BINGO ruined his life

[skippy]

Absolute insanity

How sports betting destroyed one man's life

Published: Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Gone is his money, hundreds of thousands of dollars gambled away.
Gone, too, is his wife.
His friends. His business. His dignity.
What remains is a crust of self-preservation.
That, and a trace of humour.
"I've actually joked about this, but it's the truth," says Gary. "I've never attempted suicide, but I've often thought about it . . . after big losses. But you know what? I'm a diehard Toronto Maple Leafs fan and I've always said that I would never die until them (expletive) won the Stanley Cup.
"That might be a long time" -- wry chuckle here -- "but if I'm not betting, there's a better chance that I'm going to see it."
The conversation comes shortly after Gary has stopped gambling -- cold turkey. He'd quit his construction job on a Friday, found the doorstep of AADAC the following Monday, and now, on the phone from Edmonton, he's in his second week of a bet-free existence.
Utterly consumed by sports betting for 15 years, this abstinence seems startlingly fresh, startlingly raw.
He nevertheless turns down an offer to reconsider the media interview.
"Ah, I have no problems talking about any of it because there needs to be a lot more awareness out there," says the 36-year-old, leaving his surname as the only unturned stone.
"I've destroyed everything in my life, absolutely everything. Talk about ground zero: I'm about 10 steps below ground zero, fighting to try to get back up. I realize now that there is no other alternative. None. That's how I look at it."
A rarity among pathological gamblers, who are primarily hooked by video lottery terminals, Gary did his damage betting on sports, running the gamut -- Pro-Line and race tracks and office pools and bookies and online.
"Habitual. Crazy. I don't know, it's like a crack addict who needs another hit. I'd bet on everything. Just crazy.
A very, very crazy lifestyle."
Along the way, of course, there were monumental triumphs -- parlaying six NFL ties into a $14,000 payout, leaving the track one day with $22,000. These windfalls served as fuel.
"It's the action -- 100 per cent, it's the action," Gary says. "If I bet 50 bucks on a Pro-Line and win 400, that just meant that I had more to spend on the next day's worth of action. You think it's about the money. I've had some really big wins, but you just continue anyways. You try to put different spins on it. Like, when you spend all your money, then you think you're going to quit. But when the next paycheque comes, you're right back at it."
In a blur of blown bank accounts, one particularly painful day stands out -- Jan. 25, 1998, Super Bowl XXXII, and a $10,000 hit when the Denver Broncos beat the Green Bay Packers 31-24.
"I got busted by the wife a couple of weeks later," says Gary. "That was through the roof. She couldn't believe that I would bet that much money on a single football game. Which, looking back, was absolute insanity.
"But I was sure that Green Bay was going to win -- you don't think you're going to lose. If you remember, Denver scored two minutes into the game, and it was the most depressing 31/2 hours of my life."
"But the stupid thing? The next day, there were hockey lines to bet on . . . because I had to make that money back."
The vicious circle continued.
Gary says that he's always enjoyed a wager.
An excellent snooker player, he'd skinned grownups as a youngster in Toronto.

But he can trace his shift in mindset to an innocent night in 1988. In Calgary to see the Winter Olympics, he met a woman, who, for a kick, took him to bingo. "I won 500 bucks," Gary recalls. "It was, 'Wow. I just spent 20 bucks and now I have 500.' "

Then, when Ontario introduced Pro-Line in 1992, Gary, sports junkie and former junior hockey player, was smitten.
"Basically, it was, like, 'This is the greatest,' to be able to bet on sports, which I love so much. People I know are always fascinated but how much I know about sports. I couldn't tell you what I did yesterday, but I could tell you who scored three goals in 1980 for the Leafs against whoever. So, gambling was a way to extend what I couldn't do anymore -- play competitively."
And NFL Sunday. That was like Christmas, once a week.
"I'd have 20 Pro-Line tickets laid out on the table. Plus, I ran three different pools at work. So I'd have all those sheets, all my Pro-Line sheets. And I also bet a lot through a bookie. And a bunch of guys would call me in the mornings, give me their bets and I would put them through to my bookie. It was a like a library of betting every Sunday."
Which means when Gary quit gambling in mid-August, the NFL season had been nearly upon him.
The timing isn't coincidental, he acknowledges. "I know this is my time for Pro-Line, to go big, because it's football time. Face it -- the NFL is where it's at because of gambling."
And Gary is where he's at because of gambling. He burned bridges, personally and professionally, in Toronto and Calgary.
To jump-start his luck, he moved to Edmonton. He landed work, but chose to remain homeless. Rather than waste money on lodging, Gary was funnelling every penny into bets.
"I have nobody. Nobody whatsoever in my life," he says rather flatly.
Rock bottom, he sought help on his own -- a development that makes him think the abstinence will take hold. "People can tell you to go. But it's like teenagers these days -- they're only going to listen if they want to listen. I went because I have no life if I don't quit gambling. I'm an absolute freak when it comes to gambling."
With the afternoon's conversation drawing to its conclusion, Gary is asked about his outlook, especially with his obsession only a matter of days behind him. He hesitates for the first time.
"Straight up," he says, "I'm scared about tomorrow."
His future, he knows, must be mapped out. In the short term, another treatment centre awaits. Long range, he's trying to make a habit of attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
"It's really opened my eyes to how much damage I've done to a lot of people, to a lot of things," Gary says. "So, for me, it's almost like a big weight's been lifted off my shoulders.
"I mean, I'm miles and miles away from being better . . . but I have a different outlook on life today than I did two weeks ago. I'll say that for sure."

[pittviper]

Originally Posted by skippy[B

[/B]
But he can trace his shift in mindset to an innocent night in 1988. In Calgary to see the Winter Olympics, he met a woman, who, for a kick, took him to bingo. "I won 500 bucks," Gary recalls. "It was, 'Wow. I just spent 20 bucks and now I have 500.' "

Trossi, my bud.. sorry to hear about ya... here is to a fast recovery my man..
PV