Gamble

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 -- onlycoins

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.

I never thought Bob

would have sticky fingers.

He did not seem like a thief

who would steal money.

But, some people will do

anything for love of money.

Bob used the money he stole

from his company to gamble again.

This time, he cashed in.

He made a lot of money.

Quickly he was back on his feet.

He had returned

to good financial health.

His company, however,

ended up in the red.

It lost more money than it earned.

The company was no longer profitable.

It did not take long

before my friend's dishonesty

was discovered.

The company investigated

and charged him with stealing.

Bob tried to pass the buck.

He tried to blame someone else

for the deficit.

His lie did not work, however.

He ended up in jail.

Today, I would bet my bottom dollar

that my friend will

never gamble again.

I would bet all I have that

he learned his lesson about gambling.

(MUSIC)

WORDS AND THEIR STORIES,

in VOA Special English,

was written by Jill Moss.

I'm Faith Lapidus.