Yeh-- the “pretty close to even” comment was a hoot! It’s exactly what you hear from any Vegas drifter shortly before he bottoms out and starts driving a cab.
If the media wants to play up Bill’s Slot-o-rama fun, I can certainly understand it. But really, why would anyone care? Did he ever say that people shouldn’t gamble?
Still, I hope he wakes up and realizes one day that his Slot usage is like many folks’ Pot usage: that is-- no harm to anyone at all (except for maybe themselves)
Does anyone know if Bennett’s gambling obsession coincided with his smoking cessation? Wondering if it’s a case of substitution. Since he’s mightily weighed in on morality issues, I’d think he would have done his research on the base causes of why people engage in activities that cause harm in the long run. As a public figure, he should have realized how this would play out, eventually.
As it reads now, he’s a guy prone towards addiction, big blind spot to his own addictions, and not enough smarts to see the big picture. Not the best sort of person to dictate morality to others.
The Bill Bennett who wrote his books would certainly consider it immoral to give his money to Harrah’s instead of to the homeless.
But then, maybe he’s just applied his name to someone else’s work.
Then he could argue that that’s not immoral either, since he kept the ghostwriter is bread, and propounded his noble message…
RE: “pretty close to even”
So, the guy’s a liar as well. Very vituous, I’m sure.
He may describe a $10 million dollar loss as “close to even” if he likes, but it’s a hell of a lot less plausible than excluding fellation from one’s definition of sex.
That last bit kills me. “I give a small fortune to charity. I start with a large fortune, feed my gambling addiction with most of it, and give the remainder to charity.”
Again, I don’t think Bennett would characterize occasional gambling – even high-stakes gambling – as a “sin” so long as one can still pay the mortgage and continues to tend to one’s family. You can argue that Bennett is acting immorally, but you can’t argue that he’s acting hypocritically – he is not engaging in behavior that he has condemned.
Prove this is a lie. MSNBC only has actual documentation on one particular 18-month period involving four casinos. The $8 million is just an estimate, an estimate is unattributed to any particular source and apparently is on the high end of the universe of estimates for Bennett’s losses. For all we know, MSNBC asked a couple of dealers what they thought Bennett’s losses were over time. Plus Bennett may have gone to other casinos during the past 10 years. Unless you’ve actually seen Bennett’s personal financial statements, you cannot say with any accuracy that this statement is a falsehood.
Such excellent reasoning for so worthless a cause. This is why you went to law school?
Losses of more than 8 mil?
Maybe I’m a prude (could be), but that gets us to the level of ‘degenerate’ gambler.
Is $8 million the bulk of it, or does Bennett also have secret, undeclared gambling debts to Osama bin Laden that he’s working off by undermining America’s freedom ? Would he tell us if that were the case ?
Ever since I won $2500 one weekend at the Sands in AC, I have tracked my gambling wins and losses for tax purposes; it frosted me no end to have to claim some of that $2500 as income when I KNEW I had lost money in previous trips that year … but had no record.
In 1997, I was behind $675 for the year. In 1998, I was down $250 for the year. In 1999, I was up $1250 (thank you, Treasure Island). In 2000, I was down $450. In 2001, down $350. And in 2002, up $35.
I’d say that’s fairly characterized as “pretty close to even.” Granted, I play cards, not the slots. But it’s very possible to gamble and end up pretty close to even, to inform those who thought the statement automatically made the man a liar.
Rick–you said it all right there in the last paragraph. You play cards. Old Bill played slots.
He COULD be the luckiest slot player alive, but over a 10 year period of playing the slots, the odds are he’s misremembering his losses.
He should have his books pulled off the shelves. I hate decent f**ckers that are quick to judge you, but feel when they screw up they deserve a pass. Book of virtues my ass.
Uh, no, it’s just that some of the most insistently Moral and Upright citizens have views that fall into the category of right-wing, and when their glass houses crash into a million fragments it is especially newsworthy.
We’re not talking about someone in this case who bet a few bucks at the racetrack once in awhile, but a high-stakes gambler who apparently has blown huge amounts of dough. If Bennett can “control” his habit and “get away” with his gambling losses, it encourages others who will pay a far higher cost in terms of their jobs and families.
As a self-promoting professional moralizer, he’s also a flaming hypocrite in my book.
And for one left-winger recently trapped in an act of hypocrisy, try Tim Robbins, who was outraged over having his Baseball Hall of Fame appearance canceled over his antiwar views and was eloquent about free speech rights - then was reported to have threatened and tried to silence a reporter who said something Tim didn’t like on another subject.
Elucidator, do you ever* add anything of substance to discussions? Truly, you are the king of the pointless snarky drive-by.
Although at least you do check your coding tags…
Depends on what his net worth and cash flow are. I’m sure the guy playing the $1.00 slots looks like a degenerate to the schlub who can only play the nickel machines.
Is that a serious call for censorship? Oh my.
I don’t think Bennett considers this a “screw up” such that he needs a pass. The man likes to gamble and can afford to do so at the big money tables. It isn’t a screw-up if it doesn’t keep him from paying his bills or tending to his family.
He’s a moralizing self-serving (not elected leader). If he can blow millions gambling, why don’t we also hear about the millions he gives to charity?
This just in - The wife was not amused
So Bill Bennett and Michael Jordan walk into the casino…
and the owner was very happy.
I got no horse in this race. I don’t care if the guy gambled. But a couple of comments, including this:
remind me of a quote from Guys and Dolls.
[Sky Masterson]
Is it wrong to gamble, or only to lose?
[/Sky Masterson]
Whether he can afford it or not, getting into the multi-million dollare range is a LOT of damn gambling. Seems a litttle more involved involved than a hobby.
But that’s just me.