A lot of people will probably find this Associated Press story heartwarming; I find it sickening.

The story is headlined "Jobless man wins $13.8 million from quarter slot machine." Here's a snippet:

BILOXI, Miss. -- [A guy] lost his job at a sign manufacturing company after 33 years because of corporate downsizing, but you probably won't see him searching for another one.

The Mobile, Ala., resident hit the largest casino jackpot in Mississippi history Wednesday, nearly $13.8 million on a quarter slot machine at Isle of Capri Casino in Biloxi.

Something tells me we probably wouldn't have seen him searching for another one regardless of the slot outcome. Sounds like he was putting in a real tough day of pounding the pavement. There's more:

The money was more than welcomed because in January [the guy] was laid off from his job in the inventory department at Cummins Signs because of corporate reshuffling.

[The guy] and his family walked into the casino around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

He sat down at a Jeopardy! machine and started pumping in quarters. After about 90 minutes, [the guy] had lost nearly $200 in the machine -- then he hit the jackpot.

You see, the mean, evil corporation was at fault for trying to keep themselves in the black. The good guy is the unemployed guy sitting on a stool pumping $200 worth of quarters into the machine.

I'm not big anti-gambling crusader. Sometimes I think my fellow social conservatives make too big a deal out of it. I have yet to hear a cogent explanation of how it substantially differs from the stock market, except that the odds are a little worse. But this story makes me sick. We're supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy because this guy who got a raw deal from his company ended up with a huge payout. What the story doesn't mention, however, are the thousands of unemployed idiots just like him who are pumping money they don't have into machines that are keeping it.

You know who's supplying the quarters for guys like this to pump into the Lady Luck machine? You are. And I am. Because when the money stops coming in after the layoff, the first thing this guy and millions of others do is run down to the government office for a taxpayer-funded payout. So while you were working hard today, you were supplying quarters so that this guy could take his fat, unemployed butt down to the casino and pump your money into slot machines. You work, and when's the last time you dumped $200 in 90 minutes? Meanwhile, after I pay my taxes so that this lummox can head down to the riverboat, I've barely got enough money to afford a babysitter and a movie with my wife.

At least it will be satisfying to watch the guy scream after the millions of dollars in taxes get pulled out of his winnings so that other folks on the government dole can have their gambling outings subsidized.