Oops

Good news: I won $50 in the backyard Superbowl pool!
Bad news: My nephew won $60 in the backyard Superbowl pool.

We now realize it's probably not a good idea to introduce a kid to gambling at the tender age of 7. It started out so innocently, Dad bought a $5 square for him then Little Man won the final score booty. The kid was so nervous in the last few minutes of the game that he had to watch it alone in a another room. Dad watched him pace and count down the clock then leap into his arms. He's now got enough to buy the Gamecube he's been eyeing. My brother has so far refused to buy him a video game because he didn't want a glassy eyed kid fused to his tv all day. On the other hand, he believes if the kid saves he should be able to buy what he wants (provided it's not crack or porn). Looks like a brand new Gamecube is on it's way to my bro's house. Oops!

We should have known this might be a problem a couple of years ago. At a family Fourth of July party, we had a blackjack table set up so someone taught a bunch of kids how to play. My nephew was about 5 at the time and was the dealer. I wandered by and thought they were just pretending to play. I then heard my nephew say (I kid you not) "Dude, you should have doubled down on that." I sort of did a double take and looked at the one adult standing by. He looked at me, shrugged and said "He's right." Uh oh.