Celebrity death list game

Hi everyone,

At work my colleagues play a game called 'celebrity dealth list',

for those of you that don't know what it is here's a brief description

An example of the concept is where a list of celebrities is decided upon, and the names are placed into individual sealed envelopes. Each player picks a sealed envelope and writes their name on the outside of it. Each week, each player pays a small amount of money. When one of the celebrities on the list dies, the envelopes are handed out and opened, the player who has the envelope with the name of the dead celebrity wins all of the accumulated cash

i'd like to know what your opinions are of this game on a moral level?

here's my take on it, i've never taken part in this game and i never will because it wouldn't feel right to me to be profiting from a persons loss of life, it just seems really odd to me, but the worst part for me is what i have to witness when a celebrity does die, one of the men i work with listens to the radio all day so he's usually the first person to hear about news of celebrity deaths, and he comes walking through from the counter into our office with a smirk on his face and says ''so and so's died, did anyone have them on their list?''

me personally, my first thoughts would be about the family that the person has left behind, but instead this man just sees pound signs.

I hope i'm not alone in feeling that this game is in very poor taste, i know some people are going to tell me its just a bit of fun, but i feel its these sorts of games that are conditioning people to not care or relate to others anymore, as long as everything in their immediate environment seems ok they just don't give a damn about others

other members perspectives on this subject are very welcome,

thanks in advance

reply to post by Minnie1985


I never heard of such a game. It sounds a bit morbid to me. Some people believe in omens and I would hate to offend any one like this... Celebrity or not.

It's called a Dead Pool. Extremely poor taste imo but some like it.

reply to post by Minnie1985
People will bet on darn near anything! It may be distasteful but I'm sure the people who are participating are just having fun. Not everyone is deeply affected by the death of a stranger, especially one who is a celebrity. If it bothers you just continue to do what you have been- staying out of it. They probably see it no different than betting in the workplace football pool. You can't force people to be sensitive.

reply to post by Minnie1985


Minnie,

I'm with you!

How would these people feel if the tables were turned, and the same system involved their family members or friends who could soon die?

Is wealth or health more important?

Just a sign of the times, I fear, ala flashbacks to the Roman Gladiators.

People are becoming desensitized, and I think a lot of it is due to reality shows with King/Bachman's prediction with the Running Man. Popular Culture, too, meh.

I am proud to hear you are standing ground. I wish more people would.

reply to post by littled16

You can't force people to be sensitive.

hi, your quite right, i made my thoughts on the subject clear at the beginning of the year and now i keep my mouth shut when i hear someone sound happy about someone dying, its so hard though,

i know its just a bit of fun though, i'm just going to have to not let it bother me, ...... so hard

thank you everyone for your replies, you've given me a little bit more faith in people

there's whole websites devoted to it, i just check them to see who's pegged it

reply to post by watchesfromwall


thanks for your kind words, i wish had people like you guys on here around me more often in my day to day life, life could be so simple if there were more of us....

That made me think of Cabin in the Woods.
Count me out of the game. Too sour for my taste.

Not my cup of tea, but if they didn't play would it bring the dead celebrity back?

It doesn't really bother me on a moral level at all I guess. I think it, in a weird sort of way, brings light to what would otherwise be a dark situation.

Most of the people playing bet on drug addicted celebrities anyway (I'm sure Whitney Houston made a few people some money). I guess it's pretty easy for a person to not have sympathy for a millionaire that stuffs their face full of coke and they might as well even make a few bucks off of them.

I think it would start getting weird if they were picking random people from a phone book or family members, but for some reason it doesn't feel that morbid to me when your dealing with celebrities that most people assume are going to OD sooner or later anyway.

I do not bet on Dead Pools

But if I were I would be very willing to say Lindsay Lohan any time after July 2, 2013 and until July 1, 2014

I have a feeling unfortunately that she will be joining the 27Club...

reply to post by danneu89

Not my cup of tea, but if they didn't play would it bring the dead celebrity back?

i know this isn't a serious question because the answer is obviously no, i just don't like the idea that some of the people i work with actually look forward to someone dying just so they can win some money,

I guess it's pretty easy for a person to not have sympathy for a millionaire that stuffs their face full of coke and they might as well even make a few bucks off of them.

your quote above is exactly why people think this game is acceptable, (i'm not having a go at you here) these drug addicted celebs are crying out for help, and more often than not they just want to live a normal life but no longer feel able to, money certainly didn't make Whitney Houston happy and i just felt so sad for her when she died, then i unfortunately had to listen to all of the sick offensive jokes about her, where's peoples compassion gone....

Doug Stanhope an excellent and one of my favorite comedians had his own dead celebrity game very similar to what you describe.

dougstanhopescelebritydeathpool.com...

Personally I think it is a bit of fun considering the over the top celebrity culture. Where people are willing to do anything to get famous and put there whole lives on public display, why not have some fun with their deaths.

Plus there is strict rules about killing celebrities to score points in the game,

How to Play 1. Pick twenty (20) celebrities. Per Merriam Webster's Dictionary, a celebrity is "a famous or celebrated person." They can include actors, musicians, reality stars, politicians, athletes, figures from the news, etc. Take a look at Wiki Deaths 2012 at en.wikipedia.org... to get an idea of the wide spread you can choose from. 2. 100 minus. When one of your celebrities dies, you will receive 100 points minus their age. Example 1 -- If Lindsay Lohan dies, you would receive 74 points (100 minus her age, which is 26) plus any bonus points that apply. Example 2 -- If you choose a celeb that dies at the age of 105, then you lose 5 points (100-105). Some use this tactic betting on the "solo pick" bonus points...which would net you 20 points (100-105+25=20). Bonus Points are listed below. Keep in mind...you are blind to everyone else's picks until the start of the game. 3. You will be fighting for top placing within your pool, but your pool will also go head-to-head with other pools. Just keep in mind that winning within your pool is your main concern. 4. Only one celebrity per pick. 5. No animals are allowed for picks. 6. No celebrities on Death Row will be allowed for obvious reasons. 7. You cannot murder your own picks. Murder is not allowed. Bonus Points Here is a list of the bonus points that will help you form a list for the 2013 season -- 25 Points - "Solo pick". Your dead Celebrity is not picked by anyone else in your pool. 25 Points -- "The Cobain". Death from Suicide. 25 Points -- "The Winehouse". Celebrity dies from an accidental drug or alcohol overdose. Confirmed by toxicology before the end of the pool year. 25 Points -- "The Whitney Houston". African-American and dies in February. 25 Points -- "The Bette Davis". Celebrity dies of breast cancer during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 50 Points -- "The John Lennon". Celebrity is murdered. 50 Points -- "The Machine Gun Kelly". Celebrity dies on their birthday. 50 Points -- "The Lynyrd Skynyrd". Celebrity dies in a plane crash. 50 Points -- "Daily Double". 2 celebrities die in the same day -- 25 points for each celebrity. 100 Points --"Last call". Celebrity dies on Dec. 31st.

reply to post by Minnie1985


I am a gambler, but I wouldn't bet on such a thing. That said, I don't have a problem with others doing it. Death is a part of life. If you heard of a Birth pool where people bet on when a baby would be born, would that bother you? The ONLY issue I would have is if someone started a Murdered Pool, where if the stakes were high enough someone might get killed.

I remember something about a group of people taking out life insurance policies on people flying in planes. If the plane crashed, these people would get big bucks. That's just dark and morbid.

How macabre,to say the least.I'm not a fan of the vast majority of celebrities,not at all-and don't even get me started on the "stars" of Reality TV-still even though i may consider some of these people downright wastes of oxygen,i would'nt participate in a game like this.Because this is almost like hoping the one you bet on,would die-and i don't wish any celebrity or airhead dead.

What i DO wish, is that people would wake up,and start idolising the TRUE heroes-or "Stars"-good cops,firefighters,game rangers,emergency medical crews,people who would sacrifice their time,own money,enormous amounts of energy,and sometimes even their lives, to save,to rescue and uplift the vulnerable,injured and defenceless amongst us.People like these,to show just One example:



You cannot blame celebrities that most of the population have their priorities ass over teakettle-and revere "stars" for how good they look/how much money and possesions they hoard/how entertainingly(read,usually sluttish,disgraceful,greedy,narcissistic/materialistic/inanely) they behave-instead of considering people like the guy in the vid above,as a TRUE star/hero who should be a well-respected "celebrity".So yeah,i would'nt play this game,much as i loathe the whole contemptible culture of celebrity worship.

I've dealt with life and death issues for many years with the old and the sick. Sometimes laughter is the best medicine. Let's not be too politically correct here. I find it shameful that we can't talk about it without people getting upset.

It's part of everyone's life. Not one of us will escape death. I've been able to joke with dear friends about death. The funny thing is that those that are doing the dying have a better grasp on life and death than most people (and the tragic comedy that comes along with it).

A very good friend of mine died. He nearly laughed up to his last breath. I told him he had a foot in the grave and he better be watching over me. He'd laugh and talk smack back.

If I were a celebrity and was on a death list.........I'd laugh my butt off. I would invite anyone to laugh about my life and death. Reality should not be shrouded in secrecy and hid from. Acknowledging death is far more humane.