I snicker sometimes

Much has been said over the years about gambling. Usually it is the Catholic Church hollering and it's about casino gambling. The thing is casino gambling will not attract the thousands who seem hooked on the Daily 3.

There is a saying " sar oo par lay whe doovaᾓ larportoo, abar cabanoo". This is so true of the Daily 3. It is not generally thought of as gambling. Many Dominicans are getting hooked to this daily gambling. Some people are getting sick over it. Most people do not realize the odds of winning or losing and believe that the Lotto office is giving them a coco macak. Some people think that playing ten numbers twice a day give them a right to win not realizing that there are hundreds of other numbers or combinations that can come up.

Some people rush to play close to closing time as they believe that the lotto office will not have time to stop the number they have chosen from coming up. Some people get angry and frustrated that a number that they have played for weeks on end comes up the day that they do not play it.

Some say 'is tricks' when there is a string of numbers where a digit is doubled not knowing that there are more numbers with a doubled digit than there are with no doubling. Though every number has an equal chance, the odds are that a number with a digit that's doubled will come up often.

People are taking the Daily 3 seriously and big spenders are getting stressed over losses. The fact that the game is played twice a day makes it worse for the players not better. The stressful situation is doubled. People cannot afford to miss in case their number comes out. Children play and are used by adults to buy their tickets not realizing it is just like sending them to buy alcohol and cigarettes.

We are a people who let the tree grow big in the wrong spot before we attempt to cut it down. We do not usually nip in the bud or kill in the shell. This widespread and daily gambling encouraged by the lotto should be checked. The Daily 3 is like a drug to many. People hear about alcoholics anonymous but hardly ever about gambling anonymous. Gambling like alcohol or any abused drug creates problems.

A government is there to govern and manage the affairs of the people, to ensure that the nation is fed, clothed, educated and is healthy. This wanton gambling by even minors is going to create a serious problem for many in time to come. Already it is said that 3 out 10 Dominicans suffer from some form of mental illness. LOOKOUT. There is of course the financial burden.

I like Americans way of checking their money by the year. People who play lets say $30.00 a day do not usually add it up to the $180.00 it becomes at the end of a week or the $ 720.00 at the end of a month to the $8,640.00 a year. A sizable sum. If I buy a packet of Nescafe at the shop which sells it at 65 cents per instead of the one which sells it at 48 cents then am throwing away $62.05 just on coffee per year if I drink one packet a day. Imagine ten items where you can save $62 a year . Right there is $620.00 with which you can have a merry Christmas even if is just one ham and one bottle of wine it can buy.

I suggest that the Daily 3 and those games get back to the one time a day. Relieve the people of some stress. Some people may clamor but a lot more will feel better and richer too.

Take care of the pennies and the pounds will surrender.

Life is a gamble at terrible odds- if it was a bet you wouldn't take it. Quote from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

Leonardo Joshua