The Big Gamble
I swear that I could see him break out into a sweat, his hands shaking with anticipation, as the clerk counted out $50.00 in pull tickets. It was a big gamble, for a man handing over half of the last monies that stood between him and broke for the rest of the month. He was confident that he was going to double it up, hit the big one.
As he sat at our table, smiling, pulling, tossing losing tickets into the trash can, all I could see was a waste of money and enthusiasm. Suddenly his eyes widened and he laughed. Aside from three cherry tickets, he won $25.00. “Can you believe it? Last pull and I win twenty five bucks!”
Instead of cutting his losses and cashing in, I watched as my brother traded in the winners for a stack of new and pulled the last of his fifty dollar investment, tossing them, all losers, into the garbage. Although a bit upset, my brother waved it off stating, “They probably sold all of the big winners already, and are selling off the duds, just to make their money… jerks!”
The next afternoon, I get a phone call, the same distressing type I receive each month. My brother went to bingo the night before, needed one number for the jackpot, didn’t win, and was now flat broke for the next three weeks. He had crashed.
It wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last. My brother is addicted to gambling. He’s a binge gambler. Scratch tickets, pull tickets, bingo, casino, my brother lives the thrill for a week after receiving his disability check. Sometimes, the monies don’t even last a week, only a few days, sometimes, less than that.
The casino is a place that my brother cannot resist. The lights, the sounds, the drinks, the prospect of eventually hitting the progressive jackpot keeps him on the edge of his seat and his wallet empty. He called me from there once, elated, beside himself, telling me that he had hit the red, white and blue on the dollar machine.
He had hit the big one, ten thousand dollars! I was excited for him, but asked for him to please, leave, leave the casino and take a taxi home. All of that money would be such a help to him and to think of how nice his bank account could be, that he could actually get an apartment for himself, start out on the right foot again. He assured me that, yes, he was leaving and would have security walk him to the cab.
The next day, I got a phone call. My brother was kicking himself, cursing the casino for tightening up the machines. Having won ten grand, he came home with twelve hundred dollars.
Yes, his obsession to gamble got the better of him and he stayed, dropping $8800.00 back into the machines before heading home. But as he said to me… “Hey, at least I didn’t come home broke.”
This is true, he may not have come home broke, but, because of gambling, my brother went for broke, by going back to the casino the next night, losing every last dollar and resorting to pawning an expensive gold horn I had bought him for Christmas.
Gambling addiction is a sickness, one that is not easily overcome. It is important to note that a gambling addict is not addicted to money; it’s the thrill, the action that they get their high from. For those who can stop at one scratch ticket or the occasional hour at a casino, it’s a game.
But, to those who cannot stop, gambling can and does take them from riches to rags and from rags to shreds. Many lose family, friends, homes, jobs and more, because they cannot bet with their heads, they gamble over it. And, unfortunately, some do pay the price for their gambling addiction, hitting a low, a point of desperation so overwhelming that they end their own lives, opting for suicide.
But, how can a gambling addict stop? Everywhere one turns, there lies the opportunity to gamble. Corners stores with their lottery and scratch tickets, casinos, bingo halls, race tracks, television ads, gambling online, all these can trigger an addict to gamble. But, all is not lost, there is hope, there is help.
“Gamblers Anonymous (http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/), a 12 step program fundamentally based on ancient spiritual principles and rooted in sound medical therapy, is a means of help for someone with a gambling addiction.
“Gamblers Anonymous would like to indicate that we are not soliciting members. Our intention is to highlight that gambling for certain individuals is an illness called “compulsive gambling.”
Gamblers Anonymous provide the message that there is an alternative to the destruction of compulsive gambling and this alternative is the Gamblers Anonymous program.
Our ranks are filled with members who have recovered from the illness by stopping gambling and attaining a normal way of life. These members remain ready to help any individual who passes through the Gamblers Anonymous door.”
If you feel that you have a gambling problem, please answer these questions truthfully.
1. Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?
2. Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
3. Did gambling affect your reputation?
4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
5. Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
7. After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?
8. After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?
9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?
10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
12. Were you reluctant to use “gambling money” for normal expenditures?
13. Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?
14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?
15. Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?
16. Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?
17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
18. Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?
19. Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?
20. Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?
Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.”
If you or someone that you care about has a gambling problem, help is out there, but you need to take the first step, and that is to be honest with yourself. Gambling addiction won’t just go away on it’s own, and before you place another bet, dab another number or scratch another ticket, ask yourself, “Is losing myself, perhaps those I care about worth the gamble?”
The right to a good and normal life is yours, and, it is possible. Seek help and take control of your life again.
~Serenity~