Al Alvarez Quotes

Money, again, has often been a cause of the delusion of the multitudes. Sober nations have all at once become desperate gamblers, and risked almost their existence upon the turn of a piece of paper.

Of course I gamble, to make the games interesting. But five hundred dollars a game, tops. Or sometimes a thousand. No heart attack bets.

Personally I don't think day traders are speculating, because traditional speculation requires some market knowledge. They are, instead, gambling, which doesn't.

Banks may be considered as the primary source of "paper speculation," and only the foster the spirit of gambling in paper, in lands, in canal schemes, town lot schemes, manufacturing schemes and whatever could hit the madness of the day.

These spend all their life with wine and dice, in low haunts, pleasures, and the games. Their temple, their dwelling, their assembly, and the height of all their hopes is the Circus Maximus. You may see many groups of them gathered in the fora, the cross-roads, the streets, and their other meeting-places, engaged in quarrelsome arguments with one another... torn by their conflicting hopes about the result of the race, the greater number of them in their anxiety pass sleepless nights.

There are two times in a man's life when he should not speculate [on the Stock Market]: when he can't afford it, and when he can.

A striking feature of financial service activities during the past few decades is that the financial transactions essential to the operation of the 'real' economy has become increasingly dwarfed by speculative activity.

I'm always ready to play for money.

Gambling is entertainment... Financial markets, what one often refers to as speculation, is really the force by which we move capital to the best and highest use.

Gambling is entertainment. People go to casinos to be entertained.

The big gamble in 'Focus' - it's a Will Smith movie that dares to be small.

I'm a gambler and love slot machines.

I hate casinos. I have zero interest in gambling.

I don't think anyone leaves Las Vegas rejuvenated, their skin shining, their bank accounts glowing. No one leaves Vegas, like, 'I didn't make one mistake. That felt great. Back to work.'

I went broke after sophomore year, gambled away all my money, sold some guns, turned $750 into $10,000, flew to Vegas, turned ten thou into $187,000.

I've found that a lot of successful poker players grew up poor. And I'm convinced that poor people have a risk tolerance that rich people don't have because poor people fundamentally don't value money that much because they're used to not having it.

Being an entrepreneur is all about risk. Being an entrepreneur is like going to Vegas every day and shoving all of your chips into the middle of the table every single day.

It was daunting, giving up a regular job for a freelance world, where every day off is a day of unemployment and you are conscious you are not earning. But it was time to take a gamble and see what's on the other side.

My whole business philosophy is based on a risk-reward ratio. But it's got to stack up. If it doesn't, don't do it. You might as well go to a casino.

I've never played the game for money.

I love to gamble!

I made a million, and I lost a million.

The only gambling tip which amounts to anything is to keep out of the game.

Whether I make two dollars or no dollars, it's better than losing. I've got enough people playing the games at the casino that I don't lose any money. So it's good for me, and it's fun.

Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people play the money game to not lose.