Gambling Addict: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

At the less extreme end, the character will stick to small bets and simply enjoys the game. In some cases they may even be able to make a profit from their gambling. At the more extreme end, the character is fully addicted and quite capable of ruining their own finances, lives and those of the people around them. Perhaps more common in older works and literature, when people [[Older Than Television|had to make their own entertainment]] and card games were a much more common social activity.

Unfortunately this is still very much a case of [[Truth in Television]], especially in a world where Internet gambling allows people to indulge in this destructive behaviour without ever leaving their house.

 

 

{{examples}}

* Kaiji from ''[[Kaiji]]'' is also suffering from this after the end of the first season.He still hadn't learned his lesson.

* In ''[[Pokémon Special]]'', we have Gold and the gaming corner in GSC (hints are towards it being an habit; [[Crowning Moment of Funny|and his Togepi "inherits" it]]), and then the [[Compressed Vice]] version with Platinum Berlitz and the game corner at Sinnoh years later during the DP arc.

* Eisuke Kitamura in ''[[Stepping on Roses]]'' (aka ''Hadashi De Bara Wo Fume''), much to the chagrin of the protagonist, his sister Sumi. This combined with his habit of [[I'm Taking Her Home with Me|constantly bringing orphaned children]] home with him has the family up to their ears in debt at the beginning of the series.

* Lelouch from [[Code Geass]], before [[Becoming the Mask]], was a heavy gambler who often skipped classes to run off to casinos and nobles' residences. It stopped when he donned the alter-ego Zero, but regardless he still used his gambling addiction as a cover for his operations.

 

* The [[Ironic Nickname|ironically-named]] Lucky Smurf in ''[[The Smurfs]]'' comic book story "The Gambling Smurfs". He hardly ever seems to win at gambling, but he'll never stop betting on something.

 

* Frankie Four Fingers from ''[[Snatch]]'' definitely falls under this category. Every single character that knows about his gambling tries to either desperately keep him from it, or trick him into it. He's called Four Fingers for a reason.

* Given the setting of the movie as an underground [[Poker]] world, many of the characters in ''[[Rounders]]''.

* The title character of ''Bob Le Flambeur'' ("Bob the Gambler") is a [[Gentleman Thief]] and an all-around great guy, except he's hopelessly addicted to gambling, which he does all day and night, and even has a slot machine in his apartment that he is shown playing several times during the film.

* In ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]'', both the title character and the Devil. {{spoiler|While the Devil controls their relationship, he also gives up several opportunities to win because it would end their game.}}

* Dr. John Watson is heavily implied to be one in the 2009 Guy Ritchie ''[[Sherlock Holmes (film)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' film and its sequel.

 

* Phillipe Bridau from [[Balzac]]'s ''[[The Black Sheep]]'' / ''La Rabouilleuse'', who not only loses all his own money, but steals all his family's money and loses that too, becoming (temporarily) destitute. Also from this book, Madame Descoignes, who, in contrast, only spends what she can afford but still puts most of her spare money on the French lotteries.

* Mr Farebrother in [[George Eliot]]'s ''[[Middlemarch]]'', who's actually quite good at whist and can supplement his paltry income by betting. This wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't somewhat scandalous behaviour for a churchman. When his income increases, he gives up.

* Little Nell's grandfather in [[Charles Dickens]]'s ''[[The Old Curiosity Shop]]'' believes that his gambling is an investment in Nell's future that's bound to pay off and provide for her once he dies. He borrows from Quilp to sustain his habit, leading to the loss of the eponymous shop when Quilp realises his problem and forecloses on the loans. His constant relapses, and Nell's attempts to keep him from temptation, lead to their exile from London and inability to settle in one place for most of the rest of the book.

* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s "[[Man Eaters of Zamboula|Shadows in Zamboula]]", [[Conan the Barbarian]] claims to be this, that he hired his room in advance to avoid losing the money to do so at the gambling table.

* Morley Dotes from the ''[[Garrett P.I.]]'' novels was this trope in the early part of the series, which is why he so often had to assist Garrett on a case to pay off his debts.

* Nozdryov from ''[[Dead Souls]]''.

 

* David Scatino from Season 2 of ''[[The Sopranos]]''.

* Booth from [[Bones]].

* The victim of the ''[[Cold Case]]'' episode ''The River''. He got so heavily addicted to gambling on card games that he became financially ruined in spite of working as a rather well-paid surgeon.

* One episode of ''[[The Golden Girls]]'' has Dorothy being this, upsetting Sophia. According to Sophia, Dorothy had been this once before, which got her deep in debt. And she wasn't the only one. From Sophia's account, Salvador, Sophia's late husband, "was a gambler right up to his dying days."

* Pearl Forrester from ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' has a weakness for gambling, particularly slot machines. It even comes into play in one episode when Mike challenges her to a [[Shell Game]] and ends up winning his choice of the movie that he and the 'bots will watch. He picks ''[[Hamlet]]'', but ends up getting [[Be Careful What You Wish For|more than he expected]].

* Gerry in ''[[Luck]]''. He's a whiz at horseracing, but a terrible poker player, blowing all of his track winnings on cards.

* One of the [[Un Subs]] on [[Criminal Minds]] was a hopeless gambler who kills a [[Loan Shark]] and subsequently has great luck in the casino. When his lucky streak ends he kills another person and his luck seemingly returns. This convinces him that he has a super power that makes him lucky if he kills someone he knows.

 

* [[Kenny Rogers]]' signature song ''The Gambler'' details the train-rider narrator having a conversation with a man of this sort.

* The classic song "House of the Rising Son" has the male singer relating his depressing life and his slide into gambling addiction and habit of picking up prostitutes at the eponymous house of ill repute in New Orleans.

 

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

 

* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'': Marge Simpson becomes addicted to slot machines when a casino's built in Springfield, and shows this trait occasionally in subsequent episodes.

* In the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Red Man's Greed", Gerald Broflovski loses $37,000 at a [[Native American Casino]], underwritten by the family's house. Later, when the Native Americans threaten to take over South Park, the townsfolk pool their resources and bet it on a single roulette number in a last-ditch effort to save the town. They win, giving them the money they need and a bit extra on top, but Gerald convinces them to let it all ride on another spin, and they lose everything.

* In ''[[The Ren and Stimpy Show]]'' episode "My Shiny Friend", Stimpy has an addiction to watching television. At the end of the short, he appears to have reformed, but it turns out he switched to...gambling.

 

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characters As Device]]

[[Category:Bargain Tropes]]

[[Category:Character Flaw Index]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gambling Addict, The}}