In the new recurring feature "The secret life of ...," the Daily explores aspects of the Tufts experience that aren't advertised in admissions brochures.
"Addicted to gambling?" he repeated, smiling broadly and sucking through his front teeth. "Well, I don't know about that. Let's just say if I had to stop, I'd be very disappointed."
Some friends disagree. "I would definitely describe Matt as an addict," one said. While Matt - whose name has been changed to protect his identity - doesn't consider his behavior a problem, it clearly has become a habit.
A senior, Matt plays poker three to four times a week either on campus or at the nearby Foxwoods Casino. Generally playing with anywhere from $20-$100 buy-ins, Matt has won as much as $3,000 in one game - and has lost as much as $1,500.
"Obviously, I win the majority of the time," he said. "Otherwise I wouldn't keep playing."
Matt is part of a growing trend on college campuses nationwide. According to a survey by Leisure magazine, 85 percent of college students report being involved in some form of gambling, while 23 percent report gambling on a weekly basis. According to a study by Harvard Medical School, about 627,000 college students are addicted to gambling.
Although most students consider gambling to be a fun recreational activity, the growing trend has raised some concern. "When kids are playing every day of the week and risking money their parents give them for groceries, then it becomes a problem," said James Breville, a spokesperson for Gamblers Anonymous.
Matt has regularly played poker for two years, but the game has only recently turned into a passion.
"In the past year, I have gotten much more competitive," he said.
Matt believes other Tufts students are equally enthusiastic. "Tufts is one of the biggest poker schools," he said. "People come from other schools just to play here - it's like a mecca for schools in the Boston area."
Some students attribute the increase in the popularity of poker on campus to popular poker television shows. "I watched poker on TV today for an entire hour," another Tufts enthusiast said. "It's easy to get into, and then you just want to get a game going yourself."
Although Matt admits to betting substantial sums of cash in poker, he denies participating in "irresponsible behavior."
"I wouldn't bet money that I needed for rent or food or something," he said. He insists that his passion for gambling remains a recreational hobby, and is simply part of his general love of games and competition.
"I've always been interested in competitive games," Matt said. "Poker is as basic a competition as you can get - your skills versus the skills of your opponent. If you can just quantify that skill, you can avoid all of the other external influences."
One such external influence is the luck of the draw. "Because of the cards, not everyone can walk away a winner every time," Matt said. He still maintains that the main element of poker is skill. "It's a skill in that you can maximize each outcome so that you can profit more than the odds would dictate," he said.
Other forms of gambling, however, involve less skill and more risk. One friend describes how Matt has gotten "carried away" at the casino: "He'll win big at the poker table, but then he gets cocky," the friend said. "I've seen him win $1,000 in poker, and then go and waste half of it on the roulette dials."
Matt dismisses such criticism. "I just have a lot of fun," he said. For now, Matt says he has limited gambling to a hobby, but he is seriously considering playing poker professionally at some point in his life.
Though he has already secured a corporate job, Matt still contemplates the opportunities gambling offers. "I was thinking of taking some time off to play poker," he said. "I say do it while you're young."
