My story

My story

I was never interested in any kind of gambling from youth to late adulthood, no lottery, scratch card, bingo, card games, any kind of casino games, horse or dog racing and slots. When I reach the ripe old age of 52, I started going to the casino once or twice a year especially on my birthdays and most of the time I thought it was dumb because it was a waste of money and time.

Two years later, the casinos near my area started to advertise heavily, and my husband and I are sucked into the free plays, concerts, buffets and gifts. It soon became a routine for us to go at least once a week. Things start to change when we had some decent win on the slot and we are really hooked.

At the height of our addiction, we were at the casinos at least 5 time a week. It was fun and peaches at first but we soon realized we could no longer afford to gamble the way we did because the bets just got higher. We tried controlled gambling but it was a joke, it don't work because when we lapsed, the losses was worst than the last.

The longest we had stayed gamble free was 89 days and I hope that we can beat this record and maybe will be more successful this time. Thank you for listening and making me accountable for this horrible addiction.

It should be a criminal offense the way casinos lure people into gambling.
Yes, once you're there and mesmerized by the atmosphere of bells, whistles and fantasyland, it's fun at first. Then if you happen to win some money, that's the ultimate hook. Good that you see the reality of the addiction. Hope you quit for good.

Thank you for sharing your back story, Rainbowcolor. I'm glad you and your husband were able to pick yourselves back up and get into recovery again. If I'm not mistaken, you should be at 56 days -- I believe you were a couple of days ahead of me. Good on you -- that's eight weeks!!!

I wish you continued success and I will be watching you closely and cheering you on. I like to believe that you are blazing the trail and I am drafting behind you.

Enjoy your gamble free week.

TSL

Thank you 58gambling and TheSweetLife for your encouragement. Thank goodness we did not receive many promotions lately because it all went to the thrash can and we are no longer the casino loyal customers. 55 days gamble free, life is much better now.

I haven't placed a bet in over 3.5 years and hearing from new people helps me more than anything. You remind me what it was like for me early on. Obviously you need to quit and there's no time like the present. Go to the casino and self-exclude. You'll be happy you did and you'll be on your way to a happier life.

Thank you for the input Buster1969, you are an inspiration and the no nonsense guy who always come straight to the point.

I have this love/hate relationships with gambling in the casinos and to be honest, the idea of not going forever seem very depressed at the moment. I am now a believer in total abstinence and no more nonsensical controlled gambling.

rainbowcolor wrote:I have this love/hate relationships with gambling in the casinos and to be honest, the idea of not going forever seem very depressed at the moment.

I was addicted to going to them as well. Now if I ever feel tempted, I remind myself that they are a place where even though people may smile and congratulate each other on wins, etc., folks are all, in essence, trying to take each other's money. There is no expansion of anything in a casino, nothing is being created, no product, no bodily wellness, no true joy. It's a zero sum game, taking turns grabbing each other's money, yet you end up with less than you contributed because the casino takes a cut. It is pretty sad when you think about it.

For the record, I am only excluded from casinos in my home state of Pennsylvania. If I wanted to there isn't anything stopping me from driving to Atlantic City (3 hours) and doing all the things that ruin my life. I believe the reason I don't is that the distance is too great and over that period I'd realize how stupid it would be to gamble.

When I look at where I am now I couldn't imagine giving it all up to sit in a room with a bunch of degenerate gamblers and ruin everything I've worked for. Just yesterday we bought a new car, in a couple weeks we're taking another trip to the Caribbean for eight days, I've already made my 2nd quarter sales goal so I don't have a full week of work until the end of July. I've also lost a lot of weight and have been training so much that I'm stronger than I've ever been. I recently benched more than twice as much as I could when I first stopped gambling. My shirts are now tight around my arms and chest instead of my gut.

Is my life perfect? No. But at least I have things to look forward to and be proud of.

Buster1969: Great account of your improved life! Very inspirational for those of us who have not yet progressed as far......I love stories like yours because it shows us that it IS possible to get away from this addiction and live a good life. Your reference to casino proximity resonates with me as well. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in those early times, the nearest gambling casinos were 3-1/2 to 4 hours away in Reno or Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Still, my parents often made the trip to those places for "fun and recreation".....naturally, myself and some of my brothers became hooked on it, and lost untold thousands over the years. Fast forward to today, and Indian Casinos and card clubs are all around the area now, and I can get to any one of them within 20-45 minutes, depending on which casino I want to go. So it's become easier to reach a casino, now, for me, which means I have to be twice as determined not to go.

Thanks for providing an example of how life can really be happy and good, instead of stressed and miserable!

Good morning all I have been reading post on this board for many years. This is the first time posting.
I have a gambling problem. I was the one who said 25 years ago I would never be that little old lady sitting at the slot machine chain smoking and hypnotized by the casino. Well that is who I am although I am not that old yet. It started about 12 years ago when my husband was taking classes on line to get his Business degrees. I never lied he always knew where I was all my income that was ours as well went to my insane habit. Fast forward 2017 husband very successful,we have a business as well. He likes to go out and said if we gamble go to one place so we get the most for the money we lose. Going to the same casino for the last 12 years very nice etc... look at it like we have an escape for the weekend. Husband can take 20 and play all night and make something of it me? Well you know the story. Looking back I am so angry at myself for spending about $100,000 over the last 12 years. So much could have been done with that instead of flushing it down the proverbial toilet. We live in Pennsylvania and there are casinos in every direction within 20 minutes to an hour from our home. We do not gamble in PA we go to A.C. NJ I enjoy the time away I do not want to be in this ell hole of gambling anymore and want to et back to the life we lived and enjoyed before this. When I see these old people it really upsets me because I do not want to be them. Going to make plans to see a psyhciatrist to see if they can help. hank you or reading.