Son of a Son of a Gambler

Business Lessons From a Bookmaking Front

Don McNay | Posted 04.12.2012

Don McNay

There was one factor that made the dry cleaners a smart business decision. In its back room there was a bookmaking operation and an ongoing card game.

Bubba and Me

Don McNay | Posted 04.09.2012

Don McNay

Bubba's wife and son couldn't make the Masters ceremony. Instead they get the rest of their lives to have Bubba in his role as an adoptive dad. It's not as exclusive as being a Masters winner but in making any impact on the world, it's more important.

Elvis and the Definition of Happiness

Don McNay | Posted 11.17.2011

Don McNay

"I believe the key to happiness is someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to." -Elvis Presley The King had it right. If...

Betting on a 2011 Kentucky Derby Winner

Don McNay | Posted 07.05.2011

Don McNay

When making your Derby bet, forget all the high powered systems and strategies and give it your best guess.

Ashley Judd and the Quest for Perfection

Don McNay | Posted 06.23.2011

Don McNay

Ashley Judd appears to have a perfect life, and being the sibling of a perfect child can be tough. Just like Wynonna, I have a problem with food.

Wisdom From a Wealth Wizard

Don McNay | Posted 06.09.2011

Don McNay

I've spent nearly 30 years around the financial business. I've known a lot of "paper gurus" who can talk a decent game but really don't practice what they preach.

Keeneland: The Book

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

Just give me one more crack at the ol' race track -The Mills Brothers As the son of a professional gambler, I spent a lot of my childhood at race t...

Big Town, Small Town, Big Time, Journalists From Boston University

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

Boston University could not have produced two more different journalists than my friends Joe Nocera and Samantha Swindler.

The Opening Round in the Battle to Implement Health Care Reform

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

A recent battle in my home state of Kentucky gives a good preview of how the national battle to implement health care reform is going to go -- kicking and screaming.

UPDATED: What to Do if You Win the Mega Million Jackpot & can you stay anonymous

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

You would think that after having overcome trillion-to-one odds, the idea of running through the money would seem silly to most lottery winners. But 90 percent of people do just that within five years of winning the jackpot.

Bill Collectors Communicating With the Dead

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

The Wall Street Journal posted a story about Portfolio Recovery Associates, one of the nation's largest debt collectors, using the signature of a woman named Martha Kunkle, who died in 1995.

Have We Lost Our Common Sense?

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

Corbin, Kentucky's Bob Terrell is a man rooted in small-town wisdom.

Byron Crawford, Bard of the Backroads

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

Crawford's new book, Kentucky Footnotes, appears to be anthology of some his most interesting columns from his 29 years as an award-winning columnist. It's more than that.

Financial Fitness and Physical Fitness

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

Most of us want to be physically fit, but very few of us are. The same holds true with financial security. As my father (and many others) used to say, "A lot of people want to go to heaven but no one wants to die to get there."

Josh Hamilton, Pete Rose and the Power of Redemption

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me. John Newton Before he played in his first major league baseball game in 2007, I ...

Be First in Your Age Group to Embrace Technology

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

The New York Times recently had a fascinating article about a car that Google is working on that can drive itself. I want one.

Eat, Pray, Love and the Economic Crisis

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

Liz Gilbert said of Italy, "In a world of disorder and disaster and fraud, only artistic excellence is incorruptible." I have pondered her insight for weeks. I keep asking myself the essential question. Is the US headed the way of Italy?

Bailouts Don't Work: The Lotto Winners Study

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

You can see why bailouts fail. Wall Street and lottery winners have a common bond. They have access to easy money without restraints.

The Hangover From America's Bailout Party (VIDEO)

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

For a decade, Wall Street was playing funny money games, and many Americans also felt like they were invited to the celebration. We were living in fantasy land, but the fantasy is over and we woke up to a nightmare.

America's Hangover From the Bailout Party

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

I've been reading Maria Bartiromo's new book, The Weekend That Changed Wall Street. A better title might have been "The Weekend that Changed the World." It was America's chance to bottom out. We didn't.

Wall Street and Legalized Loan Sharks

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

If there was ever a shining example of why you should Move Your Money from Wall Street, legalized loan sharking is a good one.

Was "Financial Reform" Really Robin Hood In Reverse?

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

"Financial Reform" will be a boom for people in the payday loan business. There will be many new customers who need bank-like services. It's almost like Congress implemented a plan of "Reverse Robin Hood."

After Goldman Give Up, Why Would Wall Street Be Scared of SEC?

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

My father was a professional gambler and used to carry a roll of money that he called "walking around" money. Walking around money is what the SEC settled for in the Goldman Sachs case today.

Citi Field: Baseball's Symbol of Why You Should Move Your Money

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

Houston was able to find a stadium sponsor to replace Enron. A city as big as New York should be able to find a sponsor for the Mets' field that is not funded by the American taxpayers.

On Winning the Lottery, "Sin City" & "Big Money"

Don McNay | Posted 05.25.2011

Don McNay

Don McNay has been on a book tour, promoting his book, Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers, and What to Do When You Win the Lottery. In a ...