Las Vegas Sun

November 22, 2009 Updated 7 hours, 27 minutes ago

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.

Leila Navidi

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.

PART 1 OF 3: TONY'S STORY:

The pull of a drug, a push to the brink

Like many others, the lure of easy money drew Tony to the casino again and again — until he realized where his life was heading.

By J. Patrick Coolican

According to a 2002 report commissioned by the Legislature, there are some 90,000 Nevadans with gambling problems. And Tony McDew is one of them. A few lucky days at the casino got him to believe that gambling was a way to supplement his income. He's 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.

Bottoming Out

By Scott Den Herder

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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