I am not a big fan of "Reality" television and get no enjoyment watching people behave foolishly while they seek out their 15 minutes of fame. Although I would rather watch a show that is fiction it has to have a good story line and plot that is believable. One thing that drives me nuts is when I watch a show that has a gambling related scene that is completely unrealistic. I can separate fact from fantasy when it comes to stories about gambling because I have been doing it most of my adult life. However some of these shows can really give the wrong impression to someone less knowledgeable about the realities of gambling.

The other day I sat down to watch the remake movie of the old television show Knight Rider. The "hero" of the story owed some bad guys $90,000 that he had to pay off by midnight or they would do bodily harm to his best friend. So how does this character attempt to get the money? He takes a cash advance on his credit card and goes to the casino to play poker.

This whole scenario was preposterous on several levels. Unless you are a skilled poker player with a very large starting bankroll you will never make that kind of money in a few hours. There no way you would be able to get that much money from ATM machine if he had it to begin with. Aside from that, what really bothered me was that it gave out the wrong message that gambling is a way to solve your money issues. You should never gamble with borrowed money and that is exactly what you are doing if you use your credit card in the casino for a cash advance.