January 30, 2008 4:08PM

Gambling at Work

By Cheryl Casone

I cover the markets, I watch the numbers all day, I talk to people who make their living making bets. Today Bruce Weinstein (The Ethics Guy) came on the show to explain that gambling at work is not ethical, and shouldn’t happen.

I had several problems with this argument, which you can see in the video of the segment, which should be to the right. The office pool is fun and that twenty bucks I may lose on this Sunday’s game is worth it, not for the money, but for the camaraderie. We play games, we tell jokes, we act stupid, and it’s a good thing. Everyone needs a break. Bruce says we are at work to work and that should be it. He compares gambling at work to sex at work. I called him out on that one! Again, watch the video!

Last week I bet someone here the Dow would close the day in the red after the Asian market tumble, my colleague said we would end positive. I was right, and I won that bet. That colleague will be taking me to dinner at a local Cuban place. It made the ugly, painful, panicked market day, into something that stung just a little less.

Luckily, Charles Massimo and Michael Schulman were there to add their two cents. It was actually their FIFTY cents, and at one point I was laughing off camera so hard, they didn’t take my camera. Bruce has great writing, and he’s fun to have on, even though I rarely agree with the guy. His column is featured in Business Week if you are interested.