The office pool has a deep end

People who never, ever gamble are poring over scores this morning, checking to see how their teams did in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Well, not really their teams.

You didn't have to earn an undergraduate degree from Belmont to care if the Bruins upset Duke in Thursday's first-round game. It's just part of the fun and excitement commonly known as March Madness.

Filling out a bracket and joining in the office pool for a few bucks has become an American tradition this time of year. It even permeates the ivory towers of academia.

"I'm actually in two pools," said Charles F. Kaiser, Ph.D., who just happens to be the chairman of the Psychology Department at the College of Charleston. "I'm doing one here at work and another one with my son out in California. Everybody does it."

But everybody doesn't think this is really gambling, or that it can lead to a problem. But Kaiser says this seemingly innocent activity can lead to bigger things.

"It's a trigger for people who have a gambling problem," he said. "It's like Las Vegas, the flashing lights of the casinos."

Sensation seekers

This is not to say everybody who plays in a basketball pool is going to go out next week and bet the mortgage on a long shot down at the track.

But for people with certain tendencies, all this excitement could serve as a gateway to bigger gambling issues.

"Gambling is risk-taking behavior," Kaiser said. "People will find ways they can challenge themselves. It's part of human nature. If it wasn't this kind of gambling, it would be something else."

For most of us, these pools are nothing more than a social event, a way of fitting in, something to talk about at happy hour. But for millions of others, it's much more. Gamblers Anonymous, exists for a reason.

"NCAA Tournament pools are something that have been popularized in the media which means we are modeling and encouraging this kind of behavior," Kaiser said. "For some people it's the idea of making the big hit. It's the thrill of beating other people, making a lot of money. There are a lot of people out there who go for the short-term, small reward, as opposed to the long-term, large reward.

"These people are short- sighted. They want something and they want it now. They are sensation seekers. They are looking for these opportunities."

No big deal

Kaiser said the "Average Joe" likes to play these pools even when his favorite team is history. This is called good, clean fun.

"It's the idea of maintaining interest in a sport you like, the idea of competition, the idea of winning," he said. "It gives you a stake in something everybody is talking about."

But, for those outside the average, it can be the beginning of something sinister.

"These are the people that think they're due," he said. "They think the payoff is eventually going to happen. But if they're in it for the money, that's crazy. It's like Vegas. The house usually wins."

Kaiser said chronic gamblers are addicts who need the rush of the competition and don't care what other people say.

"All the facts are right in front of them, but they can't help themselves," he said. "These are people who want to assume control of something they have no control over."

Sound like anybody you know?

I hope not.

Reach Ken Burger at 937-5598 or kburger@postandcourier.com.