Dicey Situation: Can compulsive gamblers help themselves?
Bob now confesses that he is a gambler - a compulsive gambler - a compulsive gambler in recovery.
It wasn't as easy to admit 18 months ago, when Bob, who asked that his real name not be used, was whittling away his savings, lying to his wife and sacrificing time with his family.
Before his family encouraged him to get help, he would spend 18 hours at a time glued to the computer screen in his basement, stopping only to smoke cigarettes and eat between online poker games.
He gambled every day. He lied about where he was. He lied to his wife for the first time in more than 30 years and still couldn't stop.
After 30 years of savings disappeared, along with money from his pension, Bob finally had to stop gambling. He had to borrow money from his children to pay for health insurance.
If you ask him today, he will still tell you that he doesn't know why.
"I don't know what attracted me to gambling. Any sane person would think that if you work hard for your money, go to the casino and lose it, why would you keep doing that? I don't know," Bob said.
"Gamblers can't just take a couple hundred dollars to the casino, see the flashing lights and hear the slot machines go round and round and go to a show. They can't leave the slot machine or table game they're playing."
According to the National Council of Problem Gambling, 6 million to 9 million Americans have a gambling problem in any given year. Only a small fraction seeks out help.
Development Officer Joe Henwood said he couldn't remember the last time - if at all - anyone with a serious gambling problem sought help at CityTeam Ministries in Chester, even after Harrah's casino and racetrack opened on the waterfront.
But he estimates that at any given time, one-third of those seeking help at CityTeam with alcohol or drug problems would admit to a "cross-addiction" to gambling.
Unlike drug or alcohol addiction, you can't "smell" a gambling problem on someone's breath, or see it in their eyes, said Nanette Horner, the state gaming control board's first director of its Office of Compulsive and Problem Gambling.
She called compulsive gambling a "secret disease."
"What we need to do is make people aware of the signs and symptoms and let people know that it's an impulse disorder, not a moral or financial issue."
Since Harrah's casino and racetrack opened in Chester, Horner said it's even more important to spread awareness of problem gambling and get people help.
The Office of Compulsive and Problem Gambling she oversees aims to do just that. It kicked off operations in September.
In honor of Problem Gambling Awareness Week March 5-11, the office is planning to prepare informational documents to be posted on the state's Web site at www.pgcb.state.pa.us.
Efforts to spread awareness of compulsive gambling and treatment options are being orchestrated through the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Pennsylvania Lottery, Horse Racing Commission, Harness Racing Commission and Department of Health.
Horner said the widespread effort is important because most gamblers believe their problems are based in self-control, preventing many from seeking treatment on their own.
Beginning of the End
In Bob's case, gambling problems started out early and small - a few dollars here and there while he was supporting his children. Such small amounts of play dollars weren't as noticeable in the family budget when they went missing.
As a boy, he gambled with baseball cards, flipping them against a wall. As a teenager, he played poker with money earned working weekends. In his 20s, he gambled at church fairs.
He always lost. Yet he kept gambling.
"The need to gamble compulsively grew larger with increased age and income, for me," Bob said.
"Previously, I might have disappointed my wife on occasions when we vacationed at a place that had a casino, but I didn't gamble my whole fortune away. I didn't wake up one morning and find that I was a compulsive gambler."
It wasn't until after he put his children through college, paid off his mortgage and retired at age 49 that his gambling problem escalated.
After retiring, he found himself face-to-face with a real problem: What was he going to do with all that free time?
He gambled.
The Long Road to Recovery
Bob finally got help after a family intervention.
He said it took 90 days of weekly group therapy before he could truly admit he was a compulsive gambler. It took another six months before he was comfortable with therapy.
"I didn't want to go at first, but I didn't want to lose my wife. Losing money is bad, but you can always make more money. People and relationships are a lot harder to replace," he said.
"I have caused enough pain and suffering for my wife to last a lifetime. I will do my best to never disappoint her again. My only hope is that we live long enough for me to make right the hurt I caused her."
That's why he won't go near Harrah's Casino and Racetrack in Chester.
"I think (Harrah's) is a fine thing for people who can handle gambling properly, but I know it is not for me. I know that if I gamble again I will not stop."
In Chester, Harrah's spokesman Jason Birney said there are several devices in place to hinder problem gamblers, like placing signs at all entrances and exits that warn patrons about the signs, symptoms and treatments for compulsive gamblers.
Harrah's also distributes pamphlets on "Knowing When to Stop" throughout the facility and posts gambling help lines on all ATM machines.
Nanette Horner said Harrah's utilizes an ambassador program that specially employs people to train above and beyond general knowledge of compulsive gambling. If an employee suspects a problem, they are required to contact one of Harrah's responsible gaming ambassadors. She said the ambassador would then approach the person and speak to them, providing them with information on assistance.
The state also offers assistance through a "self-exclusion" program, which started in October, that bans willing individuals from casinos to steer them away from fueling their gambling addiction.
According to Horner, the individual first agrees to stay away from casinos in a 20-minute in-take interview, has their picture taken and fills out an application for the program before their name is placed on the "self-exclusion" list.
Once their name is placed on the list, Horner said that all gambling facilities are required to stop sending information to them, like marketing pamphlets or player card promotions. They would also receive information on treatment and assistance that is available for problem gambling.
If the individual on the list enters a gambling facility, the building's staff must stop them from gambling and remove them from the premises. The facility then has the authority to call the police and have the gambler arrested for trespassing.
Horner said that individuals interested in being placed on the self exclusion list should visit one of the gaming control offices in Harrisburg, or contact her at: (717) 346-8300. |
