No Sure Bet: Seniors Must Recognize
Potential Gambling Problems
By Grace Wiltbank
Contributing Writer
If a trip to the casino is merely a day’s outing for you, and you play bingo just for fun, you’re not a problem gambler.
But watch out, warns Layla Gros of the Holcomb Behavioral Institute, because gambling can easily become addictive and then you’re in real trouble because gambling is a very tough addiction to break — as tough as alcohol or drug addiction.
Mrs. Gros spoke on “the responsibility of gambling” at a recent free, community luncheon-lecture at Christ Lutheran Church in Upper Darby, PA. Holcomb is a non-profit gambling addiction education organization with facilities in several communities including Upper Darby.
“Our group is not trying to prevent bingo,” she said, “and we recognize that lots of people go to casinos just for entertainment.”
But on the other hand, she said, Holcomb wants the public to understand that with the proliferation of casinos, lotteries and on-line betting, compulsive gambling has become a major problem in the United States. Most on-line gambling is illegal in the United States, she said, but the sites are operated off-shore. Mrs. Gros added “the FBI will shut down a website but another one will pop right up.”
In describing the depths of the problem, Mrs. Gros noted that Delaware County, PA, for example, has 21,000 known problem gamblers and the city of Chester, PA has 20,000.
Casino gambling is a big favorite with senior citizens. Mrs. Gros said a lot of lonely people go to casinos thinking that they are places where you can socialize. Forget that, Mrs. Gros advises. Casinos regulars are there to do one thing — gamble. They don’t want to talk to the guy or gal next to them at the slot machine or card game table.
And don’t let a big win at the slots entice you into believing you too may be a big winner, Mrs. Gros said. As soon as there’s a big win, she said, all the machines are usually reset. The casinos make sure big slots winnings are few and far between, she warned.
Also take notice, she said, that casinos have no clocks anywhere and no windows. She added that some slots players are so addicted that they wear diapers so that they never have to leave the seat.
However, compulsive gamblers do worse than wearing diapers. They lose all the money they have in savings, their homes, even the money put away for their children or grandchildren’s education.
Some people hooked on gambling, she said, bet all their Social Security money and cut back on their medications to have more money to gamble. “Parents,” she said, “have left their kids in the car in casino parking lots, thinking to play only ‘one hand.’” These people, she said, get engrossed in the game, lose track of time and come back to their cars hours later. To forestall potential tragedies, she said, the casinos “now are thinking about starting daycare.”
Help for problem gambling, Mrs. Gros said, is available through organizations like Gamblers Anonymous (GA). This organization, she said, is “stricter than AA [Alcoholics Anonymous] or other groups that help other people with addiction.” One thing that GA strongly emphasizes, she said, is repayment of debt.
According to Gamblers Anonymous, early signs of pathological gambling include excessive time spent gambling (such as a sports fan who watches and bets two or three games on TV at the same time while listening to a fourth wagered game on the radio); making ever bigger bets; boasting about winning and minimizing losses; gambling to feel good when faced with a disappointment; excessive absences from work or home; mood swings; and secret loans and other hidden financial transactions.
Potential Gambling Problems
By Grace Wiltbank
Contributing Writer
If a trip to the casino is merely a day’s outing for you, and you play bingo just for fun, you’re not a problem gambler.
But watch out, warns Layla Gros of the Holcomb Behavioral Institute, because gambling can easily become addictive and then you’re in real trouble because gambling is a very tough addiction to break — as tough as alcohol or drug addiction.
Mrs. Gros spoke on “the responsibility of gambling” at a recent free, community luncheon-lecture at Christ Lutheran Church in Upper Darby, PA. Holcomb is a non-profit gambling addiction education organization with facilities in several communities including Upper Darby.
“Our group is not trying to prevent bingo,” she said, “and we recognize that lots of people go to casinos just for entertainment.”
But on the other hand, she said, Holcomb wants the public to understand that with the proliferation of casinos, lotteries and on-line betting, compulsive gambling has become a major problem in the United States. Most on-line gambling is illegal in the United States, she said, but the sites are operated off-shore. Mrs. Gros added “the FBI will shut down a website but another one will pop right up.”
In describing the depths of the problem, Mrs. Gros noted that Delaware County, PA, for example, has 21,000 known problem gamblers and the city of Chester, PA has 20,000.
Casino gambling is a big favorite with senior citizens. Mrs. Gros said a lot of lonely people go to casinos thinking that they are places where you can socialize. Forget that, Mrs. Gros advises. Casinos regulars are there to do one thing — gamble. They don’t want to talk to the guy or gal next to them at the slot machine or card game table.
And don’t let a big win at the slots entice you into believing you too may be a big winner, Mrs. Gros said. As soon as there’s a big win, she said, all the machines are usually reset. The casinos make sure big slots winnings are few and far between, she warned.
Also take notice, she said, that casinos have no clocks anywhere and no windows. She added that some slots players are so addicted that they wear diapers so that they never have to leave the seat.
However, compulsive gamblers do worse than wearing diapers. They lose all the money they have in savings, their homes, even the money put away for their children or grandchildren’s education.
Some people hooked on gambling, she said, bet all their Social Security money and cut back on their medications to have more money to gamble. “Parents,” she said, “have left their kids in the car in casino parking lots, thinking to play only ‘one hand.’” These people, she said, get engrossed in the game, lose track of time and come back to their cars hours later. To forestall potential tragedies, she said, the casinos “now are thinking about starting daycare.”
Help for problem gambling, Mrs. Gros said, is available through organizations like Gamblers Anonymous (GA). This organization, she said, is “stricter than AA [Alcoholics Anonymous] or other groups that help other people with addiction.” One thing that GA strongly emphasizes, she said, is repayment of debt.
According to Gamblers Anonymous, early signs of pathological gambling include excessive time spent gambling (such as a sports fan who watches and bets two or three games on TV at the same time while listening to a fourth wagered game on the radio); making ever bigger bets; boasting about winning and minimizing losses; gambling to feel good when faced with a disappointment; excessive absences from work or home; mood swings; and secret loans and other hidden financial transactions.
