How the U.S. Is Getting Beat in Online Gambling

A dollar spent on anything is a dollar not spent elsewhere; does it therefore follow that all commercial activity is a drain on the economy? Obviously not.

You're arguments are irrational.

Do you actually think that a person dumping $1000 in a slot machine has the SAME impact on the local economy as if they spent that same $1000 in local businesses such as clothing stores, restaurants and retail stores?

You're joking right?
Or are you really this thick?

Every one of my posts has made perfect sense, although they may be beyond your ability to grasp. I do appreciate that you can find humor in your lack of comprehension, though.

You get funnier by the minute.
When you can't articulate a coherant argument, blow hot air at people.

You really need to educate yourself on the impact of gambling on local effected economies and get back to me.

It's obvious you're not up to speed on this topic.

Should these activities be illegal or restricted by law since those who engage in them get nothing of value in return?

I NEVER suggested ANYTHING be made illegal.

Perhaps you should try addressing things I actually post instead of assigning me positions you feel most comfortable arguing with.

Wow, three posts to reply to one. Are you naturally slow, or is there something about this argument that's affecting you?

You're arguments are irrational.

In the sense it's used in the above statement, "your" is spelled as you see it here. And unfortunately for you, stating that something is irrational doesn't make it so. Prove it.

Do you actually think that a person dumping $1000 in a slot machine has the SAME impact on the local economy as if they spent that same $1000 in local businesses such as clothing stores, restaurants and retail stores?

Yes, I do. Why wouldn't it?

You're joking right? Or are you really this thick?

It's funny that you accuse me of irrationality in a post that has absolutely nothing beyond ad hominem.

Moving on to post #2...

You get funnier by the minute. When you can't articulate a coherant argument, blow hot air at people.

And the brilliantly rational argument continues to fly fast and furious from you.

That's sarcasm, by the way. Ordinarily I wouldn't mention it, but I have a funny feeling that you wouldn't be sure unless it were made explicit.

You really need to educate yourself on the impact of gambling on local effected economies and get back to me. It's obvious you're not up to speed on this topic.

Ah, the second-to-last refuge of the argument loser: "You need to educate yourself and get back to me." You must've been a member of your high school debate society, am I right? _{(helpful tip: more sarcasm!)} That's not the way argument works... if you think my position is contrary to the facts, then state the facts.

The sky is purple. If you disagree, you need to educate yourself and get back to me. It's obvious you're not up to speed.

I NEVER suggested ANYTHING be made illegal.

Very well then. Should those who attend movies be viewed as destroyers of their families? Idiots who spend money and get Zip-Nothing-Nada in return?

I like this one.

It is a romance that mesmerizes all the high rollers. They pride themselves on the fact that they survive spectacularly well outside the system: no bosses or government bureaucrats on their backs telling them what they should do and how they should do it, no routine that is not of their own choosing, no success that is not the result of their own unaided talents. Also no failure. They are mesmerized by the romance of big losses as much as by that of big wins, and are not interested in compromise. Jack Binion told me of one old-timer who, like all serious gamblers, had been broke more times than he could count. But at the age of seventy-three he had one final lucky streak and found himself $700,000 ahead. Everyone - even the other gamblers - told him to buy himself an annuity policy. A hundred thousand dollars would assure him of a good living for the rest of his life and leave him $600,000 to gamble with. "But he didn't even consider it," Binion said. "He would rather take his chances of going broke. Which he did, and it didn't bother him at all. And, when you think about it, he was right. If you go broke here in America, you don't really starve to death. From the financial point of view, there is a far greater difference between you and some poor native in Africa than there is between you and the richest man in the world. We all eat much the same food and sleep on the same brand of mattress as the Hunt brothers down there in Dallas. This shirt of mine is one hundred percent cotton and that's all Bunker Hunt is going to be able to wear. So maybe he can take a private jet whil I have to stay home. But that's no big deal. Once you reach the lower middle class in the United States, there is no great difference between the top and the bottom. Here at the Horseshoe, if these guys go broke they are going to have to play cheaper. That's the only difference."
"Cheaper?" I said. "There are fortunes changing hands every day."
Binion shook his head. He seemed disappointed in me. We had appeared to be understanding each other, but now, as though for the first time, he registered my English accent and realized that, after all, I was just another uncomprehending foreigner. "In the free enterprise system, you have to assume that each guy is the best judge of what he does with his own money," he explained patiently. "I've often though, If I got really hungry for a good milk shake, how much would I pay for one? People will pay a hundred dollars for a bottle of wine; to me that's not worth it. But I'm not going to say it is foolish or wrong to spend that kind of money, if that is what you want. So if a guy wants to bet twenty or thirty thousand dollars in a poker game, that is his privilege. Society might consider it bad judgment, but if that is what he wants to do, you can't fault him for it. That's America."
The Biggest Game In Town by A. Alvarez (Great book)