Thereās so many weird levels to this whole thing itās just to tailor made for conspiracies. Yes I know most are he was a crazy liberal. How does this guy go from gambler who was extremely private to a terrorist? I canāt think of a single other mass shooting/terror attack that lacked a smoking gun this long besides the D.C. sniper case but that was more like a serial killer case as opposed to this
So many questions arise now just from the video poker side Iāve never thought about. The I.R.S would have to have records of these major transactions, did he commit this act because of financial issues? Iām sure this guys taxes will get released before the president shows his .
Whatever the reasons I hope the victims find hope and strength through family, friends or any other way that they can.
I had a friend into video poker exactly as described. He only played a very specific video poker machine that was progressive. There is a whole online world for these gamblers sharing Intel, etc. He knew exactly where the right machines were located and he focused on one casino to maximize perks.
He had to play perfectly as described avoiding the āsuckerā hands to hit the royal flushes and he was prepared to weather the dry spells that can run into the thousands.
Running $10k a day through the machines doesnāt usually take $10k because you are reinvesting your winnings that are not royal flushes. This is how you maximize the perks on your loyalty card. And he and his wife would play the machine for 6 or 7 hours at a time.
My friend didnāt do this to make a living,but he wouldnāt gamble if he didnāt think he had a positive advantage. As described, he factored in the value of free vacations and of course the occasional really big hit.
It takes all kinds doesnāt it? I can see where doing this could push someone over the edge, especially because it seems like a person that liked this kind of thing might already be close to if not right on the edge to start with.
I suppose we should all know more about the seamy underbelly of the lives of the wealthy as more evidence against the Calvinistic propaganda myth of moral superiority of those richly-rewarded-by-god. Just try googling āmillionaire child molesterā sometime. But IOIYAR (with rich replacing republican in the acronym).
I guess for the mind, a lot of free time, that having lots of money can allow, could be a bad thing.
My father is a ālow endā video poker player. We always hear about the times he wins, but weāre not allowed to talk about how that compares to the total investment. All these gambling scams, including state lotteries, are a study in the creation and execution of selective bias and information bubble living.
Yeah, if you consider sitting in a dark, smoky room in front of a machine pushing buttons all day to be a āvacation.ā
to each his own. I donāt. But for some the idea of āsomething for nothingā has a very strong allure.
I lost touch with my friend but I think they simply got tired of it. It became a choir and the perks of free air, room, drinks and meals, lost itās charm.
Just curious: can you launder money through a casino if youāre OK with losing a fair chunk of it?
Professional gamblers do not play machines, slot cheaters do. Th variation of odds on machines is strictly controlled by the Gaming Control Board but folks do like machines and they will find them by their serial numbers and stick with them, but the bottom line long run you will never come out ahead, never. I lived in Vegas from 1963 until 1979 then again in 1990 to 1993 and during this time came in contact with all sorts of folks, one common theme is everyone seems to want to be or pretend to be a big shot and the casinos are pros at stroking. To do that casinos learn and maintain intel files on players, so if Paddock really played much then I am certain they know a hell of a lot about him.
Remember when conservative āiconā Bill Bennett lost 8 mil. playing video poker in the back room.
Exactly and this is why it is inappropriate to call him a āwhaleā. Whales are very different gamblers.
This also why I think he was running out of money.
My guess is that he was subconsciously managing his brain chemistry. Gambling addicts, even if outwardly calm, experience a wild roller coaster ride of terror and elation induced by chemicals released by the brain itself in reaction to their gambling activities. Somewhere along the way he started getting similar feelings just thinking about mass murder, perhaps surpassing the highs and lows from gambling. Then the same loss of self control that drives habitual gambling took over his psyche as he meticulously planned and prepared for the big payoff. As the agent said, everybodyās got a theory. Thereās mine. Hereās another. He never had any self control to lose, he was just another garden variety congenital asshole. Like Trump.
Itās a sad way to live a life in any case. In his case being wealthy and thus having the āfreedomā most craved by Americans. Sitting in front of those machines a dulling job, for a man who didnāt need a job, nor the perks. He was an empty vessel.
True even in the 80ās someone playing at his level would not be called a whale, whales come in and play Baccarat and lose or win millions not video poker.
You launder it by claiming to lose money when you actually did not. Iām not sure the IRS pays as much attention to losses as it does wins.
With a dummy corporation and a complicit casino management, Iām sure you could launder plenty of money. For every 10 grand that your āwhaleā loses, your āsecurity consultantā bills the casino $9,500 to analyze their video surveillance.
That is terrifying!