How to Recognize a Problem

With more and more people gambling these days, there are more reported cases of gambling Addiction then ever before.

Gambling problems can manifest themselves in many different ways. Some problem gamblers will have all of these signs of their gambling problem and some others may only have one. Gambling addiction affects players of all different forms of gambling like Blackjack, Poker and even Bingo

The most important thing to remember is just because their life is not horrible because of their gambling does not mean there is not a problem, many people can have serious gambling addictions and still hold down a job and make it seem as if everything is fine. This just means that this person has not hit a bottom yet, but eventually it will catch up with them.

Most addicts will stop socializing with anyone not into their addiction, so if suddenly someone you know cuts out all their friends from their life and starts to isolate themselves this can be a sign.

A simple thing to look for is if they are overly interested in the sports scores, and if after reading them to they become ecstatic or depressed. No one likes it when their favorite team loses, but a gambler will have major mood swings depending on if they are winning or losing.

A big sign of gambling addiction is someone who is constantly having money problems and asking to borrow money but never pays it back, but sometimes out of nowhere this person will seem to have large sums of cash.

Lying and stealing is another good clue to a gambling addiction, they will make up all sorts of excuses for their odd behavior, and you may notice small, but expensive items missing from your home.

If when visiting this person if you notice that some of their things are missing, or if they tell you they have had to sell some things, then there is a good chance that what they sold either went to pay of gambling debt or to make new bets.


There are many other signs but these are the most common symptoms of gambling addiction according to addiction professionals. If you see 2 or more of these symptoms in someone you know you should immediately try to get this person to accept their problem and seek professional help.

Without help gambling addiction leads to the same place as drug addiction or alcoholism, eventually they will be overcome by their addiction. At this point they will be fully cut off from friends and family.

Most gamblers with bad addictions usually wind up jobless and in many cases homeless if their addiction is allowed to go unchecked for too long, and studies have shows that people with gambling addictions are more prone to illness because thy allow their health to lapse.

For more information on gambling addiction talk to your family doctor or look on the internet for the gamblers anonymous web site, or from one of the many internet web sites dedicated to helping gambling addicts to locate professional help in their area.

Why Marijuana Should be Legal

Many Americans feel that Marijuana is helping fund the war on terror, but making a war on drugs and keeping Marijuana illegal has not stopped millions of Americans from smoking pot everyday. So what is the answer?

First, why is Marijuana illegal? In the 1930's William Randolph Hearst, who had significant financial interests in the timber industry testified to congress on the evils of marijuana, saying things like it make people insane and commit acts of cannibalism? at this time very few even knew what it was and to stop people from going insane Congress decided to make it illegal.

The truth is many paper manufacturers were thinking of changing from using trees to make paper to using hemp because it was cheaper and easier to grow and better for the environment, and Hearst stood to loose millions so he used his influence and testimony to help get marijuana banned in the USA.

So now that we know why it was made illegal, we can realize that not only would making it legal in the United States stop terrorist from smuggling it into the USA, but would give us another option to cutting down of millions of trees every year for paper products that can be made better from hemp.

Hemp has thousands of uses that we are unable to exploit because of its illegal status.

During WWII hemp was used for the rigging on parachutes as well as rope and material for uniforms.

Nowadays Marijuana can be used to relieve pain and some of the effect of cancer treatments and old age.

It has been proven to slow down the spreading of Alzheimer's, relieve the pressure behind the eyes from glaucoma. It also helps relieve migraine headaches and the side effect of cancer treatment.

But until the United States realizes how much money can be made from legalizing it, it will remain illegal.

This is much like the situation with online casinos in the USA. America was sending billions of dollars out of the country and the government needed to do something to keep the money here, so they banned Online Casino and just like online casinos and online gambling I believe one day the government will learn to take advantage of these things instead of just banning them.

Eventually the USA will realize that the best way to stop the flow of money out of the country is not to ban marijuana or online casinos, but to enter the market and compete.

If the USA did what Amsterdam has done the government would make not only billions in Taxes from the sales of Marijuana, but the economy would boom from all the tourism that it would bring in from all over the world.

The truth of the matter is that legalization is inevitable. The attitude of people has changed so drastically over the last 30 years, that eventually when the younger generations start to take over marijuana will eventually become legal because they understand the truth, and that is banning something only makes the market for it stronger.

Why casinos need 24 hour day care

Recently in the news across the USA there have been several reports of parents leaving their children locked in their cars, while the parents sit in a casino and gamble.

A great way to stop this from happening would be to legalize online gambling so that parents that can not afford a baby sitter will not do something as stupid as locking a small child in a car alone for several hours.

Another solution would be for the casino industry to take responsibility of the people they lure in with promises of riches beyond belief. If the casinos all offered 24 hour free daycare for all casino players those parents who are so far gone in their addiction will not have to make the decision of what to do with their children, they can just take them to the casino and let them be watched after in the casinos daycare centers.

As well as making sure children are not being neglected by their parents or legal guardians, the children in their care can be checked for signs of abuse and any parent that brings a child regularly to the casino can be talked to about gambling addiction.

Please do not get me wrong I feel the parents should be the ones taking responsibility for their kids, but gambling addiction is a disease, and at least this would provide a way for the government to monitor parents gambling habits, and to provide them with help if they need it.

Besides being the right move for the casinos to make for its own civic duty, it also makes good business sense. If the casinos offer such a service they also open themselves up to single parents that could use a little time for some adult fun, and by making the day care 24 hours a day there is no reason why a parent would leave their kid at home instead of at the casinos free daycare.

The parents could relax and have a little fun with the knowledge that their kids are being taken good care of.

This is not a new concept there are several casinos in Las Vegas that offer day care. These centers offer children of different ages fun things to do, such as all the popular videos, and games fro kids. This will appeal to people with kids. The parents get to gamble and have some adult fun and the kids get to do fun kid stuff.

By doing this the casinos will get more business and they are doing the responsible thing for their customers with gambling problems. I understand that the casinos are a business, but they should make sure that some of their less responsible gamblers do not put their children's lives in danger just to make an extra few dollars in a multi billion dollar a year industry

If enough people recommend this to their local casinos and state officials, casinos could be required by law to provide child care when they are open.

How to cure Agoraphobia

Many people in the world have a disorder known as agoraphobia. This disorder brings on extremely strong panic attacks when in crowded places. Most agoraphobics eventually wind up trapped in bed or institutionalized.

The definition for agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder. The main manifestation of the disorder is a fear of having an embarrassing situation that the person can not escape from
Someone with Agoraphobia will sometimes have panic attacks when they are in a situation where they feel trapped, uncomfortable or when they are not in control or are too far away from their comfort zone, which are usually their homes. In extreme cases an agoraphobic may only be able to exist in only a room or two of their own home and may even become unable to get out of bed.
Sufferers of Agoraphobia are often overly sensitive to bodily sensations and over react to everyday occurrences, like climbing a flight of stairs. The effort it takes to climb stairs can cause a full blown panic attack, because their hart rate rises as does their breathing. The sufferer may see this is the onset of an attack and actually causes the attack to start, instead of seeing it as a natural reaction to climbing stairs.

With the invention of the internet many agoraphobics have found they are able to have contact with the world while still at home in their "safe place" and one thing that many agoraphobics have in common is that many of them enjoyed being able to gamble with other people in online casinos.

Many doctors feel that online casinos is a great form of therapy for people suffering from agoraphobia because they can interacts with several people at the same time, and it gives them the ability to interact and be relaxed at the same time and in many cases the agoraphobic has been able to lessen their fears and eventually leave their home with the goal of eventually getting to a real casino with other people.

But after October of 2006 when president George Bush Signed the Unlawful internet gambling ban into law he took away the best form of theory doctors have found to help Agoraphobics re-enter society.

Doctors found that in games like poker and blackjack where the player's game depends on the moves of the other players; have a tendency to be better for patients rather then on online roulette or craps game, where you can easily have no interaction with other players.

The interaction is healthy because the agoraphobic is not concentration on themselves they are actually concentration on the game and the other layers moves. For a sufferer of this disorder this is a huge step in being able to re-enter society, but unless the online casino ban is overturned doctors will have to find other ways of helping their patients.

Online the American Dream

Every generation has dreamed of a better life for their children, and many decided to pack up the family and move to America and that is how most Americans came to be Americans.

For 200 years people suffering from poverty, hunger or oppressive governments have dreamed of a better life for themselves and their families, and came to United States of America in search of the American Dream.

Many people around the world have to work 18 hours a day just to make enough money to survive; to these people the American dream is nothing more then a less hard life and a better education for them and their children, and to some it is getting rich without working hard to do it.

This is not much different from the mentality from an American who maybe builds houses, or works in a factory or some other type of physically demanding job that they hate, and at the end of the day they dream of winning that jackpot in an online casino.

Winning the grand prize and making enough money to put a nice roof over their kids heads, put the kids in a good school, money for college. This is exactly what the American dream is about.

Many Americans work 2 or more jobs a day to support their families, and have no way to get to a casino, they just do not have the time to get there. Does that mean that they should not be allowed to follow their dreams because they have to do it from home?

This is like telling a new immigrant that the American Dream has been outlawed because you may squander you money trying to achieve it.

What if a hard working man saved up some money and decided he wanted to open a restaurant and the government told him no, because the restaurant business is dangerous and most new restaurants fail within the first 6 months.

The law making online gambling illegal is a direct blow to why most of our grandparents moved to the United States.

The entire idea of the American dream is to be able to do better in life then the cards you have been dealt, just like in poker you are dealt your cards then after looking at them you have the chance to exchange your bad cards for better ones. The ability for a child from poor family to be able to get a good education and to make more of himself then the generation before him did.

Many people around the world are dealt a bad hand in life, but the American dream helps them rise above it to make what before may have seemed impossible become an every day occurrence.

Pure and simple the American dream gives hope to people who never expected to have hope again, and online casinos give people the same thing. The hope to improve their lives, and to deny people that chance is like putting a sign up for new immigrants to the USA saying Sorry The Dream is Over Please go home.

Why we Need to Take Risks

It does not matter if you are a Doctor, a Lawyer or an infantry soldier in the Army if you want to be the best and get ahead, you will need to take risks.

A doctor may have to take risks when working with a patient. The Doctor may have to experiment with different forms of medications or new surgical procedures when all else has failed in an attempt to help the patient.

A lawyer may have to argue a case in an unorthodox manner to win the case, but if the lawyer wants to become the top lawyer and make millions of dollars fighting high profile cases lots of risks have to be taken.

A soldier may have to take a risk and run thru gunfire to save another injured soldier, to complete their mission, or just to secure an area from being overrun by enemy troops, after going days with little to no sleep, but if a soldier wants to get promotions and eventually lead men into battle they also need to take risks.

These risks are not unlike someone looking to get rich in a casino, they have to be willing to risk everything they have to get that million dollar payoff. If you play it safe in a casino you may get lucky and win a big jackpot on the slot machines, but if you want to make millions you are going to have to play games such as Poker, Blackjack, Roulette and Craps . These are the games that with some skill, some luck and a lot of risk taking you can retire off your winnings.

The same can be said about life in general. No one gets ahead in life from playing it safe. You will not meet your special someone if you are too afraid to risk getting rejected by someone, you will never get that big promotion unless you take risks at your job.

It is very important to continue to take risks in life. To stop taking risks means to stand still in life. Standing still in life is one of the main causes of depression. These are usually the people afraid to confront the boss and tell him that they demand a raise; they are the ones that allow life to pass them by out of fear. The entire purpose of fear is to stop you from taking a risk.

Fear is nothing more then the unknown. If you have always wanted to quit your job and open a shop but you are too afraid to do it, this is because you are afraid of failing and risking what you already have.

It is important to learn to take risks in life if you want to be happy, you may not always get the things you risked for, but you will know that you tried, and in the end it does not matter in my opinion if you succeed or not it is how many risks you try to make that is the real test of how successful you are.

Just remember if no one took risks we would be a world without flight and probably no automotive vehicles at all, maybe we would have no electricity. So risk truly is needed to improve the world.

How to Meet that Special Someone

Chances are unless you are very lucky you will go thru many different relationships before you find your special someone. Finding your sole mate is like gambling. In poker and blackjack you may have to play dozens of hands until you get a winning hand, and it is the same with relationships.

During your life you will probably meet some people who seem like they may be the one, or that they are close, but still have the feeling that something else is missing. My advice is that if you are not happy, because something seems like it is missing, then it usually is not right.

Before I found my special someone, I was in a relationship for over 10 years, and I thought everything was great, until I started to seriously consider getting married. Then I noticed that we had so little in common and in reality wanted so many different things out of life and one day we both realized there was much about each of us that we both wanted from someone, but it was not us that we wanted.

Then one day I decided I had enough of trying to go to clubs and bars to meet people. I was sick and tired of trying to find someone in the time it takes to finish a drink. It always seemed the ladies I would meet were all wrong for me, or they seemed great after talking to them for 5 minutes but they seemed to have no interest in me.

Then one day I had an idea, it was not an original idea but I decided to use the internet to try to find the right person for me. So I proceeded to make a myspace profile. On this page I tried to put the real me and not the funny guy trying to be charming that was looking for love at the bar.

And as I would at the poker rooms I went all in, I poured my heart and sole into this. I wrote what I wanted and wrote down who I truly think I am and not who I want to be, and I was rewarded by 1 email responding to my site.

It was amazing; the response I got was like a dream. Imagine you are sitting in a Las Vegas casino playing poker. You are down to your last few dollars, you go all in and you wind up being dealt a Royal Flush, and suddenly the sky is bluer, the grass is greener, and all your worries seem to just fade away.

At first things were a little awkward for the both of us. We decided to hold of on actually meeting until we got to know each other first. We spent a month just talking everyday on the internet. You can really open up to someone and show them the real you and not have to worry about rejection on the internet, after all you are just a faceless ghost, and if things don’t work out you could be sitting next to her on the bus one day without ever knowing it.

The key to finding happiness is realizing you are going to bust more then you are going to get blackjack, but you must keep trying, trying to remember you only need to find the real thing once.

Citas a Ciegas

Para todo aquel que busque encontrar su alma gemela, media naranja, amor, enamorarse, un compañero de emociones o como quieras llamarlo es algo difícil de encontrar. Para algunos desde ya no es algo complicado, les ha pasado a los 15 años, 18, 22, en fin ya comparten el día y la mayor parte de sus vidas con alguien desde hace mucho. A otros, sin embargo les es más complicado y duro de encontrar.

La experiencia de las citas a ciegas es algo inolvidable, bueno o malo puede ser interesante. Como dicen, la experiencia es cuando no encuentras lo que buscas. Sin embargo hay casos en que esta experiencia se vuelve en lo que uno busca.

Si eres de aquellos que creen en que un amigo, familia o alguien que te conoce puede llegar a tener a alguien con el cual encuentres lo que buscas, la pregunta es ¿Por qué no probar?

En mi caso personal, experimente varias citas a ciegas y amigas mías también lo hicieron. Algunas fueron sorprendentes, en el sentido de buenas y otras de malas. Es como un juego de ruleta una pequeña probabilidad en muchas de que salgas feliz o que algo interesante salga de ello.

Una amiga de mi mama quiso que conozca al hermano de su nuera. Cuando llegue al lugar de la cita y lo vi, rápidamente me di cuenta de que no era para mi pero quizás podía pasar un buen rato. El chico, trajo consigo un poema que había escrito y quería decírmelo. Era una situación muy rara e incomoda ya que el y yo no concordábamos en nada y no teníamos nada que ver. El problema era que la amiga de mi mama no me conocía tanto, y creía que si. Es por eso que la cita no funciono.

En el caso de mi hermana, al mudarse a un país nuevo la única forma de conocer gente y chicos era por medio de citas. Lo gracioso de la historia es que la señora de la lavandería le propuso salir con su hijo y ella acepto. Al llegar a la cita el chico tenía labio leporino y era nada atractivo en su aspecto. Mi hermana no podía disimular no mirar a su labio y en el medio de la cita encontró a otro chico en la mesa de enfrente que le gusto.

Mi amigo, que es gay y yo salimos hace unas semanas a una fiesta con una amiga mía. Los dos se hicieron amigos y ella le comento que tiene un amigo de su clase de la universidad que también es gay y es muy lindo. Entonces arreglaron que por que no se conocían. AL final de la noche intercambiaron teléfonos y quedo ella en hablar con su amigo. Su amigo acepto y se llamaron. Al encontrarse los dos no tenían nada de lo que hablar y el otro para hacer la cita más corto no pudo disimular su desinterés y hacia todo rápido para irse antes.

En fin, las citas a ciegas son algo que debes hacer si la persona que los conecta los conoce bien y puede llegar a saber que te gustara de la otra persona o que buscas. Sin embargo no hay certeza de que saldrás contento de una forma u otra. Puede pasar que de casualidad la persona te encante y que si tienes la mente abierta saldrás ganando.