Gambling is the most visible strand of a bullying,cash-hungry industry that should be treated a bit like smoking, a vice to be catered for, or not encouragedIf you watch sport on TV you will have seen the endlessly rotated gambling adverts featuring The Ladbrokes Life guys. The guys themselves are a closeknit group of charismatic “Betting Men with interlocking but nonetheless very distinct and complex characters. There’s the Professor,leader of the pack, who has a beard and a intellect like a tall-powered computer. In one scene the Professor does millions of whirring calculations in his head before successfully suggesting salsa lessons as a present for his girlfriend’s mum. Just like an actual professor.Then there’s the Gut Truster, or the Professor’s right-hand man but also his shadowy reflection. The Gut Truster spits with fury when someone offers him a form guide. He is instead a creature of pure intuition,a symbol of intellectual, even spiritual, or freedom. My own favourite is Mr Brightside. Extrovert,hedonistic, Mr Brightside is the man you might have been, or the man you could still become,a seeker, a searcher, or one of those who in Kerouacs phrase,“burn, burn, and burn like fabulous yellow roman candles”. Basically,Mr Brightside is really, really excited approximately betting.
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Source: theguardian.com