When I was 12 my dad had a monthly dealers choice game with 5 or 6 other friends. I would get drinks for them while they played and my mom would provide a cold cut tray with chips and dip. This went on for years until they began letting me play a little when I turned 16 - man I was so excited and enjoyed mixed results. About that time I started working at a local bowling alley and the other guys there already had a game going at one of their houses where the dad was a state policeman who had a game room, poker table, shuffleboard, and foosball table. We gambled for small stakes at all of those games even pitching quarters seeing who could get closest to the wall and in the summer free throws, best out of five for a buck a time.
Joined the Air Force and played double deck pinochle penny a point for years. Got into IT when I got out of the service and played cutthroat spades at lunch for $5 a day after that.
Casino boats came to Illinois and I got hooked on blackjack quickly followed by the poker boom attributed to the moneymaker run at WSOP. I was hooked and remembered my dad’s hosting so began hosting Holdem tournaments with friends and invited my Dad who was still alive at that time. Wanted chips and knew how good chips felt and that they usually had hats and canes on them
Downhill slide into this addiction from there. Thousands of chips later, at least 60 sets come and gone and I still cannot get enough. Thank God my wife tolerates me. For no good reason really every set I have has at least 1,000 chips. Monthly games are around 16 players now but at one time I had 40 a month coming.