Not counting on winning
11/11/25 01:59
Some writers write to share expertise. I often write about subjects about which I have little knowledge or expertise. I write to explore topics that interest me. It isn’t that different when I speak. I often talk about things that I don’t understand.
I don’t understand the rapid rise of sports betting. Advertisements for sports betting appear online, on billboards, and on the sides of sports stadiums. It seems that every time I check the score in a popular game, I am confronted by invitations to place bets. When it comes to placing bets, however, I really don’t know what I’m talking about.
Actually, I’m not that big of a sports fan. I pay attention to the World Series most years, depending on which teams are playing. I’ve watched portions of the Super Bowl, mostly to see the advertisements and sometimes to watch the halftime show. I enjoy local ball games when I know some of the players.
As a result, it is easy for me to make a connection between ardent sports fans and gambling. I know rationally that not all sports fans are gamblers. Chance is a factor in every sports competition. Both betting and playing sports involve winners and losers.
I don’t feel the urge to place a bet. As far as I can recall, I have only purchased two lottery tickets in my life, both as gag gifts. I’ve scratched off the waxy coatings on sweepstakes forms sent in the mail by car dealers and the sellers of timeshare properties, but I’ve never won anything. I don’t expect to win. I occasionally become aware of a sweepstakes with a prize I’d like to win. A few times, I have read the contest rules enough to figure out how to enter without making a purchase. You’ll often see the words “no purchase necessary” on a sweepstakes advertisement. It takes a bit of reading of the fine print rules to figure out how to enter without making a purchase. Usually, it involves sending a handwritten postcard or note.
The purpose of sweepstakes is to make money. A common sweepstakes names a prize and offers “free” entries with every purchase. People will purchase merchandise motivated by the dream of winning the prize. Often, they will make purchases that they would not otherwise make. The merchant offering the prize estimates that profits from increased sales will exceed the cost of the prize.
Most of the time, I have no interest in purchasing the merchandise, even if winning is a good thing. I don’t expect to win. Paying money to lose seems like a poor investment to me.
When it comes to betting and games of chance, I’m no expert.
I once won two drawings in the same month. The car dealership where I had my car serviced was giving away a giant Christmas stocking and encouraged customers to fill out a slip of paper with their name and phone number to enter to win. I was visiting with a dealership employee while my car was being serviced, and the employee kept prodding me to enter the drawing. I didn’t want the stocking, which was filled with candies and toys. After several invitations, however, I filled out a single slip with the name of a family with whom we were building a Habitat for Humanity house. I did not know their phone number, however, so I put my phone number on the slip. By the luck of the draw, the slip I filled out was selected as the winner, and I got a phone call. I went to the dealership the next day, picked up the giant prize, and delivered it to the new Habitat for Humanity house in time for the dedication. We finished the house, and the family moved in just before Christmas.
That same month, I got a call from a local funeral director. The funeral home had an annual Christmas drawing. They put the names of the clergy who had officiated at funerals directed by their firm into a hat and drew one out. The winner received a new suit from a local menswear store. I don’t know what the prize was if the winner was a woman. Since I didn’t have to do anything beyond officiating a funeral to enter the contest, I was unaware that the contest existed or that my name had been entered. I did, however, claim the prize. I bought a dark suit and was careful to wear it for funerals overseen by that funeral home for several years.
It seems that I’ve probably done enough winning for a lifetime and shouldn’t expect to win anything more.
One of my brothers, however, was just the opposite. He bought lottery tickets every time the prizes got big. He entered every contest offered. And when I listened to him, he really believed he would win big one day. He liked talking about what he would do if he won a big jackpot. I think he did win some prizes—small amounts of money in Bingo games and the like. He liked telling the story of going to a casino with $20 in cash and leaving with $200. I always suspected there were times when he did just the opposite, but he didn’t brag about them. He never did win a big prize.
As a pastor, I was asked to counsel and spoke with two people who were addicted to gambling. One managed to gamble away $20,000 in a single day. Another kept getting cash advances on a credit card at an ATM and managed to gamble away the entire credit limit. I referred both to counselors with more expertise in gambling addictions than I. My experience makes me wonder about the people who place bets on sports. You can now bet on everything from the outcome of the game to individual plays or the number of points a particular player will make. There are phone apps that allow fans to bet while watching the game.
I’m no expert. I don’t think such betting is good for communities. I suspect that many families face significant problems caused by gambling losses. I think the lure of winning may seduce people who can’t afford to lose.
What I do know is that I won’t be one of the winners. I’ve guaranteed that by not placing a bet. I have no intention of purchasing a lottery ticket, either.
Please note: Changes are coming.
Friends, in the next two weeks, this website will be replaced with a new one. I do not yet know the exact timing, but soon things will look different at revtedh.com. For a limited time following the change, you will be able to access this site at revtedh.org. However, some features of this website, including the daily journal entries, will end when the new website launches. You can keep up with regular writing posts at revtedh.substack.com. On Substack, you can subscribe to receive regular posts in your email. I appreciate your patience with these changes.
I don’t understand the rapid rise of sports betting. Advertisements for sports betting appear online, on billboards, and on the sides of sports stadiums. It seems that every time I check the score in a popular game, I am confronted by invitations to place bets. When it comes to placing bets, however, I really don’t know what I’m talking about.
Actually, I’m not that big of a sports fan. I pay attention to the World Series most years, depending on which teams are playing. I’ve watched portions of the Super Bowl, mostly to see the advertisements and sometimes to watch the halftime show. I enjoy local ball games when I know some of the players.
As a result, it is easy for me to make a connection between ardent sports fans and gambling. I know rationally that not all sports fans are gamblers. Chance is a factor in every sports competition. Both betting and playing sports involve winners and losers.
I don’t feel the urge to place a bet. As far as I can recall, I have only purchased two lottery tickets in my life, both as gag gifts. I’ve scratched off the waxy coatings on sweepstakes forms sent in the mail by car dealers and the sellers of timeshare properties, but I’ve never won anything. I don’t expect to win. I occasionally become aware of a sweepstakes with a prize I’d like to win. A few times, I have read the contest rules enough to figure out how to enter without making a purchase. You’ll often see the words “no purchase necessary” on a sweepstakes advertisement. It takes a bit of reading of the fine print rules to figure out how to enter without making a purchase. Usually, it involves sending a handwritten postcard or note.
The purpose of sweepstakes is to make money. A common sweepstakes names a prize and offers “free” entries with every purchase. People will purchase merchandise motivated by the dream of winning the prize. Often, they will make purchases that they would not otherwise make. The merchant offering the prize estimates that profits from increased sales will exceed the cost of the prize.
Most of the time, I have no interest in purchasing the merchandise, even if winning is a good thing. I don’t expect to win. Paying money to lose seems like a poor investment to me.
When it comes to betting and games of chance, I’m no expert.
I once won two drawings in the same month. The car dealership where I had my car serviced was giving away a giant Christmas stocking and encouraged customers to fill out a slip of paper with their name and phone number to enter to win. I was visiting with a dealership employee while my car was being serviced, and the employee kept prodding me to enter the drawing. I didn’t want the stocking, which was filled with candies and toys. After several invitations, however, I filled out a single slip with the name of a family with whom we were building a Habitat for Humanity house. I did not know their phone number, however, so I put my phone number on the slip. By the luck of the draw, the slip I filled out was selected as the winner, and I got a phone call. I went to the dealership the next day, picked up the giant prize, and delivered it to the new Habitat for Humanity house in time for the dedication. We finished the house, and the family moved in just before Christmas.
That same month, I got a call from a local funeral director. The funeral home had an annual Christmas drawing. They put the names of the clergy who had officiated at funerals directed by their firm into a hat and drew one out. The winner received a new suit from a local menswear store. I don’t know what the prize was if the winner was a woman. Since I didn’t have to do anything beyond officiating a funeral to enter the contest, I was unaware that the contest existed or that my name had been entered. I did, however, claim the prize. I bought a dark suit and was careful to wear it for funerals overseen by that funeral home for several years.
It seems that I’ve probably done enough winning for a lifetime and shouldn’t expect to win anything more.
One of my brothers, however, was just the opposite. He bought lottery tickets every time the prizes got big. He entered every contest offered. And when I listened to him, he really believed he would win big one day. He liked talking about what he would do if he won a big jackpot. I think he did win some prizes—small amounts of money in Bingo games and the like. He liked telling the story of going to a casino with $20 in cash and leaving with $200. I always suspected there were times when he did just the opposite, but he didn’t brag about them. He never did win a big prize.
As a pastor, I was asked to counsel and spoke with two people who were addicted to gambling. One managed to gamble away $20,000 in a single day. Another kept getting cash advances on a credit card at an ATM and managed to gamble away the entire credit limit. I referred both to counselors with more expertise in gambling addictions than I. My experience makes me wonder about the people who place bets on sports. You can now bet on everything from the outcome of the game to individual plays or the number of points a particular player will make. There are phone apps that allow fans to bet while watching the game.
I’m no expert. I don’t think such betting is good for communities. I suspect that many families face significant problems caused by gambling losses. I think the lure of winning may seduce people who can’t afford to lose.
What I do know is that I won’t be one of the winners. I’ve guaranteed that by not placing a bet. I have no intention of purchasing a lottery ticket, either.
Please note: Changes are coming.
Friends, in the next two weeks, this website will be replaced with a new one. I do not yet know the exact timing, but soon things will look different at revtedh.com. For a limited time following the change, you will be able to access this site at revtedh.org. However, some features of this website, including the daily journal entries, will end when the new website launches. You can keep up with regular writing posts at revtedh.substack.com. On Substack, you can subscribe to receive regular posts in your email. I appreciate your patience with these changes.
