Isn't gambling virtuous?: As Kinsley pointed out, it's not the dream "gotcha" but it's pretty good. How many gamblers rationalize their behavior with "I'm not hurting anyone" or "I can still pay the mortgage" while slowly drifing into that vortex of panic-gambling (when you make increasingly large and ill-afforded bets hoping to "one-time" yourself back into the black)? And playing slots? He can't even argue he's doing it to "test his skills" or for the love of the camraderie. It's blind chance. Very principled of him.