There's no surprise in saying that cash-driven poker has become the new fad for adolescents and college students.
It shouldn't be a shock either when we say that, if you're not careful, gambling can become a very serious problem.
Many charities and fund-raising organizations have turned to poker, or card playing in general, to raise money for their respective reasons. We're not at all discouraging gambling, especially when it benefits a charitable cause. What we are saying, though, is to watch your wallet and your savings account in more competitive situations: because it can all be gone in a single draw.
Gambling isn't new. Bingo, after all, has been cool since times before our grandparents. But much like cigarettes, caffeine, drugs or alcohol: Gambling can quickly become an addiction.
Take, for example, the story of a 15 year-old boy from Wallingford, Conn. The high school sophomore, according to a March 27 article in the New York Times, got himself so far into the poker scene that he lost his entire savings. And as if that wasn't enough, the young man snatched his parents' credit cards so he could play on the Internet, a session that cost his parents $5,000. Only then did the boy, blind in his own addiction, break into a friend's house to steal $3,500, the Times reported.
Now, this is certainly an extreme, but it's an excellent example of what addictions can do to the average person.
A nationwide study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, which was referenced in the Times article, gives statistics for the rise in card playing among those aged 14-22. Of the high school males surveyed in 2004, 10.8 percent said they played cards at least once a week, almost double the 5.7 percent who were surveyed in 2003. In 2004, females went up to 3.3 from 1.8 percent in 2003.
Poker items, according to that same Times' report, were selling out left and right during the holidays.
These tales and statistics are not mean to intimidate, but rather to inform. We do not limit the term gambling to only card playing, either. Be it horse raising, all-in chip betting or the daily lottery, gambling is gambling.
The key is knowing when to stop. With all other addictions, being around the activity you wish not to participate in only adds fuel to the fire. Know your own limits: emotionally, physically and monetarily.
If you're addicted, seek help -- or at least know when to get it for yourself or a friend. Visit the Hoosier Lottery's Web site at www.in.gov/hoosierlottery for additional information, or call the Gambling Addictions Hotline at 1-800-994-8448.
Finally, if you do gamble, play it safe and make sure you've still got a little extra cash in your pot back home. You never know what the cards may hold.
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