My name is Terry K and I am a recovering compulsive gambler. As with many other compulsive gamblers, gambling crept into my life unnoticed and destroyed my entire life. I went from being a community leader, successful career salesman, political activist, and good family man to being a liar, a cheat, and a thief. Addictive gambling enable me to give away everything I had put together in my life. My family, my success, my reputation, and finally, my freedom. My "rock bottom" happened as I was being led away from my home in handcuffs in front of family, friends, and neighbors after being arrested on 10 counts of obtaining money under false pretenses to support a compulsive gambling habit. I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel but I just couldn't see how to get there yet. After 3 1/2 years in the court system, I was sentenced to 5 years to serve on home confinement. Now this is where I shout the benefits of never giving up when it seems the darkest. While on home confinement I was forced to account for all of my activity on a weekly, then monthly basis. I was in debt for well over $250,000 so I used my compulsive behaviors to help me work 10-12 hours a day to pay back those I hurt financially. Over the course of the first year on home confinement, the fog of my addiction began to lift. I focused on higher goals for myself and those who cared about me. I've written a book and a screenplay about my experiences. I met another compulsive gambler who is a career registered nurse while attending a weekly 12 step fellowship and we talked about starting a nursing uniform manufacturing business together. After 2 years of discussion, we incorporated and rented 3000 square feet of mill space. Today we have grown to 7 employees servicing many major professional and institutional accounts. All of this while on home confinement. On March 12, 2007 the State released me and I went to bed that night a free man. So no matter how desperate you may feel about your situation, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and as for me, today I'm standing at the threshold of that light getting ready to kick the door in. I've found a peaceful, serene and productive life and so can you! I tell everyone I can who is suffering that my worst day today is still better than my best day as a addictive gambler. I will share with and listen to anyone who is suffering so give me a shout here or at terryk@goingforbroke.net. God Bless, Terry

Hi Golf Jumper...my name is Terry K and I am a recovering compulsive gambler. As with many other compulsive gamblers, I never thought I had a gambling problem until gambling crept into my life unnoticed and destroyed everything I knew. I went from being a community leader, successful career salesman, political activist, and good family man to being a liar, a cheat, and a thief. Addictive gambling enable me to give away everything I had put together in my life. My family, my success, my reputation, and finally, my freedom. My "rock bottom" happened as I was being led away from my home in handcuffs in front of family, friends, and neighbors after being arrested on 10 counts of obtaining money under false pretenses to support a compulsive gambling habit. I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel but I just couldn't see how to get there yet. After 3 1/2 years in the court system, I was sentenced to 5 years to serve on home confinement. Now this is where I shout the benefits of never giving up when it seems the darkest. While on home confinement I was forced to account for all of my activity on a weekly, then monthly basis. I was in debt for well over $250,000 so I used my compulsive behaviors to help me work 10-12 hours a day to pay back those I hurt financially. Over the course of the first year on home confinement, the fog of my addiction began to lift. I focused on higher goals for myself and those who cared about me. I've written a book and a screenplay about my experiences. I met another compulsive gambler who is a career registered nurse while attending a weekly 12 step fellowship (GA) and we talked about starting a nursing uniform manufacturing business together. After 2 years of discussion, we incorporated and rented 3000 square feet of mill space. Today we have grown to 7 employees servicing many major professional and institutional accounts. All of this while on home confinement. On March 12, 2007 the State released me and I went to bed that night a free man. So no matter how desperate you may feel about your situation, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and as for me, today I'm standing at the threshold of that light getting ready to kick the door in. I've found a peaceful, serene and productive life and so can you! I tell everyone I can who is suffering that my worst day today is still better than my best day as a addictive gambler. I will share with and listen to anyone who is suffering so give me a shout here or at terryk@goingforbroke.net. God Bless, Terry

I found the best way for me (and I emphasize ME) was to get to a local Gamblers Anonymous meeting. You'll find people at a GA meeting who know exactly what you're talking about and are going through. Unlike friends, family, and co-workers who can't understand why you just can't stop gambling, these GA meetings are full of people who will tell their story and help you understand how you too can stop gambliong. It's helped me learn how not to gamble. The only requirement to attend a meeting is the desire to stop gambling. That's all. You don't have to talk and probably won't at first, but sharing your experience with others in complete confidence is a very therapeutic thing to do. It helps lift some of the guilt off your chest. I gambled away almost $300,000 and spent 4 years and 1 month on home confinement due to comitting illegal acts to support a compulsive gambling habit. Going to GA saved my sanity and my life. The most courageous thing you will ever do on your road to recovery is to walk through the door of a GA meeting for the first time. Do it..it works. (For Me!) Find out more about meeting locations at www.gamblersanonymous.org God Bless....Terry K.

Gambling other people's money got me a sentence of four years and one month on home confinement for obtaining money under false pretenses to support my compulsive gambling habit. If you're gambling other peoples money, that usually means you've already lost all of your money which includes, your cash, your credit card accounts, your retirement accounts and your bank accounts. If I had listened to those close to me and sought out help a lot earlier, I wouldn't have lost everything I had, and then try to deprive other people the right to enjoy everything they had by gambling their money away as well. Remember they is always a light at the end of the tunnel no matter how dark it seems or how deep in debt you are. After losing over $250,000 to compulsive gambler, today I have rebuilt my life and now own a successful nursing uniform manufacturing company. ( www.tlcarewear.com )

I argued with a casino pit boss on a radio talk show regarding what their responsibility is to help someone who may be a compulsive gambler. He said that the casino he worked for had many addictive gambling help programs for anyone who wanted to take advantage of them. I asked him to name a few of the programs. Outside of the required "If you think you have a gambling problem...1-800 phone #" posters spread around the casino, he could not name any. I also asked him why a bartender is required by law to take courses in alcohol intevention so he may potentially save the life of one of his patrons who may appear to have had too much to drink for a normal person, but why is there no regulation regarding a dealer intevening when he thinks a player had gone beyond what a normal person might gamble. In many cases, the devastation caused as a result of compulsive gambling may have disasterous effects far more reaching than a person who might have had too much to drink that night. I look forward to hearing from you and your opinions. Thanks....Terry K.

Talisman....I can only partially agree with you. For 95 % of the adult population in the United States, gambling in any form is a state of mind as you described it. For the other 5 %, it is a disease of the mind. The compulsion to gamble has absolutely nothing to do with winning (or losing) money. It has to do with the chemical thrill the brain produces that is based on the turn of a card, the spin of a wheel, or the uncovered numbers yet to come up on a game you're playing. I am one of that 5% group. I am a compulsive gambler. However, I have have enjoyed a successful recovery though for the last 5 years. I think about it (gambling) all the time but I realize it's not something I can do in safety. My gambling results were devasting. I lost my family, my friends, my job, my reputation, and my freedom. Today however, I have crawled out from that devastation to become a productive member of society. I write extensively about it in a book I wrote titled "Going for Broke..and Making It". You can read more about it on my website - www.goingforborke.net.
I have discussed the effects of compulsive gambling on many local radio talk shows and public interest TV shows.

Please feel free to email me at terryk@goingforbroke.net if you'd like more information about some of the experiences I lived through on the dark side of life as a compulsive gambler. I still tell everyone that my worst day today is still better than best day when I was out gambling! Take care and God bless. Terry K.

That's the big chase. Chasing money you've lost and will never recover. I say never because even if a compulsive gambler did win, the money inevitably gets lost to another bet. Every compulsive gambler has been in the car on the ride home promising to his God that if he could only win that one big bet all his money troubles would be gone. I know..I made that promise a thousand times. I remember a day where I won $28,000 at a blackjack table and swore that I would never give it back. Well...in less than 10 days it was gone along with another $10,000. You could fill a room full of $100 bills and a compulsive gambler will not stop until it is all gone. It's really not about the money. It's about the thrill. The money is just the drug of choice to get that special "high".

I wrote an autobiography about the dark side of compulsive gambling. I wrote to show how devious and sneaky a compulsive gambler can be to hide his activities from the people who care about him. It's called "Going for Broke and Making It. You can check it out at www.goingforbroke.net. There are many links to other gambling recovery groups (like GA) you can visit. Best wishes, Terry K

The reason people gamble compulsively is the lure of the big win. Of course there are winners in any gambling activity, but the losers far outweigh the winners. Think about a friendly poker game at your home with friends. There is usually one bigger winner than the others. Where did these winnings come from? The pool of money that is lost by the other players. It's the same thing with the lottery and casinos. There will be a couple of winners at the expense of thousands of more losers. The compulsive gambler gambles in wreckless desparation in the hope of being one of the few winners. Unfortunately, the compulsive gambler's money, friends, family, work, reputation, and even his furure is all lost long before that big win will ever happen. I talking as one who has been there and knows! www.goingforbroke.net

I believe the first thing anyone who might be a problem gambler should do is seek out a local Gamblers Anonymous meeting in their area and try to attend. These meetings are full of people just like me who know exactly how I feel and want to help. (You can go to www.gamblersanonymous.org to find out where a meeting is in your area.)

Going to a GA meeting is what saved my life and my sanity. A lot of times family members, friends, and co-worker can't understand why we just can't stop. It is a relief to attend a meeting and be able to talk to other compulsive gamblers about your situation. By attending these GA meetings, I learned how "not" to gamble. Today I use that energy (and money) I wasted gambling to build a successful small business.

If someone you know has a gambling problem and doesn't address it now, it will get progressively worse at levels they can't even imagine. I thought I had my gambling under control. Guess what...I didn't. Compulsive gambling cost me my marriage, my job, my reputation, and even my freedom. I spent 1488 days (4 years & 1 month) on home confinement for doing illegal things to support a compulsive gambling habit. The sad thing is, I had never been in trouble before in my life until I started gambling! Don’t let the same happen to you or someone you car about. Terry K. (more about my story at www.goingforbroke.net)

I was a casino player before I found my recovery, not lotto games. So a big zero in the lotto column for me on your survey.

Killer, you say you are not a gambling addict and I believe that, however here is a really easy test to see if you actually are. If you spent $1.00 and won $1,000..you did great and were very lucky. However, if that $1,000 cost you $10,000 over the years you've been playing, then you may have a problem. Add up the numbers and see. Continued good luck. Terry K. (www.goingforbroke.net)

Hi SimonSays,

I'm not sure how others got addicted to gambling but here's my story...

I was in the routine of everyday, middle class American life, raising my three children with my wife. I was climbing the ladder of financial success while working in the sales profession. I was introduced to the glamour of organized gambling at an awards dinner while employed as a salesman by a large statewide beer distributor. The dinner meeting was held at one of the State’s legal gaming establishments. The owners of this beer distributorship were big gamblers and wanted the “boys” to have just as much fun as they did, so they fronted us money to gamble with. Unknown to me at the time, this was the beginning of my gambling career. I rose from being a successful route salesman to being promoted to management. On the way to an annual sales meeting in San Francisco, we spend a little play-time in Las Vegas. The gambling needle was going deeper into his arm and I didn’t even know it. Like an addict in a crack house, I stayed awake for 36 hours gambling and was worthless when I finally arrive at the sale convention.

In the meantime, the Pequot Indians were in the process of building the worlds largest casino, “Foxwoods” just a mere 30 miles from my home. I would find himself taking quick runs to the new casino to see how successful I could be at beating the Indians out of their money. Blackjack became my “drug” of choice. As it became obvious to my employer that I was spending less time at work and more at the casino, I was eventually fired. I then got a job at a family owned insurance agency where my wife worked. Over the next three years and at least the $300,000 I was able to lose at the casino, many things had occurred.

After my wife found out about the magnitude of my gambling addiction, I resigned my insurance and investment sales position I held while working in the same office as her. Then I had that same wife of 18 1/2 years file for divorce and move out with the kids to her parent’s house. I would eventually lose my house and my new car to foreclosure and repossession. I would wake up mornings in a cold sweat at 3am because I couldn’t figure out where I was going to get the $10,000 in cash I owed someone that day. I had friends I borrowed money from threaten me as they tried to get their money back. I was eventually arrested in front of my neighbors and friends for felony charges of obtaining money under false pretences. I lived every day never knowing what the next day would bring. I struggled through the judicial process with the possibility of going to prison for 20 years. As a result of my own actions as a compulsive gambler, I endured public and personal humiliation. I would shiver from the cold while sleeping on the only piece of furniture in a house with no heat or electricity because the utilities were shut off. I contemplated why I shouldn’t commit suicide.

On February 13, 2003, after three and a half years in the court system, I was sentenced to serve five years on home confinement. After serving 1,488 days (four years & one month because of good behavior) I was released by the state. During that time on home confinement I found a Gamblers Anonymous meeting. It saved both my life and my sanity. I would learn from others that it's not about the money, it was about a disease I had that needed to be arrested. As the fog of compulsive gambling lifted, I started using the energy (and money) I wasted on gambling to start building new successes, rebuilding broken relationships, and turning my life around. I never gave up hope that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel no matter how desperate the situation seems.

We that's an overview of this compulsive gambler's story. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope it helps someone who may be a problem gambler seek out help before it becomes too overwhelming. You can read more about my story at www.goingforbroke.net

Best wishes and God Bless.
Terry K.

Jack....Go to www.gamblersanonymous.org and find a local GA meeting in your area. It's free and going to these meetings is what saved my life and my sanity. These meetings are full of people just like your girlfriend who are hurting too and want to help each other. You can go also to support her. The GA program helps her learn how not to gamble by getting her through her recovery one day at a time. Regarding your post about relapses...Everyone who tries to stop is different. Once a person realizes that they are powerless over gambling, then they have a great chance of not relapsing. It's the person who still feels that they have some control over their gambling that will probably go out and gamble again...only with more disastrous results. Look for a local Gam-anon meeting in your area too. These meetings are for friends and family of a compulsive gambler to help them understand the compulsive gambler they care about. Best Wishes. Terry K.