how is the stock market any different than a large rigged casino? and how stock buy backs are any different than a "ponzi scheme"?

CEOs use the corporations free cash flow to buyback outstanding shares. This creates demand for the shares as there are less on the market. The price goes up. Then CEOs execute their stock options at these higher prices, making themselves wealthier. The corporation now has less cash to get them through situations like what we are seeing now.

That’s exactly how I’ve always seen the stock market. It’s a scam for the rich to get richer and for the poor to gamble their money away. Sure, there are a few who “win the jackpot,” but most lose their shirts. 

Pump and Dumps you often see on the Pink Sheets-which is basically the Wild West of investing. There are few enforced rules there. 

mostly those people lose who are not as smart as they think and want to get money without hard work. They buy and sell frequently and lose all their money. Wise and patient people who wait, generally gain.

The stock market is where investors connect to buy and sell investments — most commonly, stocks, which are shares of ownership in a public company.

Everyone who's lost a bet or a card game has told themselves at some point.

They just offer payouts on their bets that offer lower odds than the odds of winning. Mathematically, over the long run, on almost every casino game, the casino is guaranteed to win a certain percentage of every bet. This percentage is called the house edge.

A stock buyback, also known as a share repurchase, occurs when a company buys back its shares from the marketplace with its accumulated cash. A stock buyback is a way for a company to re-invest in itself. The repurchased shares are absorbed by the company, and the number of outstanding shares on the market is reduced.

A "ponzi scheme" is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by investors. Ponzi scheme organizers often solicit new investors by promising to invest funds in opportunities to claim to generate high returns with little or no risk. 

If in doubt, get a form legal opinion, but personal opinion is that as long as its papered up, in advance, both sides are aware of the transaction, and it is not a sham to attract, a revolving-door of investments this is clearly not a Ponzi...

Intel did something along these lines. 

Intel raises 6 billion to fund buyback.

They raised new money to buy out new shareholders.

There is no inherent value in a casino. People place bets based on odds of winning. In the real world, there is plenty of inherent value in the goods and services people invest in.

The costs, rewards and losses are higher just about no limit.

Stock buy backs put money directly into the hands of investors to finance newer, faster growing firms that are creating new products and new jobs. This is how progress occurs.

1. Because there is no "house" that has the ability to rig all outcomes.

2. They are as different as apples and oranges.  You obviously are so uneducated you don't even know what a Ponzi scheme is, for if you did, you'd know that nobody's buying anything back in a Ponzi scheme.  Ponzi scheme's are all about selling, never buying back.  Buying back defeats the purpose.  Buying back would mean the seller would be dumping their money into buying back what they know is absolutely worthless and knew was worthless when they sold it.  If I get you to buy a worthless piece of paper from me at a price of $500 because I've conned you into thinking it'll soon be worth more than $500, even if you were willing to sell that worthless piece of paper back to me for $50, I'd never buy it back knowing it's not worth $50, or even worth $5.

UPDATE:

Why don't I?  I did.  And in the future, if you want to know what something is, ask that as your question.  Don't ask a different question that's a loaded question and uses terms you pretend to understand but don't.

Look up ponzi scheme and see for yourself.