Mandy's story
by Brad Horn, Outpost staff
Before seeking help, each day consisted of the same thing for her. The cycle just continued.
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Gamblers Anonymous |
But in Mandy's mind, there was always next time. She would be back, either later in the day after she deceived another loved one out of money. Or in the morning after her 12-year-old daughter left for school and she'd pick through the pockets of her daughter's dirty clothes stealing $3 in change. She just couldn't shake the riveting desire to press 'deal,' and try her luck at one more hand. Just one more shot at that jackpot. It never stopped.
Mandy Flowers has been under the spell pathological gambling casts for 10 years. She has lost three jobs, her house, her life-savings amounting to $120,000 and her family. Eight months ago her husband left with their two young girls.
"Losing my precious girls, my family, is the worst thing that could ever happen," Flowers said. "I knew I had to make a change."
Denise Rossi, a local family therapist specializing in gambling problems, says that the grip gambling can have on a person is so tight that the addicted have a difficult time slipping out of its clutch.
She says that there are two types of gamblers--the luck gambler and the skill gambler. The first she says seeks relief or escape by way of video poker. The second concentrates on betting the ponies or other sporting events.
"The grip video poker has on individuals is compared to that of cocaine," Rossi said. "It is overpowering. Many can never stop."
Now Mandy meets with a therapist who specializes in gambling disorders, twice a week and attends Gambler's Anonymous meetings five times a week.
"It seems like every minute of my life for as long as I can remember has centered around either gambling, thinking about my loses, or thinking about how I'm going to make the money back," she said. "It's about time I fix what is broken."
Carol O'Hare, executive director of the Nevada Council for Problem Gambling, said that Mandy is one of the lucky ones.
"Suicide rates are 20 percent higher in those with gambling problems than any other disorder," O'Hare said. "It's good she sought help now, rather than later. It may have meant the difference between life and death."
Mandy says that since seeking help, her life is beginning to get back on track.
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For Mandy it has been 72 days since she last gambled.
Denise Rossi says that just because someone is in treatment that doesn't mean the problem is solved.
"Sometimes it takes four or five times in treatment for the addict to get it," Rossi said. "It's a long hard road."
But she adds that if you fully absorb yourself in Gambler's Anonymous, follow the program vigorously searching and making positive changes, there is hope.
The hope that someday she can have her family back in her life is what Mandy strives for. It's what keeps her going.
"What I'm learning about is myself," she said. "The program forces you to take a look at yourself, your life, and what drives you."
Pathological Gambling on the Rise
The American Psychiatric Association first recognized pathological gambling as a mental disorder in 1980. They have now labeled it an impulse control disorder.
The DSM, a manual the APA uses to classify mental disorders, lists criteria for a pathological gambler.
1.) After losing money gambling, the player often returns the next day to get even.
2.) The problem gambler lies to family members or others to conceal the extent of involvement with gambling.
3.) Problem gamblers commit forgery, fraud, theft, and embezzlement to finance gambling.
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Video poker machine |
O'Hare said she is worried about the explosion of online gambling.
"My concern with gambling online is that it is so accessible and so immediate," O'Hare said. "The pace at which someone could get into serious trouble gambling is scary. It is instant access with little control. Someone can blow their life's savings in one sitting." O'Hare says that she expects to see sharp increases in those that become addicted to gambling because of the trend of younger kids participating in the activity.
And research indicates that gambling activity on college campuses has reached epidemic levels.
Dr. Howard Shaffer, director of Harvard University Medical Schools Division of Addiction Research, said that more youths are introduced to gambling through sports betting than any other type of gambling activity.
According to a 1998 University of Michigan survey of 3000 male and female student-athletes 35 percent of them gambled on sports while attending college. More than 5 percent of male student-athletes wagered on a game in which they participated, providing inside information for gambling purposes, or accepted money for performing poorly in a contest.
The problem is not native to the United States. This gambling explosion is spilling over its borders.
The Addiction Research Foundation released a study June 17, 1988 stating that since a Niagara Falls commercial casino that opened in late 1996 is doing so well that the provincial government is planning to open more than 40 smaller community casinos across Ontario. The Niagara Falls casino targets tourists.
According to the report these casinos will not necessarily target tourists but rather will focus on local residents.
The study also states that there has been a 20 percent increase in gambling-related problems among local residents since the grand opening of the Niagara Falls casino.
Denise Rossi says that the rise in Indian casinos, online gambling and other outlets is alarming.
"It's not surprising," Rossi said. "Ten years ago there was a 1 percent incidence of problem gambling in the United States. Now it is as high as 7 percent in the state of New York. These statistics are staggering. The combination of these new outlets have intensified the problem."
What's being done
The Nevada Council for Problem Gaming in Las Vegas has been battling pathological gambling four years. Their mission is to inform the public with their 24-hour help line, referral services, and promotion of Gambler's Anonymous.
With only three full-time inpatient treatment centers residing in the United States those with gambling disorders don't have many options. Inpatient treatment is so expensive that when the gambler hits bottom, there are no resources available. Trimeridian inpatient treatment centers are located in Las Vegas, Ohio, and Indiana but they cost a lot.
Carol O'Hare says that this isn't enough. She asserts that by the time a person with a gambling problem reaches out for help, their bank accounts are empty and their credit is ruined.
"Until the very last stages of this disorder you don't know what's going on," O'Hare said. "You can't smell a roll of quarters on their breath."
The problem, O'Hare says, is that insurance companies usually don't cover this type of treatment. She said alcoholism and drug addiction are covered by policies now, but just like gambling disorders, there was a time when insurance companies refused to consider this a real mental disorder worthy of coverage.
"It doesn't matter how many people are trained if insurance companies don't provide the service," she said. "Quality treatment doesn't mean effective treatment unless it's affordable."
But she admits that more is being done today and she says that she is grateful of the progress that has been made and the contribution and concern in the community-especially the gaming industry.
The casino industry had two choices, O'Hare said. They could either take the approach the tobacco industry chose and deny everything or follow the model the alcohol industry set-community involvement.
"The alcohol industry supported education, treatment programs and research," O'Hare said. "It seems to have worked out well for them."
O'Hare said all the major players in the industry have contributed money to the council.
"IGT, Mirage, Hilton, all of them," O'Hare said. "They do more than write checks, they have active roles. Many of them sit on our board of directors."
Pamphlets filled with information on gambling hotlines and compulsive gambling questionnaires were placed in casinos at the beginning of the year. O'Hare says employees are being trained giving them the confidence and knowledge to be aware when a distressed gambler approaches them for help. This literature is even reaching the local bars in Reno. The phone number of Gambler's Anonymous is listed in these guides.
For now the best resource for those with gambling disorders is Gambler's Anonymous. This 12-step program holds meetings at all times of the day.
The Reno/Tahoe region holds 19 meetings per week. Every city has some sort of support. And the best thing is the price. It is free.
The NCPG is gaining recognition and O'Hare says that since their council has been so effective, Louisiana and Mississippi Gaming Commissions are creating councils cloned to the NCPGs.
The NCPG's help line took more than 1800 calls last year. In 1998 only 876 people called the line.
"The word is getting out and people are getting helped," O'Hare said.
Other organizations are voicing their support against gambling, making it clear that its potential to poison has been acknowledged and their tolerance for this activity among its members vehemently opposed.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association stepped in to support the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1999. Bill Saum, director of agent and gambling activities for the NCAA said in a testimony to the Senate judiciary in 1999 that "NCAA opposes all forms of sports betting because of its potential to undermine the integrity of sports contests while jeopardizing the welfare the student-athlete."
The commercials the NCAA ran during their tournament this year shows concern among the community that gambling problems do exist.
Saum said that a Harvard study reveals that rates of pathological and problem gambling among college students are higher than any other segment of the population.
Denise Rossi says that she sees signs of gambling problems in young kids who trade Pokeman and other trading cards.
"It starts at all age levels," Rossi said. "But if we can make people aware of the problem and strengthen our support systems, we can make an impact."
Posted May 1, 2000
Copyright 2000 Nevada Outpost
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