Keeping Up
I’m sixty-nine years old . But I’m doing my best to keep up with our “modern world”. I’m pretty fluent on my computer, and even on the IPhone. I can set up secure linked networks in our home, and even find programs on the streaming channels. And, while texting isn’t my favorite form of communication (I’m still a one-fingered typer), I can handle it for short conversations.
But I don’t like to FaceTime on a regular basis. Part of that is I don’t won’t to worry how I look for a phone call. But, “to get real”, when I’m talking on the phone I’m often doing something else as well. I want to be hands-free, to do housework, or drive, or pick up dog poop in the backyard.
And I don’t have a “smart watch”. I wore a regular watch for my entire professional life, but one of the “deals” I made myself on retirement was that I didn’t need one anymore. I find smart watches intrusive, at dinner and during conversation. It feels like whatever is happening on your wrist is absolutely more important than the face-to-face conversation with me. Besides, even with large font type, I need my reading glasses to read texts. Messages on a watch would doom me to permanent visual assistance.
Casino in Your Pocket
And there are a couple of areas of the 21st Century that I have intentionally avoided. I’m not a video gamer. Pong, the first video game, came out when I was eighteen years old. I never got hooked on Mario or Halo, or Grand Theft Auto. First, I never developed the thumb muscle memory of controller to screen. But second, I saw those games as great “time suckers”. I had (still often have) a busy life. A couple of hours of video games daily would crimp my schedule.
And another area of “modern life” that I’ve avoided is on-line gambling. I’m a man who grew up in the era of private poker games and “bookies” on the phone. The openness and availability of gambling today is intense (to say the least). I enjoy going to the Casino (a slots guy) and I’ve bet on the “ponies” and even the “dogs” (don’t tell my Rescue friends). But the fact that the poker game, the Casino, the ponies or the dogs, and any sports bets; in fact, all the betting you can stand is right there, in your pocket, is concerning.
Proposition Betting
You don’t just bet the game, winner or loser. You bet whether Joe Burrow will throw more touchdowns than interceptions. Money’s down on Chase gaining more than 100 yards on receptions, or whether the Bengals defense actually get a sack in the game. Every aspect of athletic performance is subject to a wager. It’s called a “player prop bet”. Of course that’s a lot of temptation, sitting in the recliner, watching the game. Online gambling, the “sports betting” establishment in your pocket, should be a big concern. After all, it’s not just old men, it’s teenagers and even pre-teens. They all have access to this designer addiction behavior.
One concern is that so much money can ride on a single action. Burrow throws a touchdown pass, millions win. Burrow get sacked, millions more win. Even though professional football, basketball, and baseball athletes make a lot of money, there still must be the temptation to bet on a “sure thing”, your own performance. It used to be a “team event” to alter a game for gambling purposes (see the Chicago Black Sox of 1919). Now, one player can gamble on his or her individual performance. That’s something they have personal control over.
Prediction Gambling
There also was a line between betting “the ponies” or betting on life. But that line is now, to use a recent popular term, “obliterated”. There’s a newer form of gambling, just now catching on. It’s called “prediction gambling”. Now, I can pick up my phone (not to talk, to type), and place a bet on whether the US will bomb energy infrastructure in Iran, or not; or whether the Marine Expeditionary Force from Okinawa will end up controlling Kharg Island.
So here’s the politics. President Trump is notorious for trying to influence the Stock Market. He didn’t like the closing numbers last week, so he announced over the weekend that there were negotiations open with the Iranians. True, False, we don’t know. What we do know is that the Stock Market went up because of Trump’s announcement come Monday. (Dow Jones closed at 45,500 on Friday, opened a thousand points higher on Monday – CNBC).
IYKYK (if you know, you know)
And you can bet on it. Or any other actions of the government. Did Trump throw a touchdown, or Hakeem Jeffries get a sack? It’s all on your phone. The biggest “player” in the Prediction Betting field is a company called Kalshi. Here’s what on the menu today:
- – US- Iran nuclear deal
- – How long will the government be shutdown
- – Who will leave Trump’s cabinet next
- – Will proof of citizenship be required for federal voter registration
- – Will the US take control of any part of Greenland
- – When will traffic in the Strait of Hormuz return to normal.
Are there some smart Millennials and Gen Z’ers , working in DC, betting the odds on their own work? Isn’t that a lot like Pete Rose betting on baseball, or the Chicago Black Sox? And with so much money on the line, will that likely influence decision makers? You bet your life it does.
Congress is looking into “banning” prediction gambling. That’s something, I hope, that could be a bipartisan win. But there’s an awful lot of money involved in the industry, and money equals influence and power in the US Congress. So don’t place any wagers against Prediction Gambling. The odds aren’t in your favor.
American Generations
- Greatest Generation – born 1901-1927
- Silent Generation – born 1928-1945
- Baby Boomers – born 1946 – 1964
- Gen X – born 1965-1980
- Millennials – born 1981-1996
- Gen Z – born 1997-2010
- Gen Alpha – born 2010-2024
- Gen Beta – born 2025- 2039
