If you missed the other night of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart fire up your Tivo and try to catch a re-run. Samantha Bee does a report on poker that’s absolutely classic. He’s part of it:
Samantha Bee:
The best part about poker is there’s no down side. Last year people won more than one billion dollars playing poker. And casinos made twenty-seven billion just by being around those people. But some people actually hate the surefire money of poker; like gambling addiction counsler, Arnie Wexler.
Arnie Wexler:
When it’s on TV it looks glitzy. They’ve got young girls on there. People are coming there and winning money. But in the long run these people will all be destroyed.
Samantha Bee [voiceover]:
Wexler has a reason to be bitter.
Arnie Wexler:
I’m a recovering compulsive gambler. I placed my last bet on April 10th 1968. I gambled on everything. I gambled on how many cockroaches are coming out of the, uh, under the rug. By the time I stopped gambling, I owed thirty-two people three years annual salary.
Samantha Bee:
But what’s it like for people who don’t suck at gambling?
Arnie Wexler [confused look]:
Gimme that question again.
Samantha Bee:
What’s it like for people who don’t suck at gambling?
Arnie Wexler [looking even more confused]:
You lost me with that one.
Samantha goes on to interview Michael Sandberg, a Princeton college student who has made over $90,000 playing online poker. The interview returns to Arnie and Samantha.
Arnie Wexler:
I’ve heard a lot of stories about that guy from Princeton. I’ve heard he’s made some money, I’ve heard he’s lost some money. The longer he plays the less money he’s gonna have. That’s the bottom line with gamblers.
I had a young man that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his parents to pay off gambling debts. And that’s a true story.
Samantha Bee [looking very concerned]:
Oh man. That is just terrible. Tsk. That is awful.
Samantha Bee [now with a huge grin]:
Ok. Actually, you know when I said that was terrible? That was me bluffing! That’s the skill that’s gonna make me rich!
You gotta see it. It’s classic!