Since I got my American Express Black Card, a lot of people have asked me where I have used it or what I have bought with it. I am sorry to say that I have not made any ridiculous purchases with it (yet). I have bought food, airline tickets, radio equipment, and a couple lap dances, sorry relaxation therapy sessions…..

Come on, you know me, of course I needed to flash the new American Express Black Card at least once in a gentleman’s club.

Anyhow, since getting this mysterious titanium black amex card, it got me thinking about “the big picture”. I could literally go on life tilt and buy just about anything I wanted courtesy of the fine people from the American Express Centurion Division. Of course I would have to face the consequences, but I suppose I really could do it.

It’s fun having one, but in the overall game of life it really doesn’t define even 1% of who you are. There are hundreds of important things you cannot buy with any amount of cash or credit. Here’s 10 of them. Yes even the Centurion concierge’s cannot get you these:

10 Things You Cannot Buy With An American Express Black Card

1. Love - Nothing can replace loving or being loved by your spouse and children.

2. Happiness - Money can buy happiness, but if money is the only thing that makes you happy, you need to re-evaluate what your priorities in life are.

3. Respect - People that respect you because of the credit card in your wallet are probably respecting you for the wrong reasons.

4. Appreciation - People appreciate the kind of person you are and the value you bring to the world. If people appreciate you for your money, you’re being used.

5. Sharing - There is no greater satisfaction in life than the look on someones face who is less fortunate when you share your wealth with them.

6. Honesty - Honesty is the foundation of any successful business or personal relationship. Call your Centurion Concierge and ask if you can buy your way out of problems created by being dishonest.

7. Forgiveness - Similar to honesty, no black card or amount of money in the world can buy you forgiveness when you are dishonest. Always tell the truth and keep a clear conscience.

8. Integrity - Regardless of what is in your wallet, being a person of integrity is defined by what you do when nobody is watching.

9. Compassion - You cannot buy compassion, either you have it or you don’t.

10. Balance In Life - You can have all the money in the world, a huge house, fancy cars, and of course a black amex card with no limit. But remember, when our time is done in this world and it’s time to check out; you will reflect upon the 10 things listed here and not a silly credit card.

When I was a kid I wanted to make my own money from as early on as I can remember. In fact I had a paper route with my twin brother from the time I was in 6th grade all the way up until I could get a real job. I was a middle school baller with pockets full of singles!

Well maybe I wasn’t ballin, but I was making my own money. Anyhow my oldest daughter who is 5 years old is starting to learn the value of money herself. We started giving her an allowance so that we could simply get her to clean up around the house. Now she is hooked on finding different ways to make money since she realizes all the neat stuff she can buy with her allowance. If only we could all be happy on a $5 a week budget!

Anyhow like the post says, Being an Entrepreneur is just in the Enke blood. I came out of my office to see this in the driveway today. I have to say it was a proud moment and put a smile on my face. Next thing you know she is going to be asking for her own amex black card.

The old saying saying says that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. There is actually a great deal of truth to this statement. Unfortunately almost every person you have ever heard say this phrase says it it with a negative connotation…… This is why they are not on the “richer” side.

Allow me to go off on a slight rant for a moment. Yes, the gas prices in the U.S. suck, the housing market is in a slump, and the U.S. dollar is garbage right now….. Who cares, it’s reality and in the big scheme of life you could have far worse problems.

I often speak about surrounding yourself with other successful people. You need to do this, but you also need to surround yourself with positive people and positive energy. Do you think the entrepreneurs getting richer this year are sitting at Starbucks griping about gas prices? Hell no, they are making big things happen regardless of what the economic state is.

The reason the rich get richer is because they surround themselves with positive energy and associate with other positive people. Instead of complaining about things that are out of their control, they speak about how great things are and how they are growing their business by capitalizing on what they can control.

People that say the rich get richer because of tax breaks and special privileges are fucking idiots wrong. The top 10% of earners in the U.S. pay over 68% of the total Income tax in this country. Furthermore, there is no reason the wealthy should be punished in the form of taxes for being successful. Nonetheless, the rich get richer because of ingenuity, perseverance, and hard work……not tax breaks.

Believe me, I realize how easy it is to get caught up in negative conversations with friends now days. And we all know a few people that are constantly complaining about “their situations”. Unfortunately surrounding yourself with these types of people or negative energy in general is a one way ticket to nowhere.

Try something this week. Make an effort to go out of your way to have a positive attitude and surround yourself with positive energy. I don’t know about you, but I want to be on the “rich get richer” side of the fence.

I watched the movie “The Secret” a few months ago, and although I am not 100% sold on every concept, I am sold on the law of attraction.

Make it a great week!

As an online gaming webmaster and the founder of the largest poker affiliate community in the world, I like to think I have been on the forefront of industry news and growth for the last few years.

The reason I wanted to write about this topic (online poker addiction) is because it is one that is almost taboo and not really something affiliates or operators ever discuss. After all, if people did not lose money in rake or games of chance, I may still be hustling an outside sales job in Corprorate America.

Nonetheless I think it is a topic that needs to be addressed at some point in our industry. If we do not address it as an industry, the politicians and morale do-gooders will address it when the time comes for real regulation.

I believe that 90% of online poker players have no problem with addiction and probably play with discretionary income or for entertainment. Unfortunately there is that small % of players that will become addicted. Not that this should be a big surprise though, gambling addiction has been around since the days or riverboat casinos. The reason I called this article Gambling Addiction 2.0 however is because online poker players have so many outs and excuses when it comes to denial of their problem.

Another reason I wanted to write this article is because ironically enough there ARE affiliates out there who have never cashed out an affiliate payment and gamble their revenue away each and every month. This is sad, and is why I have always been a big proponent of NOT paying affiliates into players accounts.

In respect to online poker addiction and why it is 2.0 though; If I had a dollar for every time I saw someone lose their entire bankroll or not be able to pay bills because they were “running bad” I could probably retire. Let’s say I had 100K in my bank account and consistently went to the casino and played slots every night until 4:00 A.M. losing $75K in a few months. Everyone would agree that I had a massive gambling addiction. With online poker however, individuals can simple say they are “running bad”, or blame losing 50% of their net worth on “variance”.

I remember when I started playing online poker and you had to get permission from Lee Jones to even sit in a $100-$200 Limit game. Now days anyone can increase their deposit amounts with a simple email and be playing $300-$600NL with their life savings in less than a few hours.

I am a firm believer that each individual in the world is responsible for their own actions. Likewise if someone tricks off their entire roll or life savings, that is a them problem and not a me problem. But over the years I have seen the limits increase and the amount of people sitting with $50K+ online grow exponentially. I’m not saying people shouldn’t be able to “take shots” at the higher limits.

But I am saying as the deposit limits and table limits in online poker keep rising; at some point when we do get closer to regulation, operators having a GA link in the footer of a site, and a “self exclusion” tab is not going to be enough to convince politicians that the industry is doing enough to curb online gambling addiction.

So there, I crossed the line and actually brought up the idea that online poker addiction exists and that it is probably easier to get addicted to than any other form of gambling. Personally I’m glad I gave up any hopes of ever being a poker player and stuck with the business side of poker many years ago.

If you found this article from a search engine while searching “online poker addiction” or “online gambling addiction” and you think you may have a problem, here a few links that will be helpful.

Addiction Recovery

Gamblers Anonymous