At the behest of long time blog reader and friend, MMinWa, I thought you might enjoy three of the greatest gambling moments of my life. Please allow an introduction and disclaimer. I started gambling on golf at age 12 and continued on for the next 50 years. I managed to lose a semester's college tuition playing two card guts when I bet the pot with a pair of queens and someone at the table turned over a pair of kings. I have gone completely broke on at least three occasions in my lifetime with no visible way of bailing myself out. This is where my disclaimer comes in. Gambling is all about math. The people who offer gambling opportunities understand this concept well. They have an insurmountable mathematical edge with which they will beat you bloody. In horseracing, the track/house edge can be as high as 30%. In sports parlays, the house edge is 25% or greater. In straight proposition betting, the minimum house edge is 10%. Casino table games rely on math as well giving the house

 On September 30 of 2021, I was admitted to our local hospital with covid 19. I was released on Oct. 17. I was unvaccinated and remain so. I wanted to tell my story on behalf of all the people who died and those of us who narrowly survived.  On March 11 of 2020, my wife and I had just returned from Las Vegas. We had been staying at the Wynn and went to dine at the buffet on the evening of the 10th. They had placed a stand with hand sanitizer on it near the entrance to the restaurant and employees were serving up portions of food rather than allowing patrons to do that. Nobody had masks on. Not yet. That was when I realized that covid was going to be a giant pain in the ass.  We returned home the following day and quarantined ourselves. I began to read about covid all over the world nearly every day. I looked at pre existing conditions, mortality rates, read other countries accounts, and dutifully wore my mask when we ventured out.  My two covid sins. I was 60 years old and 35 pounds ov