Online Gambler Loses £158,000 in 50 mins.

wyndham

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/64214.html

Could have walked away with 90k profit, now he's looking at a jail sentence on top of it.

county

wyndham wrote:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/64214.html

Could have walked away with 90k profit, now he's looking at a jail sentence on top of it.

thats scary,and his poor parents

Nalz

only one word to reply to that -

muppet

fade2black

I wouldn't call him a muppet at all. He's just someone with an illness. i'm sure there are a lot of people on these boards who had a certain amount of money at one point or another but then lost it all. The difference was that when they lost it all, they couldn't gamble anymore. This guy had a deep pool of resources to try and get his money back from and don't be fooled into thinking that there are people on here that could fall into the same trap.

The credit companies and even the bookmakers themselves should have seen that what was happening was highly unusual for those particular CCs and cardholder and either stopped it or rang the owners. There was no way that he should have been allowed to lose that much.

gamblingIRE

reminds me of a quote i read today

"lose your house in the click of a mouse"
1 word.
Ouch!

FastMachine

What a ****ing retard. I'm getting really sick of these idiots blowing a fortune with stupid bets they can't afford.

county

FastMachine wrote:

What a ****ing retard. I'm getting really sick of these idiots blowing a fortune with stupid bets they can't afford.

i was`nt you credit card,chill out there

eoghan104

FastMachine wrote:

What a ****ing retard. I'm getting really sick of these idiots blowing a fortune with stupid bets they can't afford.

come on give this guy a break......... he made a big mistake but i agree with fade2black it is an illness and he should never have had such huge amounts of money so easily at his disposal.

i feel sorry for the guy......... and dont be so quick to judge this guy you never know what could happen to any of us in the same situation.

wb

I don't feel sorry for him at all. It is people like this that create the big stories for the papers and give online gamblers a bad name. Sure, it was a stupid thing to do, but I doubt he is a true gambling addict, as it appears to be a one off thing he done. I know gamblers who have lost their wives, family and homes through thier addiction, so I dont think that a rich guy in a mansion wasting his parents money compares really. Why do they have so many cards, and why the helll did they leave 13 credit cards lying around for anyway
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it is not an auful story or anything, I just don't feel all that sorry for him compared to other gambling addicts.

Bateman

wbailey wrote:

I don't feel sorry for him at all. It is people like this that create the big stories for the papers and give online gamblers a bad name. Sure, it was a stupid thing to do, but I doubt he is a true gambling addict, as it appears to be a one off thing he done. I know gamblers who have lost their wives, family and homes through thier addiction, so I dont think that a rich guy in a mansion wasting his parents money compares really. Why do they have so many cards, and why the helll did they leave 13 credit cards lying around for anyway
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it is not an auful story or anything, I just don't feel all that sorry for him compared to other gambling addicts.

In fairness, I'm sure the cards weren't "lying around". You could very easily have a quick dip in your parents' bag/wallet, memorise the numbers and the code, and gamble away without having the cards physically. As you say, I doubt he is a true gambling addict. I don't think that stories like this do any harm to the public's general perception of serious gamblers, or at lest if they do I couldn't care less.

FastMachine

eoghan104 wrote:

come on give this guy a break......... he made a big mistake but i agree with fade2black it is an illness and he should never have had such huge amounts of money so easily at his disposal.

i feel sorry for the guy......... and dont be so quick to judge this guy you never know what could happen to any of us in the same situation.

An illness? What illness is this, what are the symptons, what do the medical texts say about it?

He's not ill, he's just an idiot, does no-one have any responisibilty any more or something. It's guys like that that are making the best case for shutting down the online gambling sites. A few retards will ruin it for the vast majority who are responible and get some enjoyment from it.

Lol, just after reading the original article, the guy is 25!!! Not a teenager which I assumed he must be to be raiding his parents credit cards. What a complete tool. He's not going to jail either, that's just media sensationalist bs. If worst came to worst the parents just pay off the bill to the credit card companies.

ecksor

This site might answer some of your questions: http://www.addictionrecov.org/qandagam.htm

Agent Smith

serriously...


why do they have 13 credit cards?

Chucky the tree

FastMachine wrote:

Lol, just after reading the original article, the guy is 25!!! Not a teenager which I assumed he must be to be raiding his parents credit cards. What a complete tool. He's not going to jail either, that's just media sensationalist bs. If worst came to worst the parents just pay off the bill to the credit card companies.

Not very good at reading are you?

"The credit card companies contacted the father of the accused and they indicated that, unless the matter was reported to the police, the parents' insurance cover would not come into place and they would have to pay back the money. The father then reported the matter to the police."

Sheriff Veal deferred sentence until next month, but warned Mahan that he faced a jail term

Noelie

agent smith wrote:

serriously...


why do they have 13 credit cards?

Thats what i was thinking, no wonder people are getting in trouble when you have access to 13 CCs.

One's enough for me

FastMachine

I'll believe it when I see it that he goes to jail over this, I think the judge is just trying to teach him a lesson by giving him a scare.

And as for gambling addiction, sure you can explain any flaws in a person's character by saying it's chemicals in their brain causing them to act that way. People should start showing some responsibility. I see absolutely no reason to have sympathy for this guy.

ArphaRima

Its not a bloody disease. I hate when people say that. He didnt mean it, he has a DISEASE. Bullcrap.
He's an asshole. He stole from his family for personal gain, and lost. Then he felt regret and tried to kill himself because he couldnt bear the shame. .

ecksor

It is recognised as a "pathological illness" so I think it also qualifies as a disease. Is there a actually a point to these off the cuff judgemental posts?

ArphaRima

Im not going to run off to the dictionary and find the definitions of disease, pathological illness and addiction.

You think it's a disease, he suffers, and he cannot control what he does. That argument suits him fine. I call him a thief.
I think far too many psychologists are detracting the responsibility from the perpetrators by labelling their thought processes as malignants that they can cure. They call them illnesses and diseases so they can instate themselves as the cure to these ails. I disagree. They may need treatment. But it was never an illness. They made conscious decisions. Their decision process is what needs changing. They can change it in jail.

Noelie

FastMachine wrote:

I'll believe it when I see it that he goes to jail over this, I think the judge is just trying to teach him a lesson by giving him a scare.

So what do you think will happen?

The judge can't cancel the debt and be letting him away with it isn't that what he's doing.
Note: my understanding is that since it's gone to trial his parent wont have to pay the debt, whether the son is sent to jail or not

ecksor

fluffer wrote:

Im not going to run off to the dictionary and find the definitions of disease, pathological illness and addiction.

Well, why assert that something doesn't meet a definition if you're not prepared to argue the point? I think that's a pretty easy way of dodging any argument you don't want to answer.

You think it's a disease, he suffers, and he cannot control what he does. That argument suits him fine.

Actually, I'm merely referring to what appears to be the medical opinion. Unlike yourself I'm not claiming to know any better.

I call him a thief.

Are the two mutually exclusive?

But it was never an illness. They made conscious decisions. Their decision process is what needs changing. They can change it in jail.

I still don't see any actual reasoning for these assertions.

lomb

the parents are loaded, but would rather he go to jail than they pay off the 158k :rolleyes:

FastMachine

The judge said it was a "social issue", the guy did a good job of playing the victim card in court along with his "attempted suicide" and it's basically a victimless crime so I don't see why he'd send him to jail.
Community service/suspended sentence/agree to pay back the debt (or even a portion of it) in installments/parents pay it off - there are lots of options for the judge.

aidan24326

The article states that he maxed out 13 different credit cards belonging to his parents.

WTF did they need 13 credit cards for??

eoghan104

fluffer wrote:

Its not a bloody disease. I hate when people say that. He didnt mean it, he has a DISEASE. Bullcrap.
He's an asshole. He stole from his family for personal gain, and lost. Then he felt regret and tried to kill himself because he couldnt bear the shame. .

So do you believe in any mental illness? Do you think the same of alcoholics?

What sort of a fukcing idiot are you to say that its not an illness???

Why are you trying to act all hard as if you have no tolerance for this guy? How would you feel if a member of your family were to be addicted to alcohol or gambling......... would you dissown them as "assholes" for making "poor decisions"????

You say its not an illness yet you agree that people like this need treatment??? Thats ridiculous........ what do u think they need treatment for?!!!

Your an arsehole trying to come across as the big man....... Grow up.

Iago

he ran it up in the space of two hours. That's not an addiction.

he was bored, won some money, decided to be greedy and played for more. Lost it all, and tried to cover his tracks by getting back to even. Lost again, so increased his bet, and kept going in the sure[size=-12]*[/size] knowledge that eventually the cards would read 21, the wheel would land on red, the dice would show 7. Which any person used to/regularly gambling/playing games of chance knows is not half as likely as people make out.

He's not a gambling addict, he just had a bad day, unfortunately for him rather than admit his simple mistake in the first place he blew everything he could get his hands on. I'd call him greedy, stupid, attention seeking, desperate and very very foolish, but he isn't an addict. He doesn't have any disease except stupidity and we're all afflicted with that once in a while.

[size=-12]*may not be sure at all[/size]

eoghan104

Iago wrote:

he ran it up in the space of two hours. That's not an addiction.

he was bored, won some money, decided to be greedy and played for more. Lost it all, and tried to cover his tracks by getting back to even. Lost again, so increased his bet, and kept going in the sure[size=-12]*[/size] knowledge that eventually the cards would read 21, the wheel would land on red, the dice would show 7. Which any person used to/regularly gambling/playing games of chance knows is not half as likely as people make out.

He's not a gambling addict, he just had a bad day, unfortunately for him rather than admit his simple mistake in the first place he blew everything he could get his hands on. I'd call him greedy, stupid, attention seeking, desperate and very very foolish, but he isn't an addict. He doesn't have any disease except stupidity and we're all afflicted with that once in a while.

[size=-12]*may not be sure at all[/size]

All any of us have to go on is this newspaper article and true this guy could just be a gob****e.......

But its crazy to say there is no such thing as gambling addiction and that its just an excuse for greedy stupid people.....

Iago

eoghan104 wrote:

All any of us have to go on is this newspaper article and true this guy could just be a gob****e.......

But its crazy to say there is no such thing as gambling addiction and that its just an excuse for greedy stupid people.....

Gambling addiction is a very real thing, but there's no sign of it in this story. I know gambling addicts, so I know it's a real and problematic disease, but I stand by my comments. This guy isn't addicted, he's just an idiot.

ecksor

eoghan104 wrote:

abuse

If we can't be civil to one another here then I will start handing out bans.

Bateman

ecksor wrote:

If we can't be civil to one another here then I will start handing out bans.

This thread could even do with being locked now as a warning. I don't mind going off-topic at the best of times, but this has gone downhill, and as it's a new forum so this "illness" stuff is of benefit to no-one.

s10

ive siad it b4 ill say it again, nothing good will ever come from gambling,
its a fools game & will destroy your friends and family when it gets out of hand, it take a special kind of person to put up with hours of bordom for a "cheap" thrill,
ps i don't care how much u have won , u won it off someone & the house took a %.