I just got back from a long weekend in Las Vegas. Everybody says one of two things. First, “You didn’t gamble, did you?” The second is, “You’re kidding, it’s sooo tacky.”

Did I gamble? Yes, yes I did.

Did I lose? Yes, I did. It’s called gambling. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. If you never lost, it would be called “winning” not “gambling.”

But when people ask me if I gamble, there is always this superior twinge to it, as if I were doing something stupid with my money when I could be doing something smart with my money, like buying Super Bowl tickets from a scalper for $3,000. Or buying a pair of $300 designer blue jeans. Or buying a $4,000 plasma TV. Or dropping $300 at the day spa. Or buying a $60,000 Hummer. Like that’s OK, like that’s a smart way to spend my money while gambling is just stupid.

“Well it is stupid, you lost your money.”

When you go to a fancy steakhouse and spend a $100, did you lose it? Do you come to work the next day and say, “What bad luck, Sue and I had a fabulous steak dinner, the service was wonderful and atmosphere was nice and relaxing. But then I gave the waiter a $100, and instead of giving me back $200, he kept all of it. I can’t believe it, I lost a $100 eating steak last night.”