Carl Toledo has always been able to pay off his tuition fees. How does he manage to get the money? He said he makes money gambling.

Some students have been known for gambling to pay off their tuition without knowing the risks that come along with this.

“Gambling becomes a habit because people like taking the risks,” Stanley Fitch, psychology professor, said. “Some students believe they can’t lose all of their money. They believe it could never happen to them.”

Fitch said gambling could be compared to people who love to race and get the thrill of driving fast, but are not aware that their lives are at risk.

Gambling is popular among college students because of the thrill of winning, and gambling is much easier to do than work at a full-time job.

“I do not have direct evidence that many college students gamble, but I know of some who gamble often,” Fitch said.

“I think the students who are into gambling do it because it’s addicting, fast money and they like the idea that they know they’re not going to lose,” he said.

Toledo, 20, has been using gambling money to pay off his tuition fees ever since he started coming to EC.

“I started gambling three years ago because I was short on money and my job didn’t pay as well as gambling,” Toledo said.

“I had to pay for my tuition, so I took a risk in playing blackjack and poker with my friends. I found out I was really good at it,” he said.

Toledo does not gamble with friends anymore because he can play at casinos that allow people age 18 and older to gamble.

He wants to make sure that people who gamble do not do it often and he said he only gambles when he is low on cash.

“Gambling is a thrill and easy to do, but I have seen some of my friends lose a lot of money,” Toledo said.

“I am trying to make it a habit for me to only gamble when I am low on money and I have not gambled for the past two months,” he said

Arthur Verge, history professor, said that gambling is not a smart thing to rely on for paying important bills.

“You cannot beat the house and gambling is a loser’s proposition,” Verge said.

“It is wishful thinking that students are going to hit it big and pay off their college bills and their families’ responsibilities; it just does not come out that way,” he said.

In addition, Verge said students who gamble only do it because it is easy and because TV portrays it as a good thing by showing people winning money all of the time.

He said the negative effects of gambling may leave a person without any money and the chances of winning are not in their favor.

“I don’t know and have never heard of any students who have won in gambling. They might win a little bit here and there,” Verge said.

“People think it is going to solve all their needs, but they have to see that some people’s lives are destroyed by gambling,” he said.