another aspect of the game has been brought forth. the topic challenges require all of the ten contestants to post a certain number of times regarding a specific topic. If the topic challenge is won, a contestant will be selected a random to receive a dossier of any of the other contestants. as the dossiers contain information that contestants won’t reveal, the dossiers may prove worthy during the executions. sometimes the topics hit close to the contestants’ hearts and sometimes disagreements arise on the topic. and sometimes the topics in these challenges are closely related to upcoming challengesÖdoes this mean that the group will get a chance to gamble the jackpot next episode?

"This week's topic is gambling addiction. Do you think gambling addiction is harmful and does it affect the stability of a family?" –cybermolehost

"Yes, on both counts. I can speak from partial experience myself, I guess. I was never addicted to gambling, per se, but there was a point a few years ago where I was gambling a lot more than I should have... or with a lot more than I should have. It didn't take long to notice the way it was beginning to affect my family life at the time (I was married then with no children yet). Gambling is very addictive. I could go to a casino, sit at a blackjack table and spend four hours there before even looking up. And I noticed myself gradually progressing from the low-dollar tables toward higher-dollar tables as well. What does this country revolve around? Money. I don't mean than in a negative way; what I mean is, in order to live, we've got to have it. We exchange dollars for goods and services. Now, what happens when, say, a father spends all his family's money at a casino, loses it, and then can't pay the mortgage payment, the car payment, the utility bill, or put food on the table? That sounds like a worst-case scenario, but even if you scale it down, it's the root of some major trouble. The two things married couples fight about the most are sex and money (and I can vouch for that from experience). If one of the family members is blowing money at a casino, at a weekend poker night with his pals, on sports events, wherever... it's going to eventually lead to trouble, because no one will consistently beat the house. I'm just glad I stopped when I did, because it certainly could have become a lot worse." –john

"Like John, I say yes to both questions. Like any addiction, eventually it will lead to family problems. Gambling is probably worse than some in that it involves money and as Joel Grey says, Money makes the world go around. An interesting question on this addiction is how do you stop it? I mean, nicotine, alcohol, drugs, etc. all work on a physiological level, making the body depend on it. Gambling must be an emotional addiction and to me would be tougher to break." –dave

"The hardest thing about addictions is getting those who are addicted to realize it. If someone doesn't think they're addicted, if they don't think it's a problem - no treatment in the world will help." -annette

"Yes, to both questions. But addictions are PATHETIC! I just can't see how people can not stop themselves. I guess a lack of control but again, thats PATHETIC. Things make them "feel good" but don't you think they know when its wrong? If their addiction starts to hurt their family, I hope they relise it and try to stop. I still think addictions are just an "excuse". I'm pretty straight forward when it comes to these subjects so if I stepped on anybodys shoes TOO BAD LOL" –gina

"I don't think addictions are just an excuse. An excuse to what, destroy your job, your family, lose your home, your self-respect, etc. NO, addictions are very real and just because you happen to be someone without one, don't be so harsh on others. Physical addictions-alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, are incredibly difficult to just stop. The emotional addictions-gambling, over-eating, under-eating, etc. might be even worse because the underlying causes for those are tied up in people's self-image and view of themselves and can take years to overcome." –dave

"Very well said Dave. It's not very fair to be so callused and say that it is an excuse. We all know the old saying about walking a mile in a person's shoes. I don't understand how someone can be so casual while talking about people's addictions." –larry

"Why do people start gambling? Money! Money, money, money. Our whole society, civilization, world is built around money. If you don't have them, you most likely won't survive. But in this materialized world we live in today, to have money for things that are an absolute necessity to survive isn't enough. People want more. We want to brag to our friends, neighbors, family and say, ‘I got a digital camera for Christmas - it's SO amazing. Look at this, I can take pictures whenever, wherever, and get them instant developed and published to my webpage!’" –tine

"I think that a good analagy to look at is the stock market. All the investors think that they'll win money from the stock market but chances are with the house and not with the investor. Investors think that they'll gain money and that they'll put more money in and hope they'll get more. It's the same high that gambling produces; it is not different. The only difference is that the stock market is a smart man's slot machine. the stock market can be predicted in some ways and people can find clues to help them find good stocks, but it's still luck and chance that helps them win and lose." -michelle

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