McCain's Mostly Ignored Gambling Problem

Today the Internet is rife with speculation about whether John McCain heard the questions Rick Warren asked Barack Obama. McCain seems to have done predictably well answering the questions, whether he knew them or not. In fact anyone would think the man had a permanent pass. All he does is say how imperfect he is, engage in a Chaplinsque facial self-denigration, and all is well.

Even the polls seem to be with him. Three days tied in Gallup and a boost in Ohio.

This despite evidence that the man is a raving neocon, the admission that he will do what he can to wrest choice from the province of women and his fatuous notion that we can run a government on fumes.

But what most sticks in my craw is the plain proof that the man is close to being a compulsive gambler, certified as such by at least some of our mainstream media, and no one to my knowledge has directly confronted him on the subject.

McCain is a documented craps player. He has been known to play craps on impulse for 14 hours at a stretch.

Of the game of craps, Anthony Holden comments, "We poker players don't call poker gambling. It is a game of skill. Craps is an absurd game of luck. You may have thrilling short term wins but only madmen play craps."

Matthew Yglesias notes, "The McCains own eleven houses and spent over $200,000 on 'household staff' in 2007 so I suppose he can afford tens of thousands of dollars in gambling losses every year. At the same time, you wouldn't want someone to enjoy 'playing against the odds' with the country's public policy. The fact that McCain seems to think there's some kind of 'betting strategy' that can turn craps into a winning game also raises some questions about his math."

How serious is the gambling urge for McCain? What does the love of craps say about his "realism" regarding actual battles and conflicts? Would McCain be willing to gamble with human lives?

Connie Bruck puts it like this:

The moment the car stopped at McCain's hotel in downtown New Orleans, he set out at his usual fast clip for Harrah's, across the street. McCain is an avid gambler. Wes Gullett, a close friend who worked for McCain for years, told me that they used to play craps in Las Vegas in fourteen-hour stints, standing at the tables from 10 a.m. to midnight. 'Craps is addictive,' McCain remarked, and he headed for the fifteen-dollar-minimum-bet tables.

Image of McCain at The Tables

Michael Scherer and Michael Weisskopf says:

"Over time he (McCain) gave up the drinking bouts, but he never quite kicked the periodic yen for dice. In the past decade, he has played on Mississippi riverboats, on Indian land, in Caribbean craps pits and along the length of the Las Vegas Strip. Back in 2005 he joined a group of journalists at a magazine-industry conference in Puerto Rico, offering betting strategy on request. 'Enjoying craps opens up a window on a central thread constant in John's life,' says John Weaver, McCain's former chief strategist, who followed him to many a casino. 'Taking a chance, playing against the odds.' Aides say McCain tends to play for a few thousand dollars at a time and avoids taking markers, or loans, from the casinos, which he has helped regulate in Congress. 'He never, ever plays on the house,' says Mark Salter, a McCain adviser. The goal, say several people familiar with his habit, is never financial. He loves the thrill of winning and the camaraderie at the table.

"Only recently have McCain's aides urged him to pull back from the pastime. In the heat of the G.O.P. primary fight last spring, he announced on a visit to the Vegas Strip that he was going to the casino floor. When his aides stopped him, fearing a public relations disaster, McCain suggested that they ask the casino to take a craps table to a private room, a high-roller privilege McCain had indulged in before. His aides, with alarm bells ringing, refused again, according to two accounts of the discussion.

"He clearly knows that this is on the borderline of what is acceptable for him to be doing," says a Republican who has watched McCain play. 'And he just sort of revels in it.'"

Another Image of McCain Playing Craps -- In Las Vegas.

A survey of McCain's gambling with many links.

Does McCain have a record of wins and losses? If so, should these be shared with the public? McCain has said craps is addictive. Is he craps addict? Has his gambling led to any questionable conflicts of interest?

I have found that mention of McCain's gambling habit is a persuasive argument to people who are on the fence and wondering who to vote for. The association of gambling with the term neocon and observation of McCain's growing synchronicity with Bush positions is generally enough to convince an inquirer. But these days the teflon mantel seems to be moving to McCain. And to my knowledge no one has raised these questions directly.

Yet.

Comments

[JennyJay]

To shoot craps at a 14 hour stretch means you are obsessive compulsive. Which means your
habit controls your actions - and not your brain . Now that is an out of control person that I don't want any where near the white house.
This race should not even be close, what is wrong with America?
Are we all just plain DUMB?

[Stephen C. Rose - Huffpost Blogger]

The reason I feel this is important is that we have the power as individuals to make the MSM sit up and take notice. Publishing this here is a start. But if peop;e promote it, it will be circulated on blogs and eventually the press will need to ask McCain directly about this.

This is the DIGG link:

http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/McCain_s_Mostly_Ignored_Gambling_Problem

[Pupadup4oBama]

Stephen - thank you VERY much for this article.
As I've mentioned before, there was that article in TIME about the candidates "gambling" preferences. Obama - poker, McCain - craps....p­oker a game of strategy and knowing how to bluff and being able to read other people well. As you mentioned above craps is more for the rush and camaraderie. Yeah, that's swell, but we've already had 8 years of a guy that you want to have a beer with.

[grata2ude]

He sure is quick gamble on others lives too. McCain....­...life is a game of craps. MSM will never expose this. They are enamored with him. Like they are afraid of saying something bad about their old man or grandpap

[sowhatdemos]

Not all of us but there is a lot of racism still out there. We have to work our butts off and keep turning out voters if we are going to win this thing in November. Encourage people to vote early and avoid the chaos on election day.
If MsSame wins this the entire country is SCREWED. Maybe he'll lose his temper in the debates!

[Pupadup4oBama]

That is what I'm hoping for - either his temper, or his inconsistencies and gaffes will get to him.
Yes, he got a "bump" from this "debate"..­.but I have a feeling come September when we see the candidates side by side, this bump will turn into a sinkhole.

[goldnchyl]

afraid of change. people are petrified to examine their own hearts and realize their own deepest flaws

[Roxanna]

Well Jenny Jay
Half of Americans don't even read a newspaper let alone a book and another half doesn't even vote.
They get whatever information they get from Television­..

So..... there is a dumbing down for sure of America. Then of course there are all those born agains with Blind following and no Reason

[Cherlesq]

No it's not dunb, it's racist. We'd rather elect a liar, theif and a cheat who addictively gambles because he's white.

[momof3inGA]

Hmmm...

That explains the weird look that McCain gave Rick Warren when he (Warren) quipped that McCain was shooting off responses quickly...­.then dared him to play a hand in poker.

Strange days in the pulpit.

[j mcdouglas]

And does his wife give him a gambling allowance and how much?

Cause it aint his own money he's gambling with... it's his wife's.

[macbabe]

every "crap"s player loses eventually!!