Had a pretty good time at the Ducks Unlimited Banquet the other night...even if it did end up being far from 'free' for me.
I'm a sucker for raffles and other some such games of chance. Once upon a time, I guess you could say I had a gambling problem, although, as a single sailor, I didn't have a lot of expenses...so..I never really went into debt, or my car payment...I just didn't have as much money left over at the end of the month as I should have. I just flat out liked gambling.
Getting married seemed to take care of some of this. For a few years, I just flat out didn't gamble at all(other than lottery tickets, which IS gambling). This wasn't because I didn't like gambling anymore, but SWMBO has expressed her displeasure, even prior to our marriage about some of my gambling habits. It was made easier by moving away from the vicinity of Fox Woods, and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
After about 5 years, and more than a few 'responsible' gambling conversations with my wife, she let me relented and said it was okay for me to start visiting the glorified card rooms that pass as casino's in Washington....oh, there are a few Indian(Native American, sorry) that are sizable, but nothing like Vegas, and nothing at all like Mohegan Sun. These smaller casino's made it easier to change my habits, going from a gambling budget of 'whatever the ATM would let me take out' to $60-80 a trip.
I found out something else...now that I had a wife and kids, the guilt I felt from a bad gambling trip outweighed the 'yay' from a good trip. So, for the most part, it's safe to say that I am over my gambling issues...other than being a sucker for raffles, with their 'It's for a good cause' approach.
There were several guns being raffled....a nice little Henry Golden Boy .22, a Weatherby Vanguard, and a nice looking Browning Maxus 12ga...very pretty gun, and it would have looked out of place in my gun safe...but that didn't stop me from buying chances to win it. There were a few other chances to win a couple of other shotguns, including a cute looking little Mossberg Bantam 20ga, that I thought my wife would enjoy.
Alas though, a raffle is a form of 'gambling' and not a form of winning, and while I did not leave empty handed, I did not win any of the guns either. Lame...especially, when you do the math on how much money started the night in my pocket vice what finished the night in my pocket. I'm pretty sure I could have gone and bought that Mossberg Bantam for how much I put in all the different raffles.
I hope the ducks appreciate what I have done for them...
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