I just found this blog, and it's sobering, to say the least:

http://luckiestone.blogspot.com/

This guy matriculated into an Ivy League law school and was forced to drop out because he had a gambling problem. It wasn't that he couldn't maintain his grades, but he just blew all the money he could get his hands on, approximately $150,000. He didn't have money left over for tuition and he couldn't borrow money anymore because he had ruined his credit score and his parents had no more money to give him.

I know that a lot of you are thinking, "Dumbass." I can't say that. I know what it's like to feel alive on a turn of the card, hoping that your calculated gamble paid off and that you outwitted your opponent. In fact, I'm really good at poker now. In the last tournament I played in, I won $2000, beating 166 out of 171 people. I lost almost all of it playing blackjack afterwards. I always make money playing poker, but the allure of the volatility of blackjack, fast money, does me in. So I'm not playing poker at a casino, or with any substantial amount of money, for the foreseeable future.

If any of you who are reading this feel like you're struggling and you need to talk to someone, post a comment. I won't put it on the blog, but that will send me an email alert and I will do what I can to help you out. To my friends, call me anytime you feel like you're struggling with gambling. I know that this is a pastime that can turn ugly for a lot of us who are risk seekers, and I don't want you to have to face this demon alone.