US govt security clearance and "gambling"

[eastbay]

I hold a high level US govt security clearance. In reviewing my poker tracker stats, I realize that to keep my nose clean, I am going to have to report a "gambling loss" on my income tax that is comparable to my annual salary.

I of course will also post gambling wins of that gambling loss plus about 35% - my long term poker ROI. However, I am suddenly nervous about the prospect of some clearance investigator seeing these numbers and flying out of his chair at this obvious "problem gambler" who is "gambling his entire salary" and getting stripped of my clearance and my entire career which I spent decades building and value immensely, both financially and emotionally.

I was just looking for anecdotes from anyone who has held a clearance and has also been a moonlighting poker player. I am really hoping that common sense will prevail here, but in matters of govt beaurocracy that may be optimistic.

I am also considering a "pre-emptive strike" by going to the clearance investigation center to discuss this matter with them before they discover it in my upcoming re-investigation a year from now. I figure if I am the one to make the first volley here, it may be possible to head this off before it becomes a serious problem. They do seem to value you voluntarily putting any potential issues out there, rather than them having to come to you to find things that may be, in their mind, red flags.

So, has anyone been in this spot before? Any experiences of things to do or not to do? What are my chances of having a rational discussion about advantage gambling with these folks? I am, frankly, increasingly concerned about this at the moment. I can see lots of nodding and winking as I try to explain the statistics of my results, while the investigators write things in their notebook like "rationalizes extreme gambling addiction with mathematical double-talk." Sigh.

If you look at the stated criteria for holding clearances as documented, gambling only comes up as a potential factor in financial irresponsibility and financial difficulties. Clearly a person in financial dire straits is a security risk, as they may be tempted to sell secrets. I understand this - it is a rational concern. But what I am concerned about is the appearance of financial irresponsibility associated with apparently very large gambling transactions.

Now I know, you know, we all know that a winning player is basically "recycling" his money with a very low risk. It's like taking the coins out of a +EV slot machine and firing them back in, over and over and over again. But when you look at the numbers, I admit they are terrifying looking, and a non-gambler will likely not really understand any of this.

So, once again, anyone been through this?

eastbay