The Raw Truth: An Interview With a Gambling Addict

Gambling is as bad as any other addiction in the world today this category of addiction is the downfall for many; it usually involves one's entire livelihood. So the question is: how do you get past your gambling problem. Don Fillipe speaks to Andy Rite and discusses his addiction and attempts to find out how we can wean ourselves off this terrible drug.

My good friend Andy and I met for the first time during our college years. By that time he had begun to play casino games; his father Robert had been the major influence in Andy's life and had broken all taboos concerning gambling with his son from an early age. I remember Andy telling me how he played poker for money with his father's friends from as early as the age of 12. I met him in a coffee shop in Sacramento after a few years of no communication whatsoever. He had contacted me a few days prior to our meeting and told me that we needed to make amends about some specifics which I will not discuss here. What we did discuss however was his lengthy gambling addiction of over 20 years.

Andy: I always liked my father's friends. They were just cool guys. One of them was a doctor and another, I think Steve was his name, was a pilot with Pan Am. You know, they just looked and acted cool when they played poker at our house. My mother would cook for them and together with the other women would sit and watch television in the living room while my dad and his buddies smoked Cubans in the kitchen and played poker for days. That was over weekends, but during weeknights they played in other guys' houses. He would take me with. My dad was also a horse's man.

Don: Is this when you decided that gambling was you kind of thing?

Andy: Sure. I mean, I know what it was then now when I think back. I suppose it was the family atmosphere that I longed for once my parents got divorced in the eighties. It is those types of memories that gave me positive associations with gambling.

Don: So when did you know you had a problem.

Andy: It takes a long time to realize that sort of thing. Having also become an alcoholic after college, it became difficult to realize that I had a problem for a long time. At that time I thought of it as normal way to lead your life. After years of living a lifestyle made up of late nights playing casinos, drunkards around you all the time, one day and I will never forget that day you look in the mirror and realize that you have suddenly gotten old with nothing to show for it. You're unhealthy and you know that you have blown everything on an unfeasible dream. The worst part about it is that you are now alone and it feels a little too late to make new friends again.

Don: I have heard of a few successful gamblers. Why couldn't you make it in gambling?

Andy: You get two kinds of gamblers. The first is the Highroller types who don't really care about how much they lose, or win for that matter. You can argue that these players come from quite affluent backgrounds. The bulk of gamblers you get nowadays are the poor and hopeless, someone I was before I stopped gambling this is what the casino industry has become. I think years ago casinos marketed themselves to the rich. The ball game has completely changed today. I mean, that's why you get 1c machines across the board. Before, casinos were an exclusive thing. I think they touched on that point in the film Casino right at the end where the business becomes a nightmare for De Niro.

Don: So to the crux of the matter: how did you quit?

Andy: It took me a long time to get passed my addiction. And I must be honest that I still itch to bet now and then. I am capable of betting on anything. The last gambling encounter I had was during a relapse and I decided to play an online casino. You obviously realize that you have a problem when you start pawning off your household items, when you are late for work every day - sometimes I didn't go in because I'd spend the entire night and early morning sitting and sipping whiskeys at the roulette table. Then of course your friends notice it first. When enough people start talking to you about your problem, you realize that you need to get some help. So I got some counseling going. The first time was unsuccessful and I went back into the casino again. It took me a good two years to get off betting in any form. The horses were particularly difficult to give up. I don't know I think I got bored of the same routine over and over again. I think people need to realize is that time flies by very quickly and if you end up rotting in a rut you mind will just ferment to nothing.

Don: What advise do you have for people who would like to stop gambling?

Andy: Look, there are some people out there who are proficient gamblers you said it yourself earlier. The problem arises when you make gambling a lifestyle. I think it is okay to gamble, as long as you know when to stop. Many casinos around the world thrive on the fact that players do not know when to go home; and I don't think it is really up to them to stop us from gambling. We need to know when we need to stop for ourselves. We are adults after all. I just know for myself that it took a lot of strength to overcome my addiction and the only way to do it was to change my lifestyle around. I now play sports, drink less and I try to fill my time with different activities than before.