The lure of the pokies Ben and Mark were non-identical twins doing their final year of high school. You wouldn’t even know they were brothers let alone twins, they were so different. Ben – tall, slim and dark – had always excelled in art and music, and wanted to be a graphic artist. Mark – blonde and built like a rugby player – was studying marketing, and planning to become a real estate agent, with the aim of making his first million dollars by the age of 30. Despite their differences, they were good mates, and both worked part-time as ushers at the local cinema. Both got their drivers licences as soon as they could, and each has been saving towards his first car. Ben had saved $5,800 which he reckoned was enough for his first car – and he’d already started looking for one. Mark had earned about the same as Ben – but he’d spent more of his money on expensive clothes, going out and, most recently, an iPod. So Mark had only about $2,600 left. Mark also had decided that he wanted a flash car – had set his heart on BMW; second hand, of course, but a BMW. He reckoned that the appearance of success would attract real success. And who’d buy real estate from someone who drives a bomb? The cheapest reasonable second-hand BMW he’d seen was $12,950. And even though it was pretty old, he was a long way short of being able to afford it. For their 18th birthday, Ben and Mark’s parents, who are pretty cool, threw them a fantastic party at home. About 80 of their friends came. They had a marquee in the backyard, and hired a DJ. The dozen or so friends who were still there at 1.30am decided to go to the local club with Ben and Mark – the first time the brothers could go legally. When they got to the club, after a round of drinks, they all started to play the pokies. After about 20 minutes, Mark and their friends Michael and Leigh were all ahead in the gambling – and shouted the next round of drinks. Michael and Leigh were ahead $25 and $15 each – but Mark was ahead $50. Their other friends – and Ben – were losing a bit of money; between $5 and $20 each. But they’d had a laugh watching each other’s fortunes go up…. and down. So they quit while they were only slightly behind and went off to hear the band play. Only Mark stayed at the pokes. At one stage, he’d won $200, and he thought if he could just get a few more wins like that …. But then he put the $200 he’d won through the pokies again and, though he’d had a few small wins along the way, after about 20 minutes, it was all gone. Mark thought that was bad luck. He figured he’d been playing that machine for so long without winning a good prize – that a win must be just around the corner. So he left his drink and nuts at the machine and hurried off to the club’s ATM and withdrew $200 from his savings account. He went back to what he felt was ‘his’ machine and started putting the money through, dollar by dollar. He got a rhythm going. And he felt excited, drawn to keep playing, to hear the reels spin, to see the panel light up – drawn ever to the win he felt was just a few spins away. Or even, the next spin. But again, in about 20 minutes all the money was gone.

Ben and Melissa came and told him the band was really good, and to ask Mark to join them. But Mark said not yet. He said he was enjoying himself – he’d join them soon. Again Mark put a hold on his machine and this time he took $500 out of the ATM. He wasn’t going to let the poker machine get the better of him. It had $400 of his money and he wanted it back, at the very least. This time he played multiple lines – so he put $5.00 through with each spin. Now all his $500 was gone in just over 15 minutes. He couldn’t believe it. Nine hundred dollars! A win must be coming up so soon. He couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t stand not having had another decent win. He’d had the odd $10 or so – but that was gone in seconds. He needed a decent win. He’d lost $900! He was sweating now and worried. But he had to try to get some of his losses back. He ‘held’ the poker machine again with his drink and nuts, and went off to the ATM. He tried to withdraw $1000 but was denied. He had a daily limit of $1000 on withdrawals and he’d already taken out $700 that day. So he withdrew $300. He tried to look cool as he headed for ‘his’ machine. He was feeling sick now, and knew the only way he could really feel better was if he got to the machine and recovered his losses. This $300 was his last chance tonight to get ahead. Or even to get back to square one. Luck HAD to go his way this time. But it didn’t. Mark gambled the money until it was all gone. He sat at the machine, not knowing what to do. He felt at a total loss. He couldn’t believe it. It was like a terrible nightmare. He’d lost $1200 – the $200 he’d come out with (birthday money from his parents) plus $1000 of his savings. Now he only had $1600 left in the bank and it seemed he was further than ever from his dream car and dream future. A kind of paralysis set in. He couldn’t leave the machine. He couldn’t let someone else come and get the win that was just beyond his reach. He was desolate. Powerless. In a panic. Then Ben and Melissa bounced up, happily chatting, and asked if Mark would come and join them watching the band. Mark said, ‘Sure, in a few minutes. Hey, you couldn’t lend me 50 bucks, could you?’

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION What decisions could Mark have made before he started gambling that could have prevented him losing so much money? Was there anything more his brother or friends could have done to help him? What’s Mark’s best move now? Should he tell anyone what happened? If so, who should he tell? What do you think are the key personality differences between Ben and Mark that contributed to their different approaches to gambling?

* * * * * * *