When I was 24 I won $12K in Vegas, mostly playing Craps, but also some on Blackjack. Actually, I probably won $20k, but I only came home with $12k. When I was up about $15k I called my Dad and told him of my luck. He said "Have your fun, but if you come home with less than $12k I'll kick your butt and you'll never get a penny more from me." At the time he was helping pay some student loans. The night before we left I had like $14.5K, went to the Blackjack table, lost $2.5K in about 5 minutes, cashed out and left. That was one of the best 5 days of my life. At that age, it might as well have been $12M, not $12K.