Poker Helps Trapped Miners in Chile Survive
The August 5th collapse of the San Jose gold and copper mine in Chile left 33 miners trapped with almost nothing. The brave men survived by rationing their meager supply of food, and by playing poker. Now with an expected four-month wait before they are freed, the miners will likely continue to survive, thanks in part to playing poker.
As the miraculous news of the miners’ survival reached the outside world, so did word of their poker-playing. Carolina Lobos said of her father Franklin, one of the miners, “”I’m not worried about him. I know he is happy and content down there because he is playing lots of poker and cards. It is good for his mind.”
The mental health profession agrees. According to Elements Behavioral Health, a treatment center in California, engaging in enjoyable activities is one way to overcome trauma. The center’s website says, “Whatever it is that you know your loved one generally finds enjoyment doing, make it a point to encourage this kind of activity.”
Because they are in a confined area, the miners need an activity they enjoy that doesn’t take up a lot of room, but keeps them mentally stimulated. For Lobos and many of the others, poker offers that release. What water, medicine and food are doing to replenish their bodies, poker is doing for their minds.
In an ironic and unplanned way, this tragedy is proving one of the main arguments for legal online poker in the United States. Like these miners, many Americans want to relax in their homes and enjoy the thrill and challenge of playing poker, much like Franklin Lobos and the other Chilean miners whose poker playing miracle has made them the best news story of 2010.
The August 5th collapse of the San Jose gold and copper mine in Chile left 33 miners trapped with almost nothing. The brave men survived by rationing their meager supply of food, and by playing poker. Now with an expected four-month wait before they are freed, the miners will likely continue to survive, thanks in part to playing poker.
As the miraculous news of the miners’ survival reached the outside world, so did word of their poker-playing. Carolina Lobos said of her father Franklin, one of the miners, “”I’m not worried about him. I know he is happy and content down there because he is playing lots of poker and cards. It is good for his mind.”
The mental health profession agrees. According to Elements Behavioral Health, a treatment center in California, engaging in enjoyable activities is one way to overcome trauma. The center’s website says, “Whatever it is that you know your loved one generally finds enjoyment doing, make it a point to encourage this kind of activity.”
Because they are in a confined area, the miners need an activity they enjoy that doesn’t take up a lot of room, but keeps them mentally stimulated. For Lobos and many of the others, poker offers that release. What water, medicine and food are doing to replenish their bodies, poker is doing for their minds.
In an ironic and unplanned way, this tragedy is proving one of the main arguments for legal online poker in the United States. Like these miners, many Americans want to relax in their homes and enjoy the thrill and challenge of playing poker, much like Franklin Lobos and the other Chilean miners whose poker playing miracle has made them the best news story of 2010.
