What does it mean to gamble? Is it inevitably irresistible?

The physicality of gambling. The elation of winning. The fear and devastation of loss.

These are the symptoms of the thrill of gambling: accelerated pulse rate, pounding heart, dilated pupils, breathlessness, brain activity synapses firing non-stop, the pure adrenalin rush as additive as cocaine.* These symptoms can also resemble prehistoric fight or flight patterns: Stay to fight; gamble to win (live) by beating the odds of dying, or assessing those odds to flee assuming a possible higher probability of safety.

The gambling mecca, Las Vegas, knows how to generate a thrill. Penny slot machines are programmed to report the jackpot, in yes, pennies; never mind that you are feeding in $20 dollar bills just to play. Winning that twenty dollars back is an astonishing amount in pennies (2,000), that it becomes easy to delude oneself over the enormity of the win. Yet, in spite of the glitzy decor, exciting sophisticated shows, and state-of-the-art electronic machines, the 40 million visitors in 2013 spent an average of $480 on gambling, significantly less than prior years. Gambling has become less popular.**

Why do individuals want to beat the odds? Is it because we tend to look at life, almost subliminally, as a series of calculated risks (a form of gambling), even though many of us think it is luck?

Here are some situations. You tell me if the fact patterns constitute gambling, calculated risks, or not.

• Single engine motorboat excursion out more than two miles offshore for the day. No life preservers on board.

• Never increasing property insurance. Hurricane season has arrived.

• The third lane — used routinely by the Kamikaze bikers, straight up the middle.

• One drink way too many. You’ve got the keys.

• Free climbing major cliffs.

I would seriously suggest that we human beings gamble every day. We don’t always use cash or have goods or services change hands, but we do mentally and physically weigh the projected circumstances in our favour, or not. These are not always conscious thoughts, but they are there. Isn’t gambling predicting the odds that something will or will not happen? And that sooner or later, if the odds are against us, the deployment of savings will figure into the equation. So, we make a decision based upon our assumptions. We are in control; we are not problem gamblers. We exercise common sense to facilitate (or avoid risk) the situation in our favour, if we can.

What if, hallelujah, you should win big: Megabucks, Powerball? Winning isn’t everything. Some say the best part is hoping and planning to win.

After the thrill is gone. When you win, best friends forever (BFFs) come out of the woodwork, and you no longer know whom your real friends are.

You are no longer the old you that everyone knew, liked, and respected within the embrace of your social circles. Your status is now different. Greed and distrust rear their ugly heads, while winners report feeling guilty, and depressed. They no longer feel comfortable in their home community environment, while crossing over to the “wealthy side of the street” is an emotionally difficult process.

Statistically, winners of massive fortunes have survived poorly in the aftermath of the glow.

Eventually, unrealistic expectations of their largesse (overwhelming assumptions are that it should be extended to all) and the jealousy from peers is relentless. The inability to cope with the demands of ‘new winning persona’ brings emotional isolation in many cases, coping issues resulting in bankruptcies, accelerated additive habits, divorce, chronic illnesses, legal problems, and incredibly suicidal events.

In my recent recollections of Powerball winners, the only individuals (2001) who appeared to continue to thrive within their same community of friends and neighbours, made the brilliant decision to contribute a major portion of their winnings to charity. The Narragansett Number One charitable foundation in Maine has to date returned an estimated $3.3 million dollars to the small town of 10,000 people where these winners still live.

I think of the endless debate around gambling every year at this time. Cup Match, the Crown and Anchor fun tent, is often referred fondly to as part of the festivities, as entertainment. Of course, it is for most people. A few players win, most people lose, but all enjoy themselves to some degree. All chose to play. No one makes anyone plunk down his or her cash for harmless fun. Problem is, the game of gambling is a serious endeavour for some individuals — and always has been through out history.

The detractors among us preach that gambling is a sin, possibly analogous to a crime against the state and certainly not for those who cannot afford it. The proponents cite the business model, the employment projections, and the profits that can stimulate the economy. This is vigorous debate in a free society where everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion on a public policy position.

At the end of the day, the decision to gamble with life (cash) is an individual choice. This is the way it is in a free society. Government regulations, ideally, strictly control the business enterprise explicitly for fairness and equity of operations. But, democratic Governments cannot control individual free choice.

Last word. Gambling, risk taking, the odds of winning in the game of life are almost always heavily against you.

So, have fun. Keep your risk very light. Walk away when the going gets heavy.

The choice is yours.

* Wikipedia: “Monetary reward in a gambling-like experiment produces brain activation very similar to that observed in a cocaine addict receiving an infusion of cocaine.” Breiter, Hans; Aharon, Itzhak; Kahneman, Daniel; Dale, Anders; Shizgal, Peter (May 2001). “Functional Imaging of Neural Responses to Expectancy and Experience of Monetary Gains and Losses”. Neuron 30 (2): 619—639.doi:10.1016/S0896-6273 (01) 00303-8.

** Crowds Return to Las Vegas, but Gamble Less, by Adam Nagourney, New York Times, 2013 July 31

The author believes in independent choice in a free open democratic society. She has no position on legalised gambling. She prefers to focus on appreciating assets for the long-term.

Martha Harris Myron CPA CFP Masters of Law: International Tax and Financial Services, Summa Cum Laude

Appointed to the Professional Tax Advisory Council, American Citizens Abroad, Geneva, Switzerland

President: The Pondstraddler* Life™ Consultancy providing international financial planning for the challenging lifestyles of multinational individuals and their families residing, working, crossing borders, and straddling ponds in the North Atlantic Quadrangle. Specific focus for residents of Bermuda, the premier international finance centre. www.marthamyron.com Contact: martha@pondstraddler.com

* Pondstraddler. A person with one foot on each shore whose heart resides in both countries*