is in Vegas for the first time, it is impossible to leave the casino quickly. As I said above – everything has been set up against the gambler. Come along and enjoy life – they ensnare everyone and then people start dreaming. There is a rule in Vegas: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas and that is exactly the way it is. Every euro, every dollar, and every coin – it all stays in Vegas and it does not just happen once a month that a wealthy millionaire gambles away everything because he was infected by Vegas. The addiction is without mercy and if you allow the illusion to thrive and if you are of the opinion that gambling might make you a lucky person, then you have not understood so far what Vegas is all about. The slot-machines at every corner do not serve the purpose of being able to win money at every corner, but rather to make sure your money gets into circulation. Vegas does not stand for fast money, but rather a short life.

You can either believe me or continue to gamble away your money. It’s your life. However, one thing is for sure – Vegas will do all it can to raise your hopes. You hope for wealth and Vegas will play with you. You are not the winning gambler – Vegas is. This is because the city thinks like a gambler. The bank always wins and you are financing the illusions.

The only reason I devoted a whole chapter to Las Vegas is that unfortunately this city functions perfectly in that it just pretends everything and doesn’t ever have to provide proof. This city does not fulfil dreams; but they claim it does and people trust blindly. Vegas states something and gamblers start automatically and compulsively to dream of it. They claim they can make millionaires – but the millionaires move to Vegas. Vegas did not make them rich. They possess wealth and for this reason they are to be found in Las Vegas. That is a big difference which people should keep at the back of their minds. It is sometimes used as an argument, you dream of Vegas; but it is not a glamorous city which will automatically make you a glamorous person. Vegas changes its visitors to become gamblers and finally, you allow yourself to be blinded by all the spotlights and you dream of a life which becomes more distant with every dollar.

How many millionaires could Vegas create every year – and how many are there really? Think about it objectively and logically and not as a gambler. Las Vegas boasts the highest number of foreclosure auctions of real estate in the whole country. Respect – That is not a sign of wealth. People allow themselves to be influenced too much by their environment – in this case by Las Vegas. However this process ought to be reversed. You should influence your environment by fighting the addiction successfully.

The inhabitants of 1las Vegas possibly have an apartment or a house. However, one look into the future is generally sufficient to understand that solely gambling will be responsible for possibly having to spend the rest of one’s life out in the street from one day to another. The inhabitants of Vegas indirectly confirm this. Most people don’t even know their next door neighbours simply because they are exchanged more often than the slot-machines in the casino. From the point of view of a slot-machine gambler, Vegas has a negative and very dangerous connotation. However, you must be willing to recognize it in order to be able to see it.

In my opinion, Americans are so-called good persons; they consider life to be too good which means that they don’t expect misfortune while the rest of the world is forever expecting a misfortune to happen. For this reason, life is definitely more idyllic in America because people do not worry so much. There is no extra burden. This is the case for most regions. However, this also means that a disappointment is so much more painful. Gambling at the slot-machine is just one big disappointment from beginning to end. However, since people think that life is all good, they will not understand that they fell for such an inhuman and cold lie. What would America be- or more generally – what would have become of humanity if we would always give up after just one single disappointment? We would still be in the Stone Age. But since people are able to create something new every day, to perform on demand and to think big while growing bigger, we will also be able to draw new energy in order to liberate ourselves from the clutches of the addiction. You have that energy inside you. All you have to do is to activate it.

You don’t need a Las Vegas in order to be able to lead a happy life. The lights in Las Vegas will still be on when you have stopped gambling away your life for no reason. But it is a start because every gambler who stops gambling, changes the circumstances. If you have just one single really good argument why you should continue to risk your life as a slot-machine gambler in Las Vegas, please let me know. Also think about whether you are only continuing to gamble in order to continue keeping up the lie. At the moment that appears to be the case. Gamblers hold on to an illusion for so long that even the truth behind the facade can no longer be believed. Very often, such an experience can be painful and I can understand that well because I was in the exact same situation once. However, such an experience is part of life and we should never forget that we will survive it. As I said before, we can achieve anything if we really want to. We can redirect our life every second to take a different direction.

“[...] and the pursuit of Happiness.” The pursuit of happiness was even included into the Declaration of Independence of the United States. However, it ought to be considered more closely what Las Vegas presents in the splendor of the USA. After all it was only the pursuit which was included. Not the certainty of ever being able to be happy. Here gambling is adorning itself with borrowed plumes because gambling at slot-machines definitely has nothing to do with happiness, but rather with systematic self-destruction. Vegas is an artificial oasis and it is increasingly alienating itself in its own country. Every day gamblers charge into Vegas and not only lose their money, but themselves also. They are lost at the slot-machine and cannot find a way out. I want to change this because only change can contribute to an improvement of the situation.

Also Karas and the legendary The Run do not change the fact that the addiction to gambling is to be found everywhere. I am not claiming that a gambler does not have the possibility of winning in a casino; however, in the long run this is definitely not possible. I know this from experience and unfortunately I had to live through it very often. And as I have mentioned before, I was quite a good gambler who failed in the end because of his own blindness. Poker-professionals, card-counters and yes – there are even Roulette-professionals who can recognize where the ivory ball is going to land. But there is not one single slot-machine-professional because technical tools will prevent that. Don’t let anyone mislead you. Nobody is able to finance his life by playing the slot-machines. On the contrary, the gambler risks his life in order to be able to gamble and thus pay for the life-style of others.