Good afternoon RD, my name is Larry and I am a compulsive gambler, my last bet was August 13, 2009. Welcome to GT, a place where 'Reallysmart' people come to find help and work at the ways and means to stop their compulsive gambling and renew a life ruined by an addiction, not by them, but by a baffling and insidious compulsive addiction to.
I stumbled upon this forum when I was surfing the net for information on gambling addiction two Sundays ago after a very unpleasant experience at an upstate casino
I realized I had a potential problem in May 2013 and took a break for a bit, before going back 9 more times since thenBoredom is my biggest issue, as my son went away to college last fall after living solely with me the last two years of his high school
Real Life Slot Machine
Like a co-worker said, almost all addictions start out as 'just fun,' or 'something to do'For some, it remains that way; for others, like me, it can turn ugly in a split second
For me, it happened in early May. I had finally received my tax refund and it was also payday, and I was in good spirits as I arrived at the casino. My game of choice is slots, because of the lower wagers than cards and interaction with others is voluntary vs. almost required. But, that Friday I had no plan and felt flush with money. Before I made it to my 'free' room for the night, I was down $400. In the past, I did not return to the casino the next day after staying overnight, but I did that Saturday. As I withdrew $500 from the ATM, I was drawn to the phone number for gambling addictions for the first time. I started betting max on my favorite machines and lost the entire $500 within 3 hours. Naturally, I had a very tough drive home
Slot Machine Addiction Forum
In the 9 times I went since early May, I am down a total of $1025 more
I have worked hard to fight the urges and have definitely changed my approach by betting less and walking away before losing everything I loaded on my player's card. But, it's not lost on me that I have not hit even one 'medium' jackpot of more than $50 the last 6 trips, yet in the beginning I would hit those almost every other trip, and more times than not they were between $300 and $800. I am truly beginning to wonder if casinos can control the outcomes for individual players when they see one's habits changing? I doubt this is the case, but it does seem awfully weird that I have not hit the equivalent of 12 visits in a row since I am wagering about half as much and pushing the button many more times per visit
I will close for now, but will be happy to share more of my personal information with anyone who is interested. I am a good listener too - petemon