For many people, gambling is a pleasant diversion. Betting $10 on their favorite team adds juice to the game, or rooting for their fantasy team increases their interest in the whole league or players in all parts of the country.
An occasional visit to the tribal casino is a fun night out, a few pulls of a slot machine, a plate of prime rib and a cocktail.
But gambling has a dark side. It can become a drug, a powerful one. Those endorphin hits from a big win are exhilarating. Money won is twice as sweet as money earned. If you get lucky, you can buy an Armani suit, a vacation or a new car.
Gambling is intermittent reinforcement, powerfully psychologically. It pulls the player in. As losses mount, the urgency deepens and behavior becomes more extreme. The self-loathing becomes a drug all its own.
Part of gambling's allure is the illusion of control. It's math. It's science. It's logic and probability. You can study the game and get an edge, see patterns, predict streaks. But the rules, the vig, the rake and the house cut work against you. It's easy to confuse a good week or a good month with mastering the game.
With addiction comes damage, desperation, rash decisions. People lose perspective, relationships, jobs, homes. It's human nature to see yourself as a winner and cling to that image. It can be frightening to see that facade slip away.
Deepening the adrenalin rush and the potential danger is that a night or a weekend of betting just naturally goes with alcohol. It becomes part of an atmosphere of false conviviality. Night life, man. There's nothing like living all the way up.
At the extreme end of gambling behavior is an association with ruthless and unsavory people and the potential of jail, bankruptcy or worse.
People can and do lose everything. And players with money and connections can be pulled even deeper. The ultimate way to get even or raise the stakes even higher is to become part of the house or use the opportunity to manipulate results.
As access to gambling grows (a player can set up an account online in a few keystrokes) the temptation and the adrenalin elixir become even more powerful. Consequences blur. For an athlete, particularly an athlete whose skills have faded and the attention and trappings of success have grown distant, gambling offers an easy route back to the big game, the main event. It's another chance to be the man, the star, the center of attention.
Wednesday night in Portland and Miami, Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested for their involvement in a federal gambling-related investigation.
Four months ago former NBA star Gilbert Arenas was arrested for his part in allegedly operating high stakes poker games in Southern California.
All addictions carry the danger of a spiral. The player starts out chasing the high and the high is undeniable. The winner of the World Series of Poker gets $10 million, a window of celebrity and endorsements, a seat at the biggest games and nights with skilled and alluring women. But a lot of people have to bust out a long time before the camera flashes.