Two for the Money

Last night I watched Two for the Money, a movie (apparently based on a true story) about an ex-college football star who is forced into retirement due to a kneww injury. Due to his background in football, he ends up making a career by advising gamblers on which sports teams to bet on. Predicatably, he soon looses his clairvoyant ability and begins making very bad recommendations, thereby driving his boss' company down the drain. It is a classic tale of a fall from grace, but nonetheless effectively captures the dark side of the gaming industry. Although the critics pretty much hate this film, I found it rather engaging despite the excessive work-out scenes and random throw-away characters like this Asian pony-tailed limo driver and a supposedly very attractive lust interest, both of whom are totally irrelevant to the plot.

One interesting point that was made in the film was that the problem with gambling addicts lay in an inherent flaw within their psyche -- the thrill of losing and realising that you're still alive. Sounds pretty bizarre, but I think there is some perverted pleasure that can be derived from casting oneself as the victim. (See China's Century of Humiliation and the consequent annual National Humiliation Day) If you're interested in this dynamic of victimhood, I would recommend a book called Games People Play about transactional psychology and how human interaction can be classified into a series of "games".