Gambling addiction is a progressive disease. In most people, it begins slowly and grows until the victim's life becomes progressively unmanageable. As repeated efforts to gain control over the addiction fail, life for the compulsive gambler begins to fall apart. If the compulsive gambler could stop chasing losses, he would. All compulsive gamblers can stop gambling... for a while. But most people need professional help to stop for life.....

Gambling Addiction.

We live seven miles from a large Indian casino. Prior to moving close to the casino I would make a gambling trip about once a month with friends or relatives. Now that we live so close to the casino these same friends and relatives stop to visit on the way to the casino. They often invite me to come along to the casino for a few hours. Since I have been spending more time at the casino I realize that gambling addiction is a huge problem in our area.

Finding Help for Gambling Addiction

When I would go less often I did not notice if the same people were there from time to time. Now that I go as often as I do I spend a lot of time walking around and watching people gamble. I am able to spot the people that have a gambling addiction. They usually are by themselves and are oblivious to what is going on around them. They are focused on the slot machine and nothing else seems to matter. I have seen people that will sit at the same slot machine for hours putting in more and more money because they are sure that the machine is going to start paying off. One late morning my sister picked me up to go to the casino to play the slots and to have lunch.

We also had an appointment to get our nails done at the salon that is attached to the casino. When we walked in I noticed a man that I seem to see every time I go to the casino. He is one of the people that I think has a gambling addiction. He was sitting at a nickel slot machine. I noticed him because he was calling out to an attendant that he needed change. My sister and I played a few machines.

Each time I walked by the one area I noticed the man playing the same machine. I decided to sit down by him. I asked him if he was winning when I sat down. He was so intent on pushing the buttons on the machine that he only grunted a response. I had a good spin and was able to cash out more than double my money. He just kept pushing the button and kept putting in twenty dollar bills.

When my sister and I were having our nails done I asked the manicurist how long she had worked at the salon. She said for two months, that she had worked in the casino prior to the salon opening. She talked about people having a gambling addiction and how some of the older women wear adult diapers so they do not have to leave their machines to go to the restroom. She said that there were many people that had lost everything due to their gambling addiction. When my sister and I left the man was still sitting and playing the same machine. It is sad to think that someone would lose their life savings over a slot machine.

Article by A.G. White an independent writer for Healthy Help Files on Addiction Issues.

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