<p>I’m curious about the appeal (and the dangers) of gambling. I am a tightwad, so spending money on an activity where you are more than likely to come away with nothing is not appealing to me. I’m looking for perspective from someone who’s not as tight as I am.</p>
<p>My daughter and her friend went to a casino last month. My daughter lost $20 and her friend lost $150. They are both college students who work only in the summer, and they don’t have a lot of money to spend. Ok, I can understand that it was an evening of entertainment. But then my daughter just told me that her friend went to Atlantic City at the end of last summer and blew $1000 on gambling. I can’t imagine doing that, and wonder if this is a sign of something . . . or maybe I’m just so conservative with my money that it seems dangerous to me. What do you think?</p>
<p>$1000 dollars is not a significant amount of money when gambling,as many casinos have few low limit tables,especially AC,where on weekends minimums are $25…1000 bucks can go quickly…That said, $1000 for a college student to lose IS significant</p>
<p>My daughter doesn’t have much money at all. (She’s shown me her bank statements.) She loves to shop, which is where most of her summer money has gone. Her friend is pretty straight-laced–rarely drinks, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t stay out late on weekends. I’m wondering if gambling might become an outlet. It’s only been a handful of times thus far, but it doesn’t sound good to me.</p>
<p>dmd77, i just re-read your post and see that I misunderstood what you were saying. I don’t know how much money her friend has, but I think it’s a dangerous thing for a college student to blow that much money on a weekend gambling trip, no matter what your financial situation is. That’s just my opinion and since I am sooo conservative, I am trying to see if I have a skewed perspective.</p>
<p>^^In the long run odds can be favorable in the stock market.</p>
<p>I might gamble away a few dollars for entertainment at a casino while passing through Vegas. But I’d never gamble at a casino with the expectation of coming out ahead. </p>
<p>And state-run lotteries are simply a tax on the mathematically-challenged.</p>
<p>I went through brief (i.e., several months) gambling period when I was in my twenties. It looked like easy money … just bet the stronger hand/dog/player/team/etc. I didn’t lose much, but I lost often, and that was enough to convince me I wasn’t cut out for that life.</p>
<p>When I was in the heart of my career, I liked Las Vegas (when it was cheap!) as a diversion from my stressful work. I bet small and lost small, and the diversion was well worth the cost … plus, I have some great stories of people I met around tables after midnight.</p>
<p>All this said, a college student losing $1,000 in a casino represents a problem IMHO … a considerable problem.</p>
<p>In the stock market you have control over what you buy and when you buy and sell. If you know a lot about a company and have some background in financial analysis, then you can make a determination as to whether a company is undervalued, overvalued or fairly valued and then take the appropriate action hoping that the valuation reverts. You may also know something about the growth prospects of a company that can give you better than even odds at a trade.</p>
<p>You may know of a fundamental market mover that will persist over a period of time that will be favorable to stocks, an industry or a market sector. Bernanke’s QE2 is a good example of this.</p>
<p>You may use technical analysis to provide better than even odds at markets. These are generally mathematical representations of trader psychology where you can get a read on where a market or security will go. You just need better than even odds.</p>
<p>In the past,investing in the stock market was just that,investing…Today the stock market is a casino,where the retail investor is being taken by the ‘pros’…i am very certain that the rug is about to be pulled out again…always LOVE tthe quotes by talking heads on Cnbc, as towhy the market will continue to go higher…they say “because there is money on the sidelines and the retail investor has yet to come back”…</p>
<p>There is no way the average investor can do the necessary research on any company anymore…Many people were certain that Lehman bros could not possibly fail,and this were professionals…</p>
<p>Great book is Too big to fail and the Big short…gives insight to the rigging on the market</p>
<p>How many investors knew about the companies that they were holding?
How many read earnings reports, annual reports, proxy statements?
Was this really investing or did investors just buy mutual funds and
index funds and hope?</p>
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<p>The approach of buying undervalued stocks and holding them for the
long term until they become overvalued still works. You don’t have
to buy the overvalued stuff - but you need to do your homework to
determine where the bargains are.</p>
<p>…i am very certain that the rug is about to be pulled out again.</p>
<p>People have been saying that for the last two years. When the market
tanks, it tanks. Until the, the trend is your friend.</p>
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<p>They get paid by advertisers. But what they say is correct. There is
a lot of retail money on the sidelines. Moneyflow has improved recently
so it is possible that we’ll get another retail bubble.</p>
<p>I think that this is where technical analysis is helpful. The chart reflects the action of the market, traders and insiders and the charts can provide hints on the insider action. Good fundamental analysis can be found or purchased too but the hard part is in figuring out if the analysis is good.</p>
<p>Hey, NO WAY is the market being gamed. For proof look at the six month chart for Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR), the people who supply coffee to McDonalds. No evidence at all that prices are being run up and down. Oh, and IGNORE that ridiculous trading volume number behind the curtain!</p>
<p>I have probably gambled ten times in my life … that includes the horse track, dog track and casinos. I lost $100 within 5 minutes in Vegas several years ago. I admit that I have a bit of an addictive personality. I decided at that time that I would never again gamble more than I was willing to spend for entertainment purposes only. When I bet at the horse track, I take $20 cash for betting and $20 for eating/drinking. I do not take my ATM card. I like food and drink too much to use that money on gambling so I usually start out with $2 bets and then build from there with any winnings. More often than not, I’ve left with no winnings.</p>
<p>Does anyone here remember that show “Perfect Strangers” with Larry and Balki? The boys won a trip to Vegas. Larry was concerned that Balki would get sucked in and lose everything, but it’s Larry who becomes addicted and almost loses everything, including their airline tickets. Gambling is addictive for sure.</p>
<p>SplashMom, I’m with you. My husband and I went to the horse track a few years ago and we each took $20 to blow. I went to the "casino night " at church many years ago and took $20 to spend. I don’t even want to spend that amount now, because I have so many other things to spend money on (like kids in college)!</p>
<p>I don’t think this could become a problem for my daughter (because she has so many other outlets), but I’m not so sure about her friend.</p>
Her friend is pretty straight-laced–rarely drinks, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t stay out late on weekends. I’m wondering if gambling might become an outlet. It’s only been a handful of times thus far, but it doesn’t sound good to me.</p>