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Message: [QUOTE="IthacaMatt, post: 5544478, member: 405"] My father-in-law, RIP, was a bookie and pretty big casino gambler 30 years ago. It could be very exciting. Even dazzling at times. I was brought up betting on parlay slips that Dad would bring home from his factory job. Small time stuff, but part of the sports culture. When I first moved to NYC, working at my first job, I lost 2 1/2 weeks' pay on a spinning wheel at the San Gennaro Street Festival, trying to impress a girl. Needless to say, when I lost all my money, that was the end of the date. I literally lived on free coffee in the office, other people's beer and 65 cent street hot dogs for 2 weeks. I never gambled again after that. Going hungry does that to you. That's my version of some people's story of why they gave up drinking. [/QUOTE]