Luck never gives; it only lends.
—Swedish Proverb
Although men of eminent genius have been guilty of all other vices, none worthy of more than a secondary name has ever been a gamester. Either an excess of avarice, or a deficiency of excitability, is the cause of it; neither of which can exist in the same bosom with genius, patriotism, or virtue.
—Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864) English Writer, Poet
Bets, at the first, were fool-traps, where the wise, like spiders, lay in ambush for the flies.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
Whenever you see a gaming table be sure to know fortune is not there. Rather she is always in the company of industry.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
If thou desire to raise thy fortunes by the casts of fortune, be wise betimes, lest thou repent too late.—What thou winnest, is prodigally spent.—What thou losest, is prodigally lost.—It is an evil trade that prodigality drives, and a bad voyage where the pilot is blind.
—Francis Quarles (1592–1644) English Religious Poet
All gaming, since it implies a desire to profit at the expense of others, involves a breach of the tenth commandment.
—Richard Whately (1787–1863) English Philosopher, Theologian
Horse sense is a good judgement which keeps horses from betting on people.
—W. C. Fields (1880–1946) American Actor, Comedian, Writer
A Gentleman is a man who will pay his gambling debts even when he knows he has been cheated.
—Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) Russian Novelist
The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that is the way to bet.
—Damon Runyon (1884–1946) American Journalist, Short-Story Writer
The roulette table pays nobody except him that keeps it. Nevertheless a passion for gaming is common, though a passion for keeping roulette tables is unknown.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
No wife can endure a gambling husband, unless he is a steady winner.
—Thomas Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar (1864–1930) Scottish Businessperson
The gamester, if he die a martyr to his profession, is doubly ruined; he adds his soul to every other loss, and by the act of suicide renounces earth to forfeit heaven.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
There is nothing that wears out a fine face like the vigils of the card-table, and those cutting passions which naturally attend them. Hollow eyes, haggard looks, and pale complexions are the natural indications of a female gamester. Her morning sleeps are not able to repay her midnight watchings.
—Richard Steele (1672–1729) Irish Writer, Politician
Someone once asked me why women don’t gamble as much as men do, and I gave the common-sensical reply that we don’t have as much money. That was a true but incomplete answer. In fact, women’s total instinct for gambling is satisfied by marriage.
—Gloria Steinem (b.1934) American Feminist, Journalist, Social Activist, Political Activist
Curst is the wretch enslaved to such a vice, who ventures life and soul upon the dice.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
Gambling is the son of avarice and the father of despair.
—French Proverb
He was a degenerate gambler. That is, a man who gambled simply to gamble and must lose. As a hero who goes to war must die. Show me a gambler and I’ll show you a loser, show me a hero and I’ll show you a corpse.
—Mario Puzo (1920–99) Novelist, Screenwriter, Journalist
The urge to gamble is so universal and its practice so pleasurable that I assume it must be evil.
—Heywood Broun (1888–1939) American Journalist
The losses as well as the prizes must be drawn from the cheating lottery of life.
—Unknown
Gambling promises the poor what property performs for the rich, something for nothing.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Nobody has ever bet enough on a winning horse.
—Common Proverb
One should always play fair when one has the winning cards.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
The gambler is a moral suicide.
—Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780–1832) English Clergyman, Aphorist
You cannot beat a roulette table unless you steal money from it.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
The dice of Zeus always fall luckily.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
The most popular method of distributing wealth is the method of the roulette table.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
I can’t believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary.
—Lou Holtz (1893–1980) American Stage Performer
Gambling with cards, or dice, or stocks, is all one thing; it is getting money without giving an equivalent for it.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
I have to confess that I had gambled on my soul and lost it with heroic insouciance and lightness of touch. The soul is so impalpable, so often useless, and sometimes such a nuisance, that I felt no more emotion on losing it than if, on a stroll, I had mislaid my visiting card.
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–67) French Poet, Art Critic, Essayist, Translator
In gambling the many must lose in order that the few may win.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright