Most people know that gambling is a sure path to loss. Most casinos play games where the odds are never in the favor of the player, and always in favor of the casino taking every last cent you have. That being said... some find it very difficult to rip themselves away from the table and won't stop until they literally have no more to give.
Redditor Rilerific was curious to hear those stories
Casino Employees of reddit, what is the worst you have ever seen someone handle a loss?
Here were some of the most difficult to watch.
25. Pee-ker
A gentleman at a poker table in the five seat urinated on the dealer.
I never caught the signal the dealer used but it was effective as all the guys who normally collect boxes from the tables show up out of nowhere and removed him from the table like they were taking out the trash (well, they were...).
Table broke up so they could clean, dealer showered and put on a new uniform and I saw her on the floor again a few hours later.
24. Phoning It In
GiphyI work in I.T. for a Casino and just had to replace a phone that was ripped off the wall and thrown at one of our pit bosses over a bad loss.
23. Pocket Vomit
Dealer for 10 years. 3rd DAY DEALING, fresh out of dealer school I am dealing Pai Gow Tiles. (Asian domino game, try to get pairs and tiles to add up as close to 9 as possible). On a $25 minimum game. Guy bets $25-$75 for a good 2 hours. He then slides his whole stack on one hand for 3k.
For those who know the game, he gets Teen-Dai Bo. I pull Ji-Jun. For those who do not know the game, its like he got pocket kings and I got pocket Aces. Or he pulled a 20 in blackjack and I just pulled 11 cards to make 21. The odds are ASTRONOMICAL. It's the ONLY hand that beats him.
He slams his fist on the table swearing in Chinese, chips fly everywhere, and begins to shove his finger down his throat. He throws up all over my game... Close the table and pit down for clean-up. 3rd day dealing...
Money/benefits are great though. Highly recommend the industry. Made 30-40 an hr.
22. Plane Loss
GiphyI actually did work in a casino in Las Vegas a few years back, in VIP services. One of our high rollers, who visited frequently, had a very bad gambling problem that his wife was divorcing him over. He lost everything at the tables and couldn't even afford his plane ticket back home -- the casino felt so sorry for him, we ended up buying a ticket back home for him.
Never heard from him again after that.
21. Vegas Lights
Former table dealer here.
I've had drunk guys tell me I'm the worst dealer ever, I suck, etc. I would just reply "have a nice day!" The other people at the table were generally on my side. I've higher rollers slam the table with their fist or not react at all to losing thousands.
The worst and the saddest one that sticks in my mind is a guy who was around $2,000 down on blackjack. He was nice. He was tipping pretty well. I was rooting for him, as a I tended to do. I knocked his tens for good luck. Then he lost a big one and just yelled so loud that the entire casino must've heard it. It was the kind of desperation in his voice and everything about him that told me he could not afford to lose as much as he just lost. He went to the atm, and I rotated to another table.
It was stuff like that, the smoke in my face, sleep deprivation from the late nights that led me to get out of there. A lot of other unpleasant moments too, but they all blur together. Money was nice, but it wasn't for me.
20. For Luck
GiphyTable games dealer here.
I work at a casino in New Zealand. Had a Thai woman a few months ago betting 300k a hand. She lost 12 million at my table in less than an hour. The casino then paid for her private charter jet to Melbourne and back ($70,000) so she could get more money. Not exactly sure why she had to go to Melbourne to get more money, but I was doing a 16 hour shift and she came back to my table after her trip and dropped another 15 million.
Haven't had anyone close to spending that much money ever.
19. Revenge On The Slots
One guy was so angry at his losses that he took 200 quarters, cut them in half, taped one side, and proceeded to put them in various slot machines. Once they entered the machine, it would jam it up.
18. It's Only A Game
Was a waitress in casino establishment 10 years ago. Suicides were not common there but they did happen.
Saddest was an asian woman who hung herself . She lost 20k or so from memory and was not a high roller type.
3-4 days later her car was to be towed from the underground carpark. Sadly she had left her two fluffy dogs in there and nobody knew. Poor things were dead.
The establishment then put on parking patrol officers who check cars every few hours. They would find (alive) dogs and kids in there far too often.
[username deleted]
17. Revenge Of The Slots
GiphyI used to be a Casino Host on Cruise Ships casinos. Seen many people lose it, but there is one woman that I'll never forget... She was gambling A LOT. Towards the end of the cruise I would find her on the slots she was crying and playing. I asked her whats wrong and she said I cannot afford to play anymore, this is all on my credit card...talking/playing/crying at the same time. I banned her from the Casino but it was already too late.
16. Tricked
Worked in the cage before becoming a dealer, saddest thing I used to commonly see is people getting cash advances of $15 and paying a $7.99 fee to do it. (It was $7.99 to get up to $100, with $15 being the minimum). They would pay a 50% vig to piddle away $15....I guess they thought that big jackpot was just around the corner, sad.
15. After The Fall
GiphyHaven't been in the gaming biz since the 1990's, but I've seen everything from tantrums on the floor to attacks on workers. The worst one though was some moron right out of prison with his homies lost his money on the blackjack table, took it personally, went out to his car, waited for the dealer to get off work, followed him, and then tried to beat him when he stopped for gas.
14. Backwards Logic
Not a casino employee, but just the other day my Father in law (security) watched an elderly lady lose everything at a poker table, and then go around and steal a couple people's purses/wallets.
When they confronted her and asked for ID, she wouldn't give it to them because they weren't the police. When the police arrived, she still wouldn't give them her ID or even her name, saying they couldn't arrest her if they didn't know who she was. Needless to say, they arrested her anyways. The last thing the cop asked her was, are you at least going to cooperate and walk out with us to the car, or are you going to do it the hard way.
They had to carry her out and she was kicking the windows in the back of the car the entire time.
13. Winning and Losing
My girlfriend's grandfather won it big one night and then was followed home by 4 People and killed for the money. So that's the worst way I've seen someone handle a win.
[deleted username]
12. Ridiculous Time
GiphyMy friend just started at the new Catskill Resort Worldwide Casino, and has already said one guy got naked in the bathroom and started washing his clothes. They have been open 2 weeks.
11. Off The Wall
Drove a car into the casino wall... Not the doors.. the WALL. The driver had a traumatic brain injury and luckily didn't injure anyone else.
10. Be Very Careful
I was a security guard at a native american casino for just under 2 years. I worked the graveyard shift the entire time before i had to leave for my own mental health due to how depressing this job could be. A few of the things i saw just in the category of losses were as follows.
• elderly people who would spend their entire social security checks in one night and be forced to use food banks for the remainder of the month.
• many couples getting into fights (sometimes physical) over the other "giving them bad luck"
• anyone who would win a lot in the first 20 mins they were there then "chasing losses" after they gave it back to the house often emptying their entire savings accounts.
• lots every month losing their entire paycheck, then savings, then taking out cash advances (that of course could be done in house) attempting to win back their lost paycheck.
The worst one i ever saw was a known local business owner losing what he called " over half my life's savings " in under 8 hours at $2,000 a hand on a blackjack table then attempting to strangle the dealer, I had to tackle him and put him in handcuffs he left the property in a sheriff's car and attempted to enter the building 3 times in the next 2 weeks.
9. The Vultures Circle
GiphyNot an employee but stuff. my mum's friend won a slot machine jackpot. Security had to swoop in and save her because she was a very casual gambler and would use like 5 coins then leave, but that night on one of her first coins she won the jackpot. The people around her were gambling addicts and some of them had been working that machine for hours before and felt it should have been their win. So they tried to attack her for the money but she did get it. This wouldn't have been a big win either because it was a small place but scary
8. Know Your Limit
This lady with a serious gambling problem was asked to leave as she'd been in the building for over her limit... as a protest, she pissed her pants and dripped it into the machine she was at and refused to stand up or walk out. Had to be dragged with pee running down her legs dripping onto the carpet, down an escalator and onto the street.
7. Fees Add Up
I worked in banking for a bit and being able to see people's accounts who are gamblers backs up this statement.
They don't go in and get say 500 out of an atm and then lose it, get upset, and go home. They get 100. Then 80. Then 140. On my end, I would see the transactions with the 3 dollar fee attached all on the same night within minutes of each other sometimes.
It seems like they are in some trance and probably have almost no idea how much money they lost.
[username deleted]
6. A Packed Day
GiphyI sat next to a guy. He drove a Pepsi truck. He said his mom died and left him $30,000. He'd never seem this much money before so he thought he could turn it into $100,000. We're at the blackjack table. He's getting wasted and crying inconsistently bc of his mom, talking about her dying. In 2 hours he loses everything. He has this look of nervousness on his face and said his wife is going to kill him if she finds out about this, bc they have 4 kids and wanted to buy a house.
He walked out, 10 minutes later I go to my car and see that he got a DUI.
In 24 hours, his mom died, he gets a ton of money, loses it all, will probably get divorced, gets a DUI, and is sitting in the back of a cop car.
5. Death Knell
I was security at a Casino for a few years, saddest story for me was this older gentleman let's call him "Tom" for privacy sake, Tom would frequent the Casino every day spending anywhere from $200-$300, I had striked up lots of conversations with him because he was a regular and he was genuinely kind person who I enjoyed seeing.
One day Tom comes in and I can tell he is upset, I don't make anything of it, but after seeing the guy for a few years almost everyday, that day he looked really "off" so a couple hours go by and I track him down and ask how's the day going? Any big wins? Just general chit chat, he starts sobbing, tears running down his face, his wife had passed away from "sudden cardiac death" is what I believe he called it, the night before, and he was devastated, we talked for quite awhile, I tried comforting him while he played the machines, I had noticed he was betting EXTREMELY large, $200-$300 per spin on the slot machine, I knew that was a lot for him, but I didn't saying anything because it's not my business and I was sure it's a coping mechanism for him at the moment, doing something he loved when he just lost the love of his life.
Hours later I see him heading out the door, I run up to him, catch him and wish him all the best and that I'll see him soon, he smiled, said thanks for the chat and thank you for the condolences and left.
[username deleted]
4. Pants Play
GiphyI watched my uncle lose everything at a blackjack table, so he proceeded to the bathroom came out with his pants off and throw them on the table and say pants plays. The dealer said "we can't take your pants sir". He said "Why not? You've taken everything else" Needless to say he was escorted out of the casino very upset.
3. Vacancy
Have worked in casinos for nearly a decade and the saddest ones are the players who lose and show no aggression or sadness at all.
I had a player who was down US$1 million at the end of a night of roulette and he had a completely vacant, 1,000 yard stare look on his face as he quietly left.
2. Clearly, He Could Lose
Not an employee but my girlfriend and I were at a local casino for dinner on Saturday so we decided to take a lap around the playing floor afterwards. We are walking by the blackjack tables and notice a small crowd around a guy who had a pile of chips in front of him. After it's clear he lost it all to the dealer he starts screaming that he couldn't lose and begins to slam his head into the table. Ends up leaving in handcuffs
1. Bemused Gambling
GiphyI do have a good story about the worst I saw someone handle a win.
This older gentleman was a regular and a total jerk. Never tipped, never smiled or said hello, and was always in a foul mood. I was watching him play a fifty cent machine one night when he hit 3 jackpot symbols and won five grand.
I went up to him and congratulated him and I'll never forget the bemused look on his face. When the machine hits a single payout of over $1,200, the machine locks up and won't spin again until an attendant resets it. He just kept hitting the button in vain trying to keep playing like a child who's toy stopped working.
When I told him that the machine was not going to spin until we paid him his hand pay, his only words were "can I play this one?" And motioned to the machine next to his. I told him that he could and he moved over and went straight back into his zombie trance.
When we brought his jackpot winnings to him he huffed and puffed because we asked him to stop playing for a minute while we counted out his $5,000. It's like the money didn't even matter.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.