James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok was playing poker at Nuttal & Mann’s Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood, Dakota Territory on August 2, 1876. It was then and there that Jack McCall shot “Wild Bill” in the back of the head with a double-action .45 caliber revolver.

Some think the cold-blooded murder was nothing more than the act of a paid assassin. Others contend that McCall was in a drunken stupor and seeking revenge over a recent dispute. Yet others believe that McCall was furious over what he perceived as a condescending offer from Hickok to let him have enough money for breakfast after he had lost all his money playing poker the previous day. Although the motive for the killing is still debated, I choose to embrace the latter speculation for my purposes in this editorial.

Poker (gambling) is a dangerous and deadly proposition and it is proliferating. The latest rage is Internet poker. More than eight years ago Randy Blumer introduced the first poker website that used real money.

His PokerPlanet.com ultimately failed, but Internet poker has regrettably been phenomenally successful. Online gambling is currently a multi-billion dollar business with more than 400 different card rooms operating today, offering every variety of poker game and every level of stakes.

Nearly 2 million people, two-thirds of whom are residents of the United States, log onto a poker gambling site every day. About $75 million is wagered in Internet poker rooms every hour. The University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center predicts that more than 20% of college students (mostly male) play online poker at least once a month. There have been horror stories of students failing out of classes or losing their tuitions due to online poker.

In five years, if some of the major Internet gambling moguls have their way, consumers will be able to place bets on their cell phones and PDA’s while waiting to be served in a restaurant.

Some of those who get hooked on online poker get “on a tilt.” In poker “tilt” is the term used for a spell of insanity that often follows a run of bad luck.

Greg Hogan, age 20, was apparently “on a tilt” when he robbed a bank to pay off online gambling debts he incurred by borrowing money from his fraternity brothers. CNN.com reported that Hogan, the son of a Baptist pastor and president of his class at Lehigh University, robbed a Wachovia Bank in Allentown, Pa. and got away with $2,871.

Televised poker is beginning to dominate some of the cable channels and is contributing to the increase in video poker. I counted 78 different listings for poker on television in July and August. Many of these programs are on ESPN, whose stated purpose is to provide comprehensive sports coverage and complete sports information and news.

Pray tell me when did poker become a sport? And who could possibly be entertained by watching four people sitting around a table with expressionless faces hiding their cards from everyone’s view?

Gambling is not just a minor vice, but also a major social evil and menace to society. From the blatant forms of casino gambling to state lotteries to wagers at work on who will win the World Series to those who bet on who will par the hole in golf, gambling is a national scourge.

Gambling violates God’s legitimate laws for earning a living by undermining our work ethic. It promotes profiteering and greed. Epithumeo is one of the Greek verbs translated into “covetousness” in the New Testament. It is a compound word that comes from two Greek words, epi, which means “upon” and thumos, which means “passion.” Covetousness is to set your passion upon money or things.

Gambling distorts our view of stewardship and also indicates a lack of trust in God’s ability to provide. We must remember that God, who clothes the lilies of the field and who feeds the birds, will provide for our physical needs.

We as Christians are supposed to care for the needs of the poor, the widow, the orphan and the oppressed, but gambling mercilessly exploits these most vulnerable members of our society. John MacArthur stated, “Gambling is the result of post-modern pessimism, the hopelessness of practical atheism, that says, ‘There is no God, no hope, no future, no reason, no rationality – just luck.’

“And so the senselessness of gambling makes sense. It succeeds in a mood of despair and hopelessness, in a mood of moral relativism and atheism, but it doesn’t belong with Biblical Christianity. It is a sin to be avoided, and bless God – a sin to be forgiven.”