Tucsons local bookie, The Baron, wants to quit, and the Tucson weekly has a very interesting and funny article about it:
The Baron wants out. He’s had enough. Enough of the all-nighters, the booze, the bad habits and most of all, the degenerate gamblers–the DGs, as he calls ’em–and their worthless excuses when it comes time to pay up.

“It’s a gut wrench, this life,” the local bookie says with a shrug as he orders a White Russian to calm his stomach.

This quote caught my eye:
“Men don’t bet to win,” he says. “They bet to almost lose.”

What he means: The gambling high only lasts while the action is in question. If you’re up 50 points at halftime, you’re no longer even interested in watching the game. But if you’re only winning by a field goal, you’re glued to the set, cursing every blown play and turnover, gleefully howling with every first down.

That’s kinda interesting, because it could be part of the drive behind your typical entrepreneur also. As long as a project is new and shiny and in doubt, it’s interesting. Once it really gets going and it’s a sure thing, it’s no longer interesting.

“Men don’t bet to win, they bet to almost lose.” That’s poetry.