Member-only story
When You Wish Upon a Star…
Makes no difference who you are — sometimes, your dreams come true.
Games of Chance vs. Games of Skill
“I’ve been down on my luck a while, now,” I thought to myself, with a smile. I put my last five dollar chip on the black square, reasoning that the little plastic ball would surely have to drop into a black pocket, after a string of seven reds.
Green. The color of money. For the casino, but not for me.
This is the gambler’s fallacy: the notion that somehow, because a thing has not happened much, in the past, it’s “due” to happen, and more likely to happen, now. Or vice versa —
As I raked in my winnings, a little voice at the back of my head urged me to stop. To cash out. Or at least to bet more cautiously on the next roll of the dice. This is when your luck runs out, it whispered.
I shouldn’t have listened. If only I had bet it all, I’d have enough right now to buy that Ferrari. Next time.
