Discussion questions

1. Are �rational� investors really so different from gamblers � or are they just better storytellers about risk?

2. Are large winnings from gambling �cursed�? Are people who win big from gambling(lotteries/casino games, etc) doomed to lose all that money eventually (ie bet again and lose, spend all their money, victim of fraud, etc)?

3. You live paycheck to paycheck. Also, you have a friend who gambles casually. He wins sometimes, but the losses are slightly more than the wins. He asks you for $2 to bet on the lottery. You refuse to give him. He finds another source, bets and wins $100 million.
How would that make you feel? (pg 148)

4. �Is gambling away an inheritance any different from a reckless investor losing family wealth in the market? At what point does risk stop being ambition and start becoming irresponsibility?� (pg 149)

5. We see on page 138 the attitude that if our souls are immortal, we should not worry so much about the time we spend on earth as long as we enjoy it. Is this attitude correct? Why or why not?

6.     Page 146 � �It�s simply no good trying to pick the winner on form. One must just trust to luck and inspiration.� When you are betting on something like horse-racing, as the characters in this story are, is this really the best strategy? Even if it is hard to figure out exactly who will win, trying is better than simply choosing at random, isn�t it?

7.     Page 149 � �Gaming is rather a rage than a passion.� This quote came from a man who had done his fair share of gambling and seen what it can do to a man. He says that gambling is a lose-lose situation: even if you win, you will lose your character. What does he mean by this? Is he right?

8.     Page 162 � why do you think the author chose to include Alexander and Campaspe in the �Man� section of the book instead of the �Gods� section, since it talks about cupid playing cards?

9.     On page 167, we again see callous gamblers betting on a man�s life instead of doing their best to save him. Was the attitude in gambling houses so aloof that someone dying on their doorstep would be bet on for others� amusement?

10. Pg. 149 - Why do people that are gambling must �necessarily lose his money or his character�?