I know the older generation is using the cell phone more than ever, At the same time we see the younger generation spending all their time with that device instead of socializing with others, reading to enhance one’s knowledge, or spending more time learning about life. It is scary, but there may be a bigger danger to our more adult young, and that is gambling.

It is not that gambling is something new. I remember asking my grandfather why some of his customers left through the kitchen back door of his restaurant. He explained that it was a quicker trip across the alley to the local bookie. Then he explained what a bookie was.

When I was an early teen, I was to enter the world of county fairs with my livestock. I would come across a new class of person, a carny, the guy who ran the games and rides in the midway. My father decided to explain how people could fool you and get you to bet or play a game when they controlled the odds.

We went to Dad’s office. On the desk were three metal pea pods. He lifted each one, and only one had a pea inside, making it rattle. He explained that my job was to keep my eye on the one with the pea. He again shook the one with the pea and then moved the three of them swiftly around. He stopped and asked me to shake the one with the pea. I did, but it was empty and made no noise. This went on and on. He would shake the one with the pea, letting me know which one to watch, and again move the three around, moving slower each time. I guessed wrong every time, even when I knew which one had made the noise.

Frustrated, I grabbed all three, and none had the pea. Then he opened his right hand, and there was a fourth pod with a pea. He had shaken an empty pea for all three, but each time he shook one with his right hand, which had the pea, it made the noise. I had no chance to win. All three in front of me were empty. He looked at me and said, “This is how some people make their living. They will come up with games that will deceive you and take your money. I paid close attention from then.

I survived those fair days, and met many carnival people who were nice and some who were not. I learned to play poker with the adult exhibiters and became quite good. But those people were honest and harmless. The odds were even except for one’s ability in the game.

In today’s world, the opportunity to gamble has left the bookies, the carnies, and the familiar poker games for much higher stakes and more opportunities than I could name in an article five times this long. But let’s start.

First are the casinos. Anyone of age can walk in and bet on a number of games, but almost always the opponent is the house. These places weren’t built for nothing. Multitudes of employees are an expensive necessity. So how do the casinos survive? Because all the odds are in favor of the house in every game. The biggest con and the one most played is a slot machine. The house controls how those numbers or symbols are arranged. The percentage is fixed. Out of so many spins, only some will win, and the losses are larger than the gains. It is not based at all on the skill of playing. Sure, a person may have a streak, but overall, the house wins every night.

This is the same with roulette, craps, or blackjack. The odds are in favor of the house. Individuals may win, but others lose, and the house can afford to keep running.

Now gambling has worked itself far past the casino and the bookie. Today you can bet on anything everywhere. Imagine the military man betting on the date of the capture of the Venezuelan President. He was involved in the planning and capture and won heavily by using this knowledge and won a bet for huge money. Who of us knew someone could bet on something as weird as that?

This betting is called the Prediction Market and takes bets on when certain events will happen. One company known as Polymarket permits betting by anyone 18 and older. The bets can range from a football game to the end of the war with Iran. Polymarket, I read, was worth $350 million two years ago and is now thought to be worth over $15 billion. So where did that money come from? Us.

The laws have been virtually removed from the days when casinos had to be on boats in waterways to now having the online ability to bet anywhere, anytime, and on everything. The Supreme Court cleared the way for sports betting in 2018, and now you see gambling commercials as you watch the Cubs with flashes upon the screen of odds whether a guy is going to get a hit or whether the Cubs will win. It is everywhere and we are the losers.

Think of golfer John Daly, who could not stop his addiction and ended up owing casinos in Las Vegas millions. Gambling addiction is racing across our country, especially with the younger generations. Is it because they aren’t as good at math as we were, or is it like drugs and booze, where one can’t live without the constant feeling given by these habits?

Of course, there is the argument that gambling is purchased entertainment. But to gamble is to think that the game is fair and you trust the mechanics so that you have a fair chance and may be a better player. But in truth, this kind of gambling is not fair. The house always has the odds. If a player of blackjack is a card counter, he may have an edge. But as soon as the house figures it out, he is expelled from the casino.

When a young man is walking to his car after losing his weekly paycheck inside, I hope he starts to understand there is no such thing as trust in these occasions. I was always good at math. I understand odds. I do not join in much gambling unless it is a lottery for a school, church, or benevolent body. We must protect our younger generation from themselves either by example, rehab, or better laws being put back in place.

· Dennis Marek can be contacted at llamalaw23@gmail.com.