POOR HENRY
Plenty of people gamble without devastating losses. Gambling doesn’t guarantee devastating losses – nor does it indicate a grand character flaw. Yes, Gribbohm thinks alleging a carnival game was fixed is a plausible defense for being clueless enough to give $2,600 away voluntarily. He kept plowing money into a carnival game... while being totally ignorant of the fact that carnival games are rigged. You might think Gribbohm is uniquely naive. But millions of investors are just as bad as he is. They have no idea that Wall Street is often about the same as a carnival. Wall Street is in the business of selling stocks and bonds. This business generates billions of dollars in fees. It’s a business that allows bankers to drive around in $300,000 cars... afford $10 million homes in the Hamptons... and collect absurd bonuses. That money comes from customers who are encouraged to buy every piece-of-crap security the bankers can come up with. Think about the brokers, lawyers, accountants, and other people you do business with. Always ask what they get out of it. Ask what has to happen for them to make money. When you buy stocks, ask who’s selling them, or who has sold you on the idea of buying them. Know the business you’re in, and know the businesses you deal with. Gribbohm’s second mistake was pursuing easy financial gain.
the ruse. So Gribbohm played and played... He lost $300 within minutes, all he had in his pockets. He went home and fetched another $2,300 – all that remained of his life savings. He returned to the game and lost all that, too. He admitted on camera, “You get caught up in the whole double-or-nothing-I’ve-got-to- win-my-money-back... “ The thing is, many investors are walking in Gribbohm’s shoes every day. They’re making exactly the same mistakes ... Now, you might think the first mistake I’ll point out is that Gribbohm was gambling. It won’t be. Plenty of people gamble without devastating losses. Gambling doesn’t guarantee devastating losses – nor does it indicate a grand character flaw. It’s fine, as long as you limit losses and understand it’s pure entertainment spending, not a legitimate attempt to increase your net worth. In other words, it’s fine as long as you know the game you’re playing. Gribbohm’s first mistake was ignorance of the game he was playing. Gribbohm was on a financial mission. He started playing Tubs of Fun to win an Xbox Kinect video game device (valued at about $100 at the time). When his first attempts were unsuccessful, he ran home, got more money, and kept at it. Gribbohm later filed charges against the game owner, alleging fraud.
48
December 2019
Made with FlippingBook Publishing Software