iStockphoto
A lot of people are shocked to learn I’ve never been to Las Vegas, and while I haven’t actively avoided the city my entire life, if I wanted to spend money to lose money I would have bought Bitcoin in December last year (which I may or may not have done).
Sure, there’s something to be said for being able to drown your sorrows in a Sour Patch Margarita at Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen but that’s a fate I’d still like to avoid considering I’m about as good at gambling as Topher Grace was in Ocean’s 11.
I know this because I’ve tried my luck at a few casinos over the years and learned the hard way that the house always wins regardless of how good the odds might be (and how many drinks you pound while posting up at the penny slots).
Sure, there’s something to be said for the adrenaline fix that comes with throwing your hard-earned money on the felt but I can get that same rush by checking my account balance at the end of the month without having to drop a penny.
As is the case with most vices, gambling is totally fine in moderation but you have to know when to walk away. Unfortunately, some people just don’t know when to cut their losses.
This is the case with Liu Lirong, who (at least for now) serves as the chair of Chinese smartphone producer Gionee.
According to Android Authority, the manufacturer is on the verge of bankruptcy after Liu admitted he’d borrowed a bit of the company’s money to gamble at a casino in Saipan— and by “a bit” I mean “$144 million.”
The chairman says he didn’t actually misappropriate any assets but was rather “borrowing company funds,” because those are apparently two different things in the fantasy world Liu inhabits.
I’d like to thank the chairman for making me feel so much better about the time I lost $100 at Foxwoods a few years back. I needed that today.