I assume you know what it means to be greedy. If I’m right about this assumption, then you’re ahead of me. I’m very confused by what the word means.
I Googled “What is greed?” It came back with the Oxford Dictionary definition, “intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food.” It mentioned that greed was one of the seven deadly sins. And it also quotes Gordon Gekko, the Michael Douglas character in the movie Wall Street who said “Greed is good!”
Still not clear. When does a desire become intense? I remember back in college that sometimes friends and I would go out seeking pleasant short-term feminine companionship. I would call those desires intense and selfish. Back then, fifty years ago, there was kind of a “boys will be boys” mentality about “cruising for babes.” Today it is considered to be far more predatory than it was then. There are a lot of names you could have called our behavior back then, but I never considered “greedy” to be one of them.
If a student athlete wants to be good enough to someday be drafted into the National Football League, he might undertake the following: he begins his workouts every day at 6 a.m.; he spends hours each week studying game film to improve his own skills and figure out the tendencies of whoever is going to be his college opponent next week; he avoids drugs; he’s the last one to leave practice every day. It’s fair to call this athlete very intense. Although he loves the game, the potential million dollar benefits are certainly a part of working that hard. He may well be looking forward to buying his mother a house, but most of his thoughts about using this money are personal and selfish.
I would call the behavior in the preceding paragraph appropriate actions for somebody with a plan. Laudable behavior. Give that kid a standing ovation for working so hard. The actions, though, meet the Oxford Dictionary definition of “greed” namely “intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food.” I think it’s far better to praise this young man for trying to make something of himself than it is to castigate him for the sin of greed.
I have heard the term greed used in at least four separate gambling contexts recently. Perhaps you didn’t hear of these particular instances, but I’m confident you’ve heard of similar ones.
The first was on a video poker bulletin board where somebody posted a picture of a $1,500 jackpot on a quarter Triple Double Bonus Ultimate X game with the note, “Unfortunately the greed took over and I kept playing and ended up with only $700. I hate when that happens!”
The second followed a story about another Las Vegas casino planning on charging for parking. This comment by a player who was unhappy with the casino’s decision started off with “Greed! Greed! Greed!”
The third was a comment from a quarter player who was mad at all the five dollar players for being greedy and winning all the drawings.
The fourth was about a player who hit three royal flushes in two weeks at a casino after which the casino kicked him out. The comment from another player was, “Serves him right for being so greedy!”
These examples do not follow the Oxford Dictionary definition. The first case resulted from normal swings in a game with sky-high variance. If the swings went up, the person would have felt intelligent, skillful, and proud. When the swings went down, the player blamed greed. To me, it’s a case of the player either not understanding the normal swings of the game or being a bad loser.
In the second and third example, we have somebody else taking actions that cause our lives to be a little more expensive. Since they did it to us, then they are greedy! I see the world as a bunch of moving parts where each person is trying to do what’s best for himself. I do not expect anybody else to roll over and play dead in order for me to succeed. If they block me going to the left, I go to the right. As our outgoing first lady said recently, “If they go low, we go high.” I do not see this as greed on their part. Or on my part for adjusting to what they are doing.
In the fourth example, the player was greedy because he hit three royals? I don’t know anybody who knows for sure when he’s going to hit his next royal, let alone his next three. Royals happen in their own good time. It is possible you’re going to hit three royals tomorrow. It’s possible it’s going to be months and months before you hit that many.
The player who hits three royal flushes in a short period of time is fortunate. But greedy? Like he did it on purpose just to spite the casino? I might well have some unkind words about a slot director who thinks getting royals quickly is a sign of great skill, but calling the player greedy? I don’t get it.
What would I call greedy? Well, if there was only so much food for, say, four people, then taking more than a fourth of it before others have had a chance to eat would be greedy. If some food was left over at the end, then that’s fair game. Or perhaps two roommates were both trying to get ready to go and they had a deal that 15 minutes in the bathroom at a time was all you got. Someone who took more than that is greedy, in my opinion.
What these examples have in common is that there’s a fixed amount of something and sharing is the name of the game. In this context, greed is refusing to share. In a game situation, where players compete against each other, refusing to share is often the sensible thing to do.
If you think of the world as a closed system and everybody from all lands are brothers, then you can come up with some sense of greed. In this context, you’ll see “green” philosophies, which basically try to save the environment for everybody. Within that context, people who refuse to save the environment are greedy.
But you’re not going to get universal agreement on this. I can easily support a “take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints” philosophy when visiting a national forest. Whether we should shut down a lumber industry to save an endangered species of owl is a topic of spirited emotions on both sides.
If you cannot or will not see the world as a closed system and you believe it is “every man for himself,” then greed isn’t well defined, at least to me. Or perhaps, Gordon Gekko’s “Greed is good!” makes sense. I do not see the world that way, but I’ll be damned if I can figure out exactly where the lines of demarcation go.
Mr. Dancer, I hope you didn’t take the person who spoke the 4th instance seriously. I don’t think they literally believed that the person who got 3 royals in 2 weeks was being greedy. Rather, I think that the comment was a comical version of lament that the commenter hasn’t gotten any royals lately while the object person got 3 royals. In other words, with tongue in cheek, and a slight grin, the commenter is saying “Unfair!” And the commenter doesn’t believe that the triple winner or anyone else can “take” a royal whenever they want to, like taking a cookie out of a jar. I’m sure the commenter knows that it’s luck as to whether a player gets dealt the cards that complete a royal. Greed is clearly a knowing and intentional action in which a person is sure they can obtain an extra amount or number of something, and that at least one other person will be unfairly deprived of their fair share in the process. This is not at all what happens when someone gets a royal, and the commenter surely knows it.
I once said, “This city (Las Vegas) is a monument to greed.” The person I was talking to said, “No, it is a monument to money.” That was many years ago. After reading your article, I think I’m more confused about the meaning of greed than you say you are. I guess the key words in the dictionary definition are “intense” and “selfish”. But those could apply to ambition, as well. I have heard many people in casinos remark, “I was winning, but then I got greedy.” So, I think most of us recreational gamblers succumb to the casino’s attempt to keep us playing longer at games where you have a decided disadvantage. I have followed your advice and do always look for the machines with the best pay tables, and with the better promotions. Having said that, I am now having difficulty with my copy of WinPoker 6.0. In 2014, I got Windows 7. The game worked fine on that platform. Then I upgraded to Windows 10. WinPoker 6.0 was still working fine. However, just a few days or weeks ago, something happened. I could not get the game to come up. So, today, I pulled out my disc and reinstalled WinPoker 6.0. It installed as it is supposed to, but the cards are all blank. I think it must have something to do with the regular updates that are downloaded for Windows 10. For some reason I now have all blank cards. The face cards, Jack, Queen, and King, show only a small face of a Jack, Queen or King, and they are not different by suit. No numbered cards will appear. So now the game is useless to me, unless I can figure out how to get it working again. I have already tried deleting the program folder completely and reinstalling it. It still does not work properly. Do you have any idea how to fix it. I tried the help button and tried downloading something for Windows 7, which is my base program, but that did not work. Please help.
Staying more than 15 minutes in the bathroom is not greedy but is inconsiderate. Greedy has more to do with money and material things.
I sold WinPoker for several years — and still use it and recommend it (along with Video Poker for Winners and Wolf Video Poker). I am no associated with the product in any way.
Address all of your WinPoker concerns to Dean Zamzow [email protected]. He should be able to help you
I guess the greed moniker is often applied after someone’s behavior lead’s to disaster. For instance, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates seem to want more and more fame and money but as long as their success continues, they are not considered greedy.
I live in Philadelphia and consider the policies and general attitude of the Sugar House Casino to be greedy for reasons I might have mentioned before on this site. It’s the only casino within the city limits and it’s a stone’s throw from some of the city’s most densely-populated neighborhoods. And, its powers-to-be are taking full advantage of their position (no full pay video poker machines; 8 deck blackjack with lousy penetration, etc.).
I’m sure many serious businesspersons consider Sugar House’s behavior very smart and fiscally sound and not greedy at all. However, what happens when Live Casino Hotel opens in Philadelphia’s stadium district just a few miles from Sugar House? And, what if Live offers players better odds and most of Sugar House’s abandon it? And, what if Sugar House goes bankrupt or even closes down?
I’m sure some, if not all, of the same businesspersons who lauded Sugar House for flaunting its advantages will then say they were greedy for being too shortsighted and not cultivating a loyal clientele.
Though you think the Sugar House Casino is greedy, you might want to look at Pennsylvania with one of the highest taxes on gambling in the country which forces the casino to figure out how to pay the tax and still make enough money to run their business. Harrahs in Chester is not that far away and their machines are no better.
I drive right past the Pennsylvania casinos to go to AC to get better machines and comps in a state that has a much lower tax. AC is catching on and starting to charge in many ways similar to LV as the greedy larger casino corporations are now looking to make up for all those down years.
There shouldn’t be any conundrum. The OED blew it. The word they needed to use was “excessive.” Greed is EXCESSIVE desire for something–by whatever standards “excessive” may be measured. It is therefore a subjective concept.
For instance, given that a casino is basically a money factory and only a group of retarded baboons could fail to make money running one, and that Vegas visitation is continually setting records, resort fees and paid parking are greedy. A little more nuanced is when the big VP player hogs a drawing. He is essentially turning a collective good into a personal benefit. It is unlikely that the casino offered the drawing to enhance some wealthy AP’s bottom line; it is more likely that they wished to attract customers. A single player sucking up 90% of the tickets obviates that purpose, which eventually leads to–fewer and worse drawings. So that’s greedy on the part of the AP.
The guy who won $1500-minus-$800 was castigating himself because he had managed to win big at a negative EV game and he felt he should have been content with that. He, in fact, should have quit, and walked away whistling (never to play that machine again–ha!). He was indeed greedy to think that the big hit could happen again.
The three-royal comment was almost certainly tongue-in-cheek.
Now, that 450-pound woman stuffing dinner rolls in her purse at the buffet…
I’m sure you’re right about the tax situation, AC Gambler, though I’m going to have to disagree. Let’s first look at blackjack.
Chester (Harrah’s Philadelphia), in response to competition from Sugar House, has gone from 8 decks to six with very good to excellent penetration. Also, they, by rule, now always have two $5 tables, 24 hours a day and, as a result, several $10 tables. They also have few if any of those Darth Vader-resembling continuous-shuffling machines.
Sugar House, on the other hand, uses 8 decks with lousy penetration (dealers have to place cut card by a groove on the side of the shoe) AND all their blackjack games start at $15 (never, ever a lower table). In addition, Sugar House still uses continuous-shufflers on about half of its BJ tables.
Now, let’s look at video poker:
You are correct that Chester’s (Harrah’s Philadelphia’s) video poker offerings are nothing to write home about; however, once again, they still beat Sugar House’s. According to vpFREE2.com, Chester has at least a few $5 and $10 9/6 JOB machines. The best one can get at Sugar House is 8/6 JOB when playing $1 (twenty-five and fifty cents are all 8/5). And, even in the high-limit room, $5 and higher JOB is only 8/6–and might even be 8/5 (I have to check that again).
If, as you say, it were just about taxes, then Harrah’s Philadelphia couldn’t afford to offer better odds at all; as slim as they might be.
The same goes for Atlantic City. Again, I agree that Philly gamblers are much better off taking the extra time and expense and heading to the city that Burt Lancaster in the movie “Atlantic City” referred to as “the lungs of Philadelphia”; however, I believe the reason has less to do with taxes than it has to do with AC being a struggling, if not dying, gambling destination.
Parx has the same greed ,no full pay VP,high minimins at table also Harrahs at Chester no 9/6vp
Two people exhibit the same behavior. You like Fred and think of him as ambitious. You dislike Bob and call him greedy. Greed is just another derogatory term applied to people who we disapprove of.
Parx has Northeast Philly and Bucks County locked up and Sugar House has the inner city all to itself. Yes, their behavior could be dictated by higher taxes to a degree but I find it interesting that neither has any competition. And, the one Pennsylvania casino that has been hurt by the presence of another, Chester (Harrah’s Philadelphia), is all-of-a-sudden offering better odds.
Interestingly, for those who don’t know, Parx will presently provide Sugar House with some serious competition as Parx’s owners are partnering with the owners of Maryland Live to open the Live Casino I mention in my original comment. I have no doubt (I’d bet) it will surely change Sugar House’s tune and possibly put Chester, which is already struggling, out of business.
Bob, my apologies. My computer updated, and now the cards are again visible. But, thanks for the link to Dean Zamzow. I credit this software for helping me almost as much as your book and Dan Paymar’s book on optimum play.
That’s like saying that “criminal” is a term applied to people who we disapprove of. Actually, it’s a term applied to criminals, just like “greed” is a term applied to greedy people. In each case, there’s an element of subjectivity (and context). I thought I explained that already.
Greed, by definition, exceeds some kind of norm. It is the point at which ambition becomes excessive. I do not consider the distinction between ambitious and greedy to depend on the person, even though you falsely and ignorantly say that I do.
Kevin Lewis,
I was replying to the Dancer’s column not your post. I was expressing my own opinion and not “falsely and ignorantly” saying anything about you.
Ah greed. Want to understand it?
First example, the cartoon character Scrooge McDuck.
Second example the movie at Christmas time Eboneezer Scrooge.
Third example, the quote “Greed is the lust for money”
Fourth example, any monopoly.
Basically greed is the all consuming need to posses and control anything to the exclusion of all others and not to step on another commenters toes, Bill Gates is a contemporary example of greed. Warren Buffet, to my knowledge never “excluded all others” and was just an advantage player.
Hope this helps you to understand greed Bob.