Gambling -- And Losing
September 22, 2013
Gambling -- And Losing
Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.
Many people believe that "money makes the world go around." Others believe that "money buys happiness."
I do not agree with either idea.
But I do admit that money can make people do strange things. Let me tell you about a person I once knew who liked to play card games for money -- he liked to gamble...
My friend Bob had a problem because he liked to gamble "at all costs" -- he would play at any time and at any price. To take part in a card game such as poker, my friend would have to "ante up" -- he would have to pay a small amount of money at the beginning of the game.
Bob always played with "cold, hard cash" -- only coins and dollar bills. Sometimes my friend would "clean up" -- he would win a lot of money on one card game. He liked to tell me that one day he would "break the bank." What a feeling it must be to win all of the money at a gambling table!
Other times my friend would simply "break even" -- he neither won nor lost money. But sometimes Bob would "lose his shirt" -- he would lose all the money he had. He "took a beating" at the gambling table. When this happened, my friend would have to "go in the hole" -- he would go into debt and owe people money.
Recently, Bob turned to crime after losing all his money. In his job, he "kept the books" for a small business -- he supervised the records of money earned and spent by the company. Although my friend was usually honest, he decided to "cook the books" -- he illegally changed the financial records of the company. This permitted him to "make a fast buck" -- my friend made some quick, easy money dishonestly.
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