A gambling addiction is no different than any other addiction. Eating, drinking, smoking, and drug addiction can all spell danger and sometimes disaster to people who are prone to compulsive behavior. They are diseases not unlike cancer, heart disease, and diabetes and must be treated as such.
The mindset of a gambler, can be terrifying because it is a mindset of denial of the worst kind. A compulsive gambler will sit in front of a slot machine for hours on end, often without eating or drinking anything, getting up only to go to the ATM machine when the money runs out. He will lose his car payment, his electric bill and who knows what other financial necessities, making ludicrous rationalizations with each dollar lost before going home with the sickest feeling in the pit of his stomach.
The above mentioned is not the man who puts in twenty dollars and leaves when it's gone, even if it only takes ten minutes. This is the man who loses that twenty in ten minutes and puts in another twenty and another until he has lost $100. That $100 might have been what he had planned to pay his electric bill with, so he rushes off to the ATM to get another hundred out, certain that the next machine will pay better and he will win his bill money back and more.
The second trip to the ATM, the man withdraws $200; $200 because he knows he'll win it all back this time but just in case, he doesn't want to pay that expensive ATM fee again. Talk about twisted thinking. He just lost $100 and is ready to risk another $200 but doesn't want to pay a $3.00 fee more than once.
He finds a machine on the end; one that makes a lot of noise, because he knows those machines are the ones that pay the best, or so he's been told. He sits down and puts in the whole $100, heart racing with anticipation of winning the big bucks but as much with fear of losing even more. He bets the max amount because he knows that if he wins, that's how he'll win the most money. He also knows that by betting max, he can lose at a far more rapid pace, but that thought has no place in the mind of a gambler.
Praying for a bonus round, the man hits the button and gets nothing. He hits again. Nothing again. His heart starts beating faster as his car payment dwindles and then all of a sudden, bonus round; 15 free spins and an opportunity to win back what he's lost! And win he does. Once the bonus round is over, he's won $130! He's gotten his money back and even won a few extra dollars. This is the point where a normal person would walk away. But, the mindset of a gambler is not normal and our friend thinks; "if I can win $130, surely I can win more if I just stick with this machine".
You see, the mind of a gambler believes the machines are lucky. It believes that once the winning starts on one machine, it won't stop. The winning always stops and sometimes very quickly, but remember, the gambler is in denial. For him, it never stops.
The gambling man keeps playing, wins another $50 and then goes on a downward spiral that once again takes all his money. Now not only is the electric bill gone, but now he can't make his car payment either. In a panic he rushes back to the ATM! He rations that there are people all around him winning, so he has to get lucky this time. He takes out $100, because he's reached his limit for the day, and finds another machine that was just vacated by someone who cashed out a large amount of money. "This machine is the one", he thinks! "Look at all that last guy walked away with?" Maybe the last guy put that much in, played twice, won ten dollars and called it quits. Who knows? It doesn't matter, though, because the gambling mind is not a rational mind, not even when it loses its last $100. The gambling mind always thinks of ways to come up with money to bet with because the jackpot has to hit soon. It just has to.
The gambler is constantly thinking of what bills can wait, what bills don't have to be paid at all, and how he will get the money to make up for the loss. The gambler also, nine times out of ten, goes home at the end of a long night at the casino, which sometimes runs in to the morning, feeling sick and empty, wondering why he didn't walk away when he had the chance. On the odd night where he does go home ahead, he thinks of all the money he's lost on other visits and how this doesn't even make a dent in that loss. So, the gambler, who thrives on winning, can't even enjoy his fortune.
The mind of a compulsive gambler is a scary place to be and a difficult place to leave, but it can be done. If you reside in the mind of a gambler, call 1-800-572-4700 or visit the website for the National Council on Problem Gambling. http://www.ncpgambling.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pagei d=1