In terrorem

(~in warning)

Here's how God reminds you that you shouldn't be gambling, and that your sins are never private:

We are poor. My husband, bless his heart, is an excellent poker player. He loves the game and it's one of his many criminal talents. Last October, his best friend flew in to Las Vegas from Hawaii for a work convention, so Adam and a bunch of his friends met up with him at Paris Casino for a "Guy's Weekend". We were poor then too, and the temptation was just too great. He called me on the phone and said he was just going to enter this one poker tournament and just play for fun. It only cost $25. Like I could stop him, although believe me, I tried. Well, he won third place. So, he played the next tournament and won second place. Third time's a charm...first place. Nice bankroll. I didn't know whether to be embarrassed or secretly grateful that he was coming home from Vegas with money to pay the utility bills, and the car payment, and buy food. After that tournament, he quit playing, and hasn't played since. Just had to get it out of his system, he said.

Tax time comes around. We sheepishly told our very respectable LDS accountant that Adam had won some money at a casino. Embarrassing. No, we can't find the W-2G. Well, this held up everything. Can't file without the tax ID number. We file an extension. We play email tag back and forth for several months. Finally today we are able to find the right person at Paris Casino who can help us get an alternate w-2G, and she was able to fax it over to our other respectable LDS friends who have a fax machine (where's an atheist with a fax machine when you need one???) and now we can pick it up, scan it in, email it over to our accountant, and hopefully get the darned refund. Oh yeah, and then his wife goes and posts about it on her blog. Whoops. Yep, that ought to teach him!