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While most people in a casino are not gambling addicts, there is something troubling about so many people spending their retirement pumping quarters in the slots. (At least poker, even badly played, is a bit more intellectual though not much at its nadir.) Being troubled by it doesn't make me holier-than-thou.


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If they can't afford to lose it, then yes, it's troubling. But how do you know? And why are you not troubled by the fact that most of the people you are playing poker with are also throwing away money that they might not be able to afford? Who is losing more money -- the perpetual loser playing 10/20 Hold 'em or the old lady putting quarters in a 97% payback machine?

I just think you draw too large of a distinction between what goes on in the poker room and what goes on in the rest of the casino. I see so many people around here falling back on the old "Poker is +EV!" line of reasoning. It's not my place to question whether or not anybody on this board is a winning or losing player, as I simply do not have enough information to draw such a conclusion. But the fact is that while poker can be "+EV" when played at a highly skilled level, the vast majority of players lose more money at the game than they win.