Ode to Laura and JR Bellande

[mrburr]

For all you guys who are talking about what a great guy JRB is, you should keep in mind he is an addicted gambler with a serious gambling addiction which has probably ruined his life, and hanging out with all you "pros" in the poker world and enternatining you with his personality is not doing him any favors.

I remember when he first started playing in LA 6-7 years ago in the mid limit (by todays standards) mix games there. He owned a sushi bar and was a pool huster and was definitely not busto. He probably blew through 1,000,000+ those first couple years playing poker. I remember he would play almost every night (very badly), run out of money, and then have to take a "loan" from one of the pros, and then when he invariably lost that money too he would have to take money from his bar to pay his debts/stay in action. Needless to say, with his gambling problem he was not able to keep his bar. Obviously he is an extremely charming and charismatic person who is a lot of fun to be around and seems to always enjoy himself wherever he goes(although he is definitely a jerk at the table, especially when he is losing or winning a lot), but dont kid yourself. He obviously would have been a lot more in life if he had never picked up a card.

I have not seen or played with JRB for several years, but I know from what I did observe of him that there is a 0% chance gambling will every be anything but destructive for him, and I am sure most of you "pros" who make your living off of him and many people just like him, realize this. I dont really know why I went through the effort to make this account (I am a lurker, not a regular poster) and go through this rant. I guess it bothers me a lot when I see all you poker pros (I am a semi-professional player so I am no way absolving myself) saying what a great guy someone is when you are basically making your living off of him and people like him, who have a sickness they cannot control.

There is and always will be a certain level of hyprocrisy among us professional poker players who make our livings off of other peoples sicknesses, and I know we all find ways to raionalize it and make it ok in our own minds. But it still is important to always keep things in perspective and realize the next time you are hanging out and partying with "the fish," and defending what a great guy he is, how you are really just leeching off of them and what kind of a friend/human being you really are.