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Tony McDew, at a bus stop on Spring Mountain Road across from the Fashion Show Mall, holds video camera that he has used to document his struggle with gambling addiction. While he was gambling, money problems forced him to ride the bus regularly.
By J. Patrick Coolican (contact) 
Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Bottoming Out
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Tony McDew not only recognized that he had a gambling problem, but set out to document it with his own video camera, hoping that sharing his experience could help others. When the jackpot hits, "It feels like you're getting high." And when it doesn't? "You want to crucify yourself."
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Problem Gambling Center executive director Krista Creelman will answer questions about gambling addiction from Las Vegas Sun readers from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24. Submit a question now and we'll post the answers on Tuesday.
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About this series
In the three decades since the psychiatric community recognized compulsive gambling as a mental disorder, it has evolved from a small area of study to a global research effort involving dozens of medical doctors and other specialists who have generated hundreds of studies and hosted as many conferences.
Yet it remains a largely secret affliction, in part because it carries a stigma even here in the birthplace of modern gambling. As a result, sufferers don’t want to discuss the problem or seek help.
Fewer than 10 gambling treatment programs run by state-certified counselors exist in Nevada. The number of nonprofit treatment clinics that waive costs for those who can’t pay — a common predicament for gambling addicts — can be counted on one hand. Fewer than 400 people underwent treatment for gambling problems in state-funded counseling programs in the two-year period ending Sept. 30. Though many more seek out self-help groups such as Gamblers Anonymous, it’s believed to be a fraction of the more than 90,000 Nevadans with gambling problems.
Starting with this story, the Las Vegas Sun explores problem gambling three ways — through the experiences of an addict, by examining what happens inside the brain of an addict, and by considering the role of slot machine designs in feeding gambling addictions.
The stories
- Part 1: Tony McDew not only recognized that he had a gambling problem, but set out to document it with his video camera, hoping that sharing his experience could help others. When the jackpot hits, “It feels like you’re getting high.” And when it doesn’t? “You want to crucify yourself.”
- Part 2: The mere sight of a slot machine can trigger a chemical response in the gambling addict’s brain in the same way the thought of cocaine stimulates a drug addict. Some researchers are exploring the use of drugs to treat addicts. Robert Hunter offers old-fashioned group and one-on-one therapy. Coming Monday.
- Part 3: When designer Si Redd realized the overwhelming attraction of his video poker machine, he advised addicts to get help — and leave Nevada if necessary. Today the role of the machine in feeding addiction is debated. At some casinos in Canada, gamblers can tell slot machines to limit their play. Coming Tuesday.
Related Stories
Sun Archives
- LV companies in denial about problem gambling (11-20-2009)
- New courts will stress treatment of gamblers (6-1-2009)
- Criminals could get help for gambling, not prison time (4-18-2009)
- LV attorney who stole $398,345 for gambling habit suspended (2-19-2009)
- Gambling addict’s misery detailed (10-2-2002)
The machine is playing its familiar Las Vegas victory song, ding-ding-ding-ding-ding.
Tony McDew has just hit it big on his favorite slot game, Max Action, which he likes to call Action Max.
“The numbers are still going up,” he says happily.
A bit later, he is standing outside the Palms, displaying crisp hundreds in front of the small video camera he’s using to film himself.
“Tony from Cali, here at the Palms. Sixteen hundred bucks, baby.”
McDew, 46, came here from California in 2003 after a divorce and, like so many before and since, sought a new life and maybe even a new identity.
He was a computer technician in Sacramento and when he moved here, he got hired as a salesman at Comp USA. He had trouble covering the rent while also trying to do nice things for his then-girlfriend.
And then a few lucky days at the casino got him to believe that gambling was a way to supplement his income.
“I was like, ‘wow, this is crazy.’ The coins come out, the machine trickles down and you hear all the noises, the bells and whistles, and I was like, ‘wow.’ ”
McDew is drug free, but he says gambling has given him some idea of what drugs must be like: “It’s like you’re getting high,” he says.
Like most people who struggle with gambling, he loves — and hates — the machines.
McDew’s experience — an insidious need to gamble and a resulting downpour of debt — is well known in a city with 100 separate, regular meetings of Gamblers Anonymous.
A problem for many
According to a 2002 report commissioned by the Legislature — still considered the most reliable — 2.1 percent of the Nevada population met the definition of “pathological” gamblers, who have a mental disorder characterized by a loss of control over gambling.
Another 3 percent were not pathological, but could still be classified as “problem” gamblers, a broader term referring to “patterns of gambling behavior that compromise, disrupt or damage” work and family life. Given Nevada’s current population and assuming similar rates of pathological and problem gambling, when the two groups are added, they total nearly 97,000 Nevadans, or a city more than one-third the size of Henderson.
McDew deluded himself, like so many others, into thinking he could beat the games, that there was a pattern he could master.
“What’s weird,” he says now, baffled, “is that I’m a technician” — he knows he should have known better.
The urges were powerful, though. “It’s like a trick. When you get in there, there’s no clocks, and time goes by, five, six hours. It’s like they kind of trick you into being there. The sounds, the bells, the whistles, the cocktail women trying to give you drinks.”
Soon McDew found a good job as an audiovisual technician at Mandalay Bay.
He was helping set up rock concerts, shows and big-time political rallies. McDew is an electronics junkie. His rented house in northeast Las Vegas looks like a spaceship inside, with a plethora of computers in various states of repair, camcorders, lights and stereo equipment. He loves Star Trek and Star Wars and seems to have a rich fantasy life.
He enjoyed his work and was making good money, buying electronics.
But there was never enough.
At some point, he began upping his bets, and more and more of it swirled down the gaming drain.
“It’s one of those things where you almost can’t control it,” he says.
Once, a paycheck was gone in one sitting.
“I was like, man, I can’t even get anything to eat. I felt like one of those people who wants to go kill themselves.”
He kept it a secret from his then-girlfriend, telling her that he was jumped and robbed.
“It’s like people when they get on drugs or are doing something they don’t want to talk about,” he says.
Casino co-workers would ask if he’d been playing. He would lie and say no.
This only worsened the isolation. “You can’t talk to anybody about it.”
Quitting was out of the question. He compared himself to a crack addict.
“Sometimes I get really crazy and lose everything. I’ve done that, where I don’t even have enough gas to get home,” he says.
In all, he’s spent $35,000 gambling, he estimates.
McDew’s openness about his experience as a problem gambler offers a glimpse into the lives of those 97,000 Nevadans.
He not only talks honestly about his story, he’s also filmed much of it.
Struggling to survive
He’s used his collection of cameras and video editing equipment to document his struggle to survive — like Dostoevsky’s “The Gambler” — while dumping paycheck after paycheck into the coffers of casino companies.
His home movies reveal a McDew who blends several strains of the American psyche — desire, compulsion, confession.
He hopes to create a reality show of his sometimes-chaotic life, one that would teach others to avoid his mistakes.
One day in June, not long after his big, $1,600 win at the Palms, McDew, or “Tony from Cali Reality,” as he calls himself, is on film, holding his camera at arm’s length, running down his losses.
The day before, he’d lost $800. He’s a frequent visitor to pawn shops and borrows from payday lenders.
He also has a car title loan; he pays $160 per month to prevent his car from being taken. By this time, he’s paid back the $800 principal many times over in interest payments, but still doesn’t have the title in his hands because he never manages to pay down the principal.
“It’s a rip-off. But I can’t complain because I made the mistake of getting involved in it,” he says.
McDew takes a computer to Super Pawn and gets $400 for it, hoping to eventually buy it back. Even if he’s successful, however, he’ll have to pay interest.
He calls his pawn proceeds “emergency money.” Being out of money to gamble is an emergency.
He uses the $400 pawn proceeds to pay his title loan interest, and heads back to the casino with $240. A lot of people in Las Vegas live this of cycle of borrowing, he explains.
The air conditioner in his van doesn’t work; he chooses the slots over getting it fixed, so on the way to the casino he cools himself with a spray bottle filled with water. It’s Tony from Cali’s Astro Van Air Conditioning, or the “bro-conditioner.”
“The more you make, the more you spend,” he tells the camera. “And right now, like I said, I spent $800 yesterday. Today I’m going to try to make some of that back.”
He enters the Palms, which ends that video segment. Inside, the ironclad laws of mathematical destiny take hold.
The next video clip opens with him back outside.
“Everybody, your boy Tony from Cali. Well, it didn’t happen. I ended up losing the $240.”
The next day, he’s back at Super Pawn and comes out with $600.
His list of collateral at Super Pawn at that moment, best as he can recall: three computers, a Behringer amplifier, two MIDI controllers, a stereo system, a video camera and tripod.
After settling a payday loan and an electric bill, he has $100 in his pocket for the Palms.
“I don’t really want to head back to the Palms. I’m starting to hate the Palms more and more. It’s just, with the recession and all the bills coming up, I just want to be able to do everything. And one of these days I’m hoping that maybe I will hit it big.”
McDew says he likes to confess to the camera because it’s therapeutic. If he were to tell others that he gambled his whole paycheck, “They’re going to look at you like you’re crazy. They’re going to disown you.”
On his way back to the casino, some of his shame comes spilling out, acknowledging his depression and referring several times to being embarrassed about his life and what he’s made of it.
“I’m not gonna go out and kill myself, hang myself, although I’ve thought of that because of some of the things I’ve done. You know, you want to beat yourself up, you want to crucify yourself, but you know you can’t do that.”
There’s a haunting, lonely quality to this part of the video.
Robert Hunter, a Las Vegas therapist in the treatment of addiction, says problem gamblers suffer the highest rate of suicide of any population subgroup. Unlike other suicide cases, which are often a statement of anger to family and community, gambling addicts take their lives in shame, Hunter says.
“It’s, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. My family deserves better.’ ”
Back at the Palms, McDew loses again. He finds $6.12 in change to get gas.
‘I might as well quit’
In July, Tony McDew decided he’s had enough. He was on another losing streak, most of his possessions were held in hock — nearly $10,000 worth — and he barely managed to pay rent with a loan.
“I thought, ‘Oh, this is crazy.’ It just hit me.”
He finally pierced the fiction that has transformed Las Vegas from a dusty outpost to a giant city.
McDew recalls thinking, “I’m just never gonna get ahead. I’m never gonna get the money back I lost, so I might as well quit.”
He’s gambled just once since July.
It’s hard to know why some people fight powerful human urges while other relent.
Hunter recently met McDew and evaluated him. He asks McDew the 20 questions Gamblers Anonymous uses to guide people in discerning whether they have a problem.
Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay off debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
And so on.
McDew answers yes to 14 of the questions, or twice the number indicating he could have a problem.
Hunter tells McDew that he has all the indicators of a problem gambler, and says quitting was a smart move. He compares him to a friend who was quite obviously an alcoholic in need of treatment, but was arrested for drunken driving and successfully quit cold turkey: Hunter’s friend danced right up to the line and managed to pull back without hurting himself or someone else.
As Hunter notes, McDew is — yes, this is surely ironic — quite lucky. Many problem gamblers need help to stop, and only after losing jobs, families, lives.
“Now, I don’t want to see a casino,” McDew says.
A new attitude
When Tony McDew was gambling, his favorite casino was the Palms. Tired of living on the edge, McDew had an epiphany in July: "I'm just never gonna get ahead. I'm never gonna get the money back I lost, so I might as well quit." He's gambled only one time since.
His new stance isn’t easy considering that he works in a casino and so much of the social life of Las Vegas revolves around casinos.
McDew moved to a section of northeast Las Vegas with almost no casinos.
He spends time with his electronics — he has recouped much of it from the pawnshop — or relaxing in the Jacuzzi tub he installed in his living room.
The metaphor is not lost on him — he’s replaced the aggressive stimulation of the machines with the serenity of a soak.
Occasionally he goes to Privé, the nightclub at Planet Hollywood, dressed in a gold lamé, 1980s party costume. With his giant gold chain, high-top fade haircut and cell phone that he’s made to look straight out of 1987, he’s like a character out of a funky comic book. He skates the line and goes in free, and the regulars love him, with hugs and high-fives. McDew doesn’t drink, so for these nights at Planet Hollywood, which no longer involve the slots, he needs just $2, for the bathroom attendant.
It’s all part of his new attitude toward life.
“Don’t live beyond your means. Enjoy your life. If you don’t have money to do certain things, just do whatever you can do.”
He offers a warning, hoping to prevent the suffering he’s experienced. “You can get hooked easily. I got hooked on $5.”
McDew’s awakening and turning away from gambling is as mysterious as the working of the brain itself, but he seems to have been affected by seeing how much farther he could go if he kept playing.
“I started to look at people less fortunate than we are. You see people who are homeless. It makes you appreciate what you have. Yeah, I don’t have a high-def camera. But I do have a camera.”
Sun videographer Scott Den Herder contributed to this story.
Very good comment. It's somewhat like the description int he books about compulsive gambling. Usually people start with incredible lucky streaks, followed by some set-backs, then comes then desire to get back the money you just lost, while you lose more and more. But not only money. Also your friends and family may turn their back on you while your construct of lies is getting bigger and bigger. At some point you stop dreaming and see reality as it is. Hopefully it's not too late the time you realize you must stop and change something. Most people stop only after it's too late already and they have lost it all. Some don't.
I don't know if gambling can be fun ever again after going through such a deep valley of losses and despair. I think a person who has experienced this needs to find new interests, a new life. Sometimes moving away may be a plan. In any case, once gambling gets out of control then it's usually the time to put action on yourself. Very good article.
I'd rather be a compulsive gambler than belong to any of the "anonymous" cults. That said, why pick a reality show wannabe as an example? It undermines the seriousness of the issue.
Although "bro-conditioner" is pretty damn funny.
hey tony from cali...
excellent video...
remember one thing buddy...
if you could win at a casino over the long run, the casino would go bankrupt...
it really is that simple...
hope that video pays off your debts...
good luck...
His story has been repeated countless times since Reno and Vegas began. There will be others. Some guys just don't know when to quit or how to budget. With casinos all over the country nowadays, there are even more hopless gamblers.
Good luck to Tony (no pun intended) in staying clean. He might consider moving from Las Vegas, though. Too much easily accessible temptation.
Rejco100, you must be one lonely, sorry person. Your comments are negative and frequently demeaning, why don't you get some help? I know why because every program has "twelve steps" right?
Dude, the "higher power" part of the twelve steps could care less what you signify as your "higher power". It could be God or a favorite poem. It could be a tree or a favorite whatever. Nobody cares, it's all on you.
The gambling center that Dr. Hunter runs is amazing. It gets to the root of the problem and gives you tools to help you restart your life.
I am 1 1/2 years clean. I could not have done it with Dr. Hunters program.
My journey started with a bet for $1.25 and it all went downhill from there. I never gambled in Casino's, I always played in 7-11's and such.
I gambled to escape a troubled marriage and pretty soon it became my life. I have never taken illegal drugs, abused alcohol or prescription drugs. I would wake up at night previewing where I would get my "fix" later that day.
I know your journey. Good luck!
Casino gambling is great, but NEVER have I walked through the front doors wondering how everything in the casino is paid for. I'll help pay for a small amount of the electric bill, but that's it!
rejco 100, please be sure to read tomorrow's story. Your remarks suggest you will benefit by more information on the reality of gambling addiction.
It's an addiction like all the others, but it is a legal one that you can get away with and drive home from. I am educated and smart, yet very stupid when it comes to the gambling problem I obviously have. We can't win against such profitable Casino's. Maybe the hope is to be that one person who does hit the big one and can retire, but that is not realistic. How ironic it is that I pinch pennies at the store, skip a meal to save money, watch for sales or bargains, yet think nothing of dropping $100 into a slot machine (supposedly a penny slot machine), and watching it go away within 10 minutes. Running to the ATM machine and agreeing to the $3.00 fee (lunch I skipped), maxing that out, and then agreeing to the $20 fee to convert my needed $300 money to a "credit card / POS" transaction! Of course to just lose that also. They draw me in with the $20 free spending money on my players card, I then lose control. Once in there, something takes over. I think that the machine I just put $200 in is ready to pay back, so I continue to feed it. The key is to stay away, stay far away. Don't go in for "free" play money. Go to movies at outside theaters, not the ones in a Casino. I won't dedicate time or money to programs like Gamblers Anon, yet I will give hours and hundreds to machines. MY BAD!!!!
I am a compulsive gambler PERIOD! Since 1994 I probably have wagered at least one hundred thousand dollars in various casinos across the southwest. Am I ashamed of this? well.. yes and no. The yes part is that my actions cost me much in my advancement forward in the world of marriage, home ownership, and never really having a life savings to speak of. As far as the lost marriage, that one doesn't really bother me so much because she was an enabler and got what she wanted out of the life of comps in fancy hotel rooms, meals, shows, and trips with winnings to the Super Pawn to buy expensive diamond rings and necklaces, etc. I can say that some of the most exciting and glamorous times of my life were in this period. Now look at the guy who didn't go down that path. He is married with two or more kids, lives in a nice home, works his job (if he was lucky enough to keep it with the recent recession) and has a significant savings account, and/or 401K. My question is how happy is he? I have always felt that through my thirties and forties I wanted to go for the gusto in life with youth on my side, which is exactly what I did. It cost me one hundred thousand dollars. But I lived the life! I have memories of winning huge jackpots and taking trips to Hawaii, buying musical equipment, vacationing at luxurious hotels much of them comped, hours spent with beautiful girls, hot tubs, gourmet dining, buying nice cars, all of this mind you being drug and alcohol free for the most part. My drug was gambling. No one can really understand the thrill of a huge fifty thousand dollar win on the five dollar slots, or the three other times I won twenty thousand dollar jackpots on the ten dollar Red White & Blue Slot machines. And of course all of the five thousand and ten thousand dollar wins in between. Hours spent playing, and mastering the game of craps. Metting some of the most interesting and comical characters in the world! Yes there were heartbreaking losses as well, even one time where I had to go to Robinson's May to purchase a small diamond ring with my Robinson's card, only to slip over to a pawn shop on the strip to get barely half of what I had just paid for it in cash to go to the Tropicana and win five hundred dollars on the five dollar Red White & Blue machine!. I learned the hard way that you can never in the long run come out ahead with gambling . I managed to work consistently over the years to fuel my addiction. I am of the view that my preference was to spend my hard earned dollars in this world. Do I regret not ever owing a home, or the loss of my marriage? not really. Now days I gamble cautiously and only occasionally to get my "fix" from time to time. I have some of the best memories that no slot machine can take away from me. I prefer to remember the good memories, and not the bad, which is my perogative, but I warn anyone who thinks they can beat the game consistently, forget it.
environprotector:
Thanks for your story. Those winnings and other benefits you spoke of is what I sought, but I didn't get those. But what I learn from you is that even if I had, ultimately you give it back. Yes, you had some great times and memories, which others pay cash to get anyway, so it all works out similar. I am lucky to still have my long term marriage and 2 kids. I am going to give everything in my power to stop the addiction I have in order to save what I am fortunate enough to still have. I hope to look back in several years, lick my financial wounds, and say I beat it!!!
responsible gaming is a joke...Vegas was built on these people
Tony McDew sounds like he's got the smarts to make decent money from his electronics skills. In addition to his job at Mandalay Bay-he could set up a private business servicing people's computers to make extra money-PC repairs. What I find amazing is that Tony-being an electronics individual-should easily realize that a computer chip controlled slot machine-in the long run-is going to keep more-than it pays out. There's no way around it. Tony-make money off your working skills and stay away from the Casino nonsense. Good luck to you.
Good luck Tony.
SUNMAN: I will share this one piece of advice with you that I got from a voice on the phone one time when I felt the need to call Gamblers Anonymous Hot Line. I f you have a weakness to resist the urge to gamble, you must address it directly. Stop gambling, just don't do it. Finances can always be replenished , but ONLY if you stop gambling immediately. This sounds easier than it really is, however just the idea that OK I've suffered a tremendous monetary loss, however it's not the end of the world, if I stop gambling now, I won't lose anymore, and only gain from this moment forward makes good sense. Good Luck!
E.P.
environprotector:
Thanks. I stopped smoking that way over 1 year ago(cold turkey with prayer). I know I have the strength to do the same with gambling. Your point of accepting the loss, and stop trying to chase it (odds are it won't be recovered via gambling), is what I need to accept and believe as of right now. Recover losses by way of work. Apply my extra time and energy to my job, thereby increasing that real income (especially since it is a job that pays based on performance incentives). I commit to those of you reading this now that I will stop immediately, and if not for my own will-power, then for yours on my behalf. Thank you!!
And of course, thank you Tony for your article, as it woke me up. Good luck to you as well!
Getalife, please pay no attention to rejco. In whatever way you needed to succeed, YOU SUCCEEDED!!! And isn't that what really matters?
Tony, the final commments you added in your film are very sincere and hopefully you can stick with them. I think the hardest part comes when you have your financial situation under complete control again and some money left over and nothing to do. Will you be strong enough to resist all the temptations waiting for you on every corner of Las Vegas? I hope you will and find another way of passing time and be happy, anyway. I think there's more in life than Max Action. Greetings from Southern Switzerland, Europe.
environprotector....That is quite a story, thanks for sharing. I am fortunate that I have never had an addictive or implusive personality. I am not a gambler, and don't really understand the high people get from it. I have had vicodin and morphine pills for my cancer and still have several bottles laying around. Didn't become addicted to that stuff either. I guess I am lucky in that respect. I don't even put a quarter in the machines as I walk through the casinos. I find gaming boring. I like the shows and restaurants, but not the gambling and smoking.
Good luck on your continued recovery!!
Don't worry folks, Obama is going to give free casino gaming markers to everyone once the health care system is fatally deformed.
Unfortunately, not many people have will power. ALL things in excess are bad. Moderation is key.
Readers, if you are a recovering gambling addict, please feel free to share your story. Check out the link that's in the margin to the right of this story, up top.
i am a gambler...
i've gambled for 40 years.
but i'm not a loser.
i study all the numbers and manage my money well.
in all these 40 years i can say i've won more
than i've lost.
so, i'm happy.
7pesos : You sir are a minority in that world. Perhaps you play poker or are a skilled blackjack player. Other than those two "skill" type games of chance, I sincerely doubt you have remained financially ahead playing slots and the majority of table games.
7pesos : Oh yeah, I should have included sports betting as well. If you are an informed and skilled wagerer in this field, you can be successful. But that pretty much requires that you be someone of the caliber of the late great Frank Rosenthal ..
Poker from 15/30 and up and 2/5 nl and up may be a beatable game. Everything below that is too tough to beat because you also have to beat the 10 per cent highway robbery house rake.
Bonus-Info: Poker may be a beatable game,....but only if you're a master of the game and probabilities, psychologies, etcn, plus, you're not sitting at a table with 9 other players who think the same and have equivalent skill. Even 1 "not-so-strong" player is probably not enough to make up for the rest of the table to win. What you need is 3 or 4 "party animals" with money to burn, otherwise forget it. The readers who disagree and still keep going to the Mirage 3/6 limit game at 2 p.m. on Monday afternoon must be living in a dream world. These tight players give only action if they got a real hand, and then it's a crap shoot whether you can win the pot or not. I would rather go to the movies at this time of the day than thinking of how to make money in 3/6 limit hold'em.
ARE GOVERNMENT IS IN THE GAMGLING BUSINESS. IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS EVERY STATE IN THE UNION WILL HAVE SOME SORT OF LOTTERY. THE STATES WILL DEPEND ON THIS GAMBLING MONEY JUST LIKE NV, BUT IT WILL BE GOVERNMENT RUN JUST LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE. BIG BROTHER IS HERE FOLKS.
Stories like this one reinforce what Adam Smith said over 300 years ago:
each individual is responsible for his own actions and for his own welfare, with the state uninvolved in his foibles or successes.
Good human interest story. The virtual slot machine and the insider look into slots helps the addict see how the lure of gambling creates a lot of chaos.
I played 100 turns spins and won a lot more times than would be expected by virtual machines. I will not however skateboard, run, hop, or use my walker to encounter the next casino for slots. The fun of gambling to the non-addict is to play the amount of money predetermined and if its lost no more; if won, take the winnings and split the scene pronto.
What is the $2.00 ride. Harvey's was home of the $500.00 slot paid off in silver dollars.
For me it's hard to believe anyone can get addicted to this. Presonally I find gambling a boring waste of time and I hate losing money which is usually the outcome. I love Las Vegas, though. Great city. Headscratch on why people want to gamble, but the clubs, shows, strip, malls, desert, and resturants are great.
I find Tony McDew's gambling life on video very interesting for 2 reasons. One because I enjoy reality TV and also because I like to play the slots. My wife & I made a deal early on that we would play only together and only on a budget. I know without a doubt that I could have been in Tony's shape without these conditions. In the 90's, we just came to Las Vegas a couple times a year, so there was no worry about a gambling problem, but in recent years casinos have popped up all around us. The urge to go more often is there, but once a week is still a rule we stick by. I am sure there are alot of people here in the midwest that could learn from Tony's video. It would be great if his video could be picked up by newspapers around the country.
I live in Switzerland and visit Vegas 2x/year. Because of the extremely long flight from Europe to the Mid West of the U.S. I usually stay 3 weeks in Vegas. Sometimes longer. But never less than 3, as it's not worth the long flight.
Because of that I need a huge bankroll to gamble all the time and still need to be on a budget as otherwise the second half of the stay could become a boring wait till my flight back home departs. It is essential to play on a limited budget and also, play the right games. Must be tough to see things go out of control and not do anything about it till it's too late. I never returned back home broke from VEgas, but hardly ever won anything. I think my record was a 2000 Dollars Plus after 3 weeks in the desert. This barely made up for all the expenses I had but was the biggest fun ever. Not to lose , even after having gambled 3 weeks in a row. My worst trip cost me about 4500 usd, plus expenses. But this was a 4 weeks' stay, so after all, still something I can live with.
If I would have to live in Vegas, I probably had to work out a special game plan from the beginning and not spend more money than I can afford. Everything else is the absolute suicide mission for Vegas citizen. Don't gamble, or gamble on a limited budget, or you will go down.
Greetings from Switzerland
I love it when people have the courage to tell their stories so as to allow someone who is similarly in pain can have a bit of hope. Although I am not in GA I do belong to a 12 step program. I began with hostility and learned through the steps and the book how to live my life a different way. I didn't have to fall prey to mumbo jumbo or differences of opinions or interpretations. I sought the answers for myself out of the texts and applied them to my life. I have not only recovered from my addiction I have a way of life that holds me and my actions accountable to myself not to the group. I have a good life today after having lost absolutely everything and I would not have an inner self that does not want to harm others today if not for the twelve steps. Best wishes to those in recovery every day is a precious gift, for those seeking recovery I hope you find the help you need whatever method you choose that works for you, and for those who are so angry and bitter I hope you find some peace as I know from first hand experience that you are lashing out from your own pain.
Well said,amn,well said.
In recovery here... Loving life and myself for the first time ever.. Not an easy road to walk but one that has a light at the end of it's tunnel. My grandpa always said to me when I was younger as he would take me fishing waiting hours on end for a bite.. It's called fishing not catching.. Think about it it's called gambling not winning.. I stopped at nothing to chase the bet.. Clean for almost 2 1/2 years now and still struggle but have support thru family, friends, co-workers, ga members.. Living day one step at a time. Good luck Tony.. Enjoyed your story. Hit home.. Makes me thankful I'm not chasing the bet anymore.
I have lost over $5 million in Vegas, much of it money that wasn't legally mine to spend. I spent over 5 years in prison over it. I've recovered now - I don't gamble, I'm out of prison, and am financially stable.
Remember this: no matter how bad it gets, it can and will get worse if you keep gambling. There is no rock-bottom as long as you continue gambling - you will continue sinking until you are in jail or dead. You will eventually lose every dollar you bet - it's a mathematical certainty.
The only answer for a problem gambler is not to play. I began by chasing an $80 loss, and wound up losing well over $5 million.
Good luck to you Tony. Although we are miles apart (I live in London, England) our stories are very similar. You have made me look at my life and I am going to try my hardest to stop from today. Just chasing money I will never get back, time to move on.
Access leads to excess! (A quote I heard from the local president of GA during a Phila. radio talk show he would guest on once a week when Atlantic City casinos first opened in 1979.) It was a call-in talk show. One caller asked the president of GA which addiction was worse: Alcohol or Gambling. Without even a second's hestitation "Tony" replied "Gambling!" because of the catastrophic consequences of not only the self-destruction that goes with alcohol addiction, but also because of the destruction caused to others around the gambler, especially his immediate family; his ability to work; and, of course, the lengths to which the addicted gambler will go to get the money he needs to gamble with. (Use your imagination, but no crimes can be ruled out). GA won't work for everybody but it's the only hope the truly addicted gambler has, usually because as the addicted gambler is healing, his example to other addicted gamblers helps him in sustaining his own healing process.
I worked at a casino in the marketing department. I saw business owners come in once every 6 - 8 months spend maybe $10,000. Then a big win, the host would get them in three to four time a year doing $25,000. Then a few years later they come with $100,000 win $1,000,000 and that is the long road down. They come every month, sometimes a few times a month, losing $150,000 here $250,000 there, until finally, they cannot pay back their last $250,000 debt. Then they get tossed away, no comps allowed.
My father is an addicted gambler, during my childhood he would take my Mom's entire paycheck to the OTB and waste it on the ponies. One time he won the pick six for $50,000 he lost it within 6 months. He would lash out at anyone who mentioned his gambling. When my mom left him, he remarried someone with alot of money and over the course of 10 years wiped her savings clean. I tried to tell her about his addiction before she married him, but she told me she knew my Dad better then I did. She left him in the middle of the night two years ago but he behaves as if he dumped her. There is nothing worse then not being able to be honest with a person you love about their addiction. It's living a lie and I don't like it.
Ok..........listen to my story....its greatly abbreviated,as to not last the full 96 pages I have wrote about it so far, but here goes....
I started with 7,000 and came to Vegas in February of 2007, I had been coming since 1991, but not until recently with this much cash on me. Long story short, I turned 7k into just over 650k in less than 1.5 years. I got together with a friend who was good in math and we developed methods of playing a certain game...(Im not saying which b/c of certain people that may read this) and it took about 6 months to perfect our game. I had 53 consecutive nights of winning and that's when the trouble started. I stayed in the nicest suites, had the limos, finest food, free aire--hard to come by anymore, women, (drugs and booze if I wanted it, but never chose that route). I carried with me 250,000 wherever I went and one night at a casino just off the strip my room was broken into and security personnel demanded me to leave b/c the room was unoccupied....I was a registered guest in a 3000sq ft room!!! They knew I was there but were after my money...thank god I had it off premises. I had almost been robbed downtown at 2 casinos, met some seedy characters and were offered many things in exchange for my money. Casino Hosts at virtually every casino wanted to know my background, job, education, etc.....but never once did I ever make a trip to the credit dept....b/c if I did they would own me forever.....I was 86'd at major casinos and not let back in...........I was turned on to trips not many people in this gambling world get to experience....I went to the top of the list.
I created a beast...my methods worked and still work......I beat the casinos on a regular basis 6 months out of the year. So, dont let everyone fool you into believing that no one individual can win and can continuously win over a long time span. I did it and still doing it. I am always looking for solid partners and no I wont give out any of my secrets for free....just wont happen. Just know this, if you want to play, you will be watched...constantly....that includes being followed both by casino mangement and undercover somebodys......its a game of cat and mouse.......I forgot to mention...I had to leave this country for 6 months on advice from an "undercover", who was a friend of one of my partners....now Im back and here to win.
I can be reached at: joeyrigatone@yahoo.com
If you want to win and have a fun and exciting time, just email me for info. Remember, making mony is fun, but very stressful....seriously. I follow strict rules and never deviate....so if you are interested let me know.
Most states offer self-exclusion. In most states, you have to appear at the Casino Control Board's office during normal business hours. There are forms to fill out and your picture is taken. The options in most cases are one year, five years, or life. You can be removed from the self-exclusion list anytime after the minimum time of the ban has passed. Removal is NOT automatic. You can't be removed from a lifetime ban. Pennslvania lets you sign up for self-exclusion at the casinos, but you have to go to a Casino Control Office (the PA Gaming Control Board) TWICE, with the visits separated by at least seven days, to get off the self-exclusion list.
Harrah's used to have a poicy where if you were on the self-exclusion list in any state, you were barred from all of their properties worldwide. They didn't want you staying at the hotel or even having a meal there. I don't know how that has changed since they were bought out.
I've always believed gambling is the roughest addiction. I'm not a big gambler, but I can feel the "juice" on a $10 bet. I wish the best for all the problem gamblers.
good luck to tony---looks like he made it. I have been around many who didn't. The dirty giant secret is nobody wins. Even some of the wsop tourney winners end up busted and dead. Im amazed that all these urban myths still abound about "winners" who "beat the house"--the J$%% off above included--they are all a scam. Fact is less than 1/10 of 1 percent are ahead. everyone else is losing or lying, or in the long process of losing everything. I've personally been in contact with hundreds of thousands of gamblers and can really only name 1 or 2 who may be winners, and they are probably also losers and I just don't see the total of their gambling. Bottom line--only play for fun with small sums of money that you can easily afford to lose.
I was planning on moving from Phoenix to Austin for most of the fall of 2009, but knew I had to wait until my apartment lease was up in April to relocate. In the meanwhile, for the previous couple of years, I was enjoying playing the slots on a semi-regular basis in the tribal casinos on the outskirts of Phoenix and Scottsdale. I won some, lost a lot more, but it was too much fun to completely stop.
I took a day off in February to play the slots, lost my rent money, and said enough is enough, I bought an Amtrak ticket with what little I had left, abandoned all my stuff, resigned from a $40k/yr job via e-mail, went immediately to Austin, stayed in the Salvation Army in downtown Austin with crack addicts, drunks and ex-cons for three months and finally have a job again at half my old salary, with no extra money - or desire - to make the five-hour drive to Shreveport/Bossier.
Sounds like I am one of the lucky ones, but I should have known better - I moved to Phoenix after four months in Vegas.