Online poker became all the rage at about the same time that televised poker caught on. TV poker took off because the technology made it possible to see a player’s cards and to follow the action as players bluffed and hustled their way to ruin – or, in less common circumstances, glory.
I played some online poker. I lost when I was drinking to players who were sober, I took money from the drunks when I was on the wagon. All in all, I’d say I broke about even. Eventually online poker lost its appeal, because a critical element was mostly missing – the ability to read other players. Poker is less about cards than it is about personalities. Stu Unger understood that, somehow, instinctively.
For those of you who are not fans of the game, let me introduce Stu Unger. He was indisputably one of the greatest card players of his time (first gin rummy, then blackjack and Texas hold ‘em) – unfortunately, his time was all too brief. In a span of just over twenty years, Unger won the World Series of Poker 3 times (one of two players) and was the only person to win the Amarillo Slim Super Bowl of Poker three times. It is estimated that he won over $30 million dollars in his career. Unger had the perfect combination of poker skills – he had a genius IQ, brilliant math skills, and perfect recall.
But Stu had two monkeys on his back, two that tend to go hand in hand. He was a drug addict, and he was hooked on sports betting. The winnings that didn’t go up his nose were largely handed over to sports bookies. One of Stu’s characteristics was that he was all accelerator and no brake. That worked in his stead at poker. Somehow he didn’t understand that all his abilities were essentially useless when it came to games of pure chance. Despite illusion to the contrary, sports betting fits in this category.
Which brings me, at last, to the point of this missive. As I’ve noted elsewhere – and as the trajectory of Stu Unger amply demonstrates – sports betting (sober or not) is purely a sucker move.
Nobody knows this better than Tim Moore and Phil Berger, the Tweedledum and Tweedledee of the North Carolina State Legislature. These are the guys that helped marshal legalization of online sports betting, and who continue to promote gambling in various forms, including four new casinos (soundly defeated) and an ongoing effort to allow video lottery terminals in bars and restaurants. Once again: sports betting is a chump move, and the odds of winning a lottery are miserable – often worse than one in a billion. These are talent-free endeavors.
In April of this year – the first full month in which sports wagering was legal, the credulous citizens of our fair state spent $648.9 million dollars in bets. Total losses (including bets placed, won, and cancelled) were $105.3 million. And taxes on gross wagering revenue, at 18%, netted the state $18.9 million, putting the state on track to draw over $100 million in tax revenue in the first year.[1]
That’s a tidy little windfall. What do you suppose they plan to do with all that money, on top of the so-called surplus that they have been threatening to send back to the taxpayers? Well, I can tell you what they won’t do. They won’t spend it on public education, which they openly oppose.
How do I know this? Here’s how: “At the 40th day of the 2023-24 school year, 6,006 classroom teaching positions were vacant , smashing the prior year record by 18 percent. This year, more than 1 in every 16 (classrooms) lacked a licensed teacher over a month into the school year.”[2] This data is straight from a report that each and every member of the State Assembly has in their hands. They know, and they don’t care. Moreover, the students most affected by this dearth of decent instructors tend to be poor and persons of color.
The public school situation in North Carolina is a disgrace. The politicians know this. They designed it that way. Here’s their theory: If you don’t keep a swath of citizens uneducated, unsophisticated and desperate – who else is gonna do the menial jobs and spend their last dollar on a bet that the Panthers will win? It’s a flawed theory, of course. You don’t have to deprive people of intelligence and skills to keep them coming back to the betting parlor. If you don’t believe me, ask Stu Unger.
[1] https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-raleigh-f712ded0-16b7-11ef-a674-a19d23ba838a.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_raleigh&stream=top
[2] https://local.newsbreak.com/north-carolina-state/3465713393488-nc-legislators-continue-to-ignore-teacher-vacancy-crisis?s=dmg_local_email_bucket_2.web2_fromweb