You are here: Home / Archives for Gambling

Beating Gambling Addiction

MS Queen Victoria Gambling 

Image via Wikipedia

Most people try out gambling at some point in their lives; however, most people can keep it to the occasional night out. When it escalates past that, it can turn into gambling addiction. Unfortunately, gambling addiction can ruin lives; it is financially destructive and it can ruin families.

Part of the damage of gambling addiction comes from the odds that come with gambling. Casino games are set up to favor the dealer; otherwise, casinos wouldn’t be able to make any money! People who put hundreds and even thousands of dollars into casino games are likely to lose all of that money.

To properly overcome gambling addiction, gamblers have to realize that it is a serious addiction. Many people think that it is not “real” addiction like drugs or alcohol, so they think that they can overcome it with sheer willpower. However, gambling releases chemicals in the brain that trigger happy, calm feelings.

To beat gambling addiction, there must be a complete cessation of gambling. Like an alcoholic who thinks they can have “just one drink”, too many gambling addicts think that they can spend just $10 and get their fix. However, doing just one casino game can trigger that desire to gamble and make it impossible for an addict to stop.

It is also important for gambling addicts to seek therapy. There are counselors who specialize in addiction, and they can work with gambling addicts to find other ways of achieving happiness. By replacing that happiness that they get from gambling, addicts can learn to stop needing their gambling fix.

Filed Under: Advice, Tips Tagged With: , ,

Raising the Stakes

MS Queen Victoria Gambling 

Image via Wikipedia

Gambling is a popular pastime for many Americans. It seems harmless enough; after all, you are in control of your own money and have pretty good odds of winning big.  However, truth be told, very few people win big. In fact more people lose big rather than win anything, yet continue to raise the stakes until all is lost.

Great gamblers might say that knowing “when to fold em” is one of the best skills to have. Knowing when to walk away is the difference between someone having fun and someone who has a problem. If you are new to gambling here are a few ways to keep yourself from going too far.

Keep it honest: Have someone who keeps you accountable. This could be a family member, spouse or friend. Tell them when you go gambling, where, what you played, how much you won and how much you lost. This simple step can help tether a new player to reality.

Set financial limits: Make a deal with yourself and your accountability partner to keep a certain amount of cash on hand and when it runs out to walk away. If you realize that you have a problem, get help immediately. Use online directories such as canada 411 to find help for addiction.

Establish personal boundaries: Are their unacceptable times for you to gamble?  Are there friends that cause you to spend too much or stay too late at the tables? What games do you lose the most money in? Create your own rules for gambling. Realizing that the stakes in life are too high (family, finances, emotional health) may be the key to escaping gambling addiction.

 

Filed Under: Advice, Tips Tagged With: , ,

Online Thrills: A New Wave in Gambling Addiction

 

Gambling comes in numerous forms—betting on sports, poker, or even making a wager with a friend over something trivial.  It is a popular form of entertainment that has been around for thousands of years.  However, due to changes in lawmaking and the expansion of gambling’s prosperous industry, it has become more widely available.  As a result, addiction to it has synchronously been on the rise, particularly in the realm of online gambling.
Whereas gambling was once limited to on-site games, it has taken advantage of technology’s ascendancy, allowing people to gamble online anywhere and at any time.  Like many other computer addictions, online gamblers do not realize just how much time they are spending gambling, and the fact that they are using their credit card rather than cash makes it easier to overspend.
Research has shown that although addiction to gambling is widespread and occurs often in casinos, the fact that casinos typically take physical cash makes it easier for gamblers to track the amount of money that they are losing.  However, those that gamble over the internet use their credit card information and because most websites only ask that they information be submitted once, they lose track of their wagers and don’t experience the sensation of handing over something tangible.
To counter the rise in gambling addiction, particularly on the internet, new help groups are emerging constantly, the majority of them regulated under The National Council on Problem Gambling, including Gamblers Anonymous, nationwide Gambling Clinics, and innumerable websites.

Filed Under: Genaral Tagged With: , ,

When Recreation can Turn Harmful

Slot machine. 

Image via Wikipedia

There are addictions and then there are social addictions. These are habits that may start out relatively harmless, but gradually take on addictive proportions. One such habit is gambling. The symptoms and effects of gambling often snowball and tend to be catastrophic.

When people enter a casino for the first time, the feeling is often one of being overwhelmed. The thought that a single roll of a die can turn you into a millionaire overnight can be exhilarating. That is why there are people who spend thousands of dollars playing slot machines and gambling in the hope of hitting it big time.

There are symptoms to look out for in gambling. Often the thought of not playing can lead to temper tantrums, nervousness and panic attacks. Once you gamble, you feel a sense of relief, but then are unable to pull yourself away. Sadly, gambling is an addiction that can take its toll on several aspects of your life from your family life to your social life to your financial situation as well as your professional standing.

Fighting the gambling urge is not that easy and often people seek counseling to be able to rid themselves of the trouble. Being able to recognize that you have a problem to begin with is the key here. Once you do that, you should try to divert your attention to habits or activities that are less threatening. Enlisting the help of family members whom you can turn to when the urge hits also helps. You can call on them at any point and they will know to talk you out of the situation.

 

Filed Under: Odds Tagged With: , ,

There are No Clocks in Casinos

Make yourself at home in a luxury hotel and casino. Do your own thing with no schedule required. There’s plenty to do without even leaving your hotel room. Count on cable TV, with lots of movies available, as well as a hotel channel dedicated to helping guests learn the casino games.

If you’ve brought the old ball and chain (that would be your laptop computer, of course), you’ll have access to the hotel’s wireless network. Work for a while and catch a nap. When you wake up hungry, you have a couple of choices. You think about going downstairs to get something to eat and then realize it’s 3:00 a.m. Wow – long nap. You could call room service – they deliver around the clock. For that matter, there will be at least one restaurant with a full menu, open and conveniently adjacent to the casino. You decide it’s time to leave your room and look around.

You are amazed at the number of people you find in the restaurant and casino in the middle of the night. Don’t be. Nobody cares what time it is. It’s a fact that there are no clocks in casinos. After a nice meal, you can explore the casino, and perhaps play a couple of hands of blackjack. If you win, you may play a few more hands.

It’s nearly daylight when you finally return to your room. Don’t worry. Your window coverings have heavy lining to shut out all light – until you’re ready to wake up and begin again.

Filed Under: Genaral, Statistics Tagged With: , ,

Gambling Seniors

The buses pull up to the casino doors and they pour out, rushing to the slot machines. Casinos have discovered senior citizens and have started to cater to them.

Seniors have time and money, and are looking for affordable entertainment. Casinos near retirement areas and RV parks filled with winter visitors encourage seniors to spend a day with friends playing the slots, bingo, or other games. Many casinos provide free buses so seniors don’t even have to drive to gamble.

Some people may worry that seniors are being targeted by casinos and may be gambling away their social security checks. However, that seems not to be the case. In recent surveys, only three percent of seniors have reported they gamble alone. Most go with family and friends – and most (69%) place a limit on the money they can wager. Most of the seniors surveyed (90%) expressed their ability to make their own decisions. Suggestions that there should be rules limiting senior gambling for their own protection were soundly rejected in the survey.

Reasonably priced restaurant meals, entertainment focused on “oldies” music, and entertainers, and around the clock excitement are big draws for seniors. Playing the slots requires no skills and is not physically demanding, but is still fun.

Some seniors may gamble too much, and addiction does happen in every age group. The loss of a spouse, depression, and loneliness can contribute to dangerous gambling behavior.

Critics worry that major losses can harm seniors financially, but most older people seem to be able to control their own spending. Given the aging population of the United States, casinos will continue to be favorite destinations for seniors for fun and excitement for many years.

Filed Under: Genaral Tagged With: , ,

Mom, Grandma, Addict

Sharon is a 64-year-old suburban homemaker in Omaha, Nebraska. She was born and raised in Omaha and raised her three grown children there. She loves to travel, and makes five or six trips to Las Vegas in any given year. She usually takes her 30-year-old daughter with her, under the pretext of spending quality mother-daughter time.

When Sharon is in a casino, money flows from unknown sources. She takes along as much cash as she can quietly gather. She has several credit cards with cash advances available. She will never admit to losing money, although money always seems to be tight. She will sit at a poker or blackjack table well into the wee hours. When she leaves the hotel during the day, she shops for designer fashions.

Sharon has a place to get her gambling fix when she can’t get to Las Vegas. Omaha sits on the border between Nebraska and Iowa, which are separated by the Missouri River. There are two large Riverboat Casinos docked on the Iowa side. She picks up Interstate 480 near her house and is across the river in less than 20 minutes. She sometimes takes a friend, but is comfortable making the trip alone so she can gamble as long as she pleases.

Her adult children and her husband have known for many years that Sharon has a gambling problem. None of them has had the nerve to confront her, or even broach the subject. Sharon, a strong personality from the get-go, would not react rationally if approached on the subject. Her gambling game would go on indefinitely, except that Sharon developed a serious chronic illness. She can no longer travel or drive herself. Gamblers Anonymous would have been the kinder cure.

Filed Under: Genaral Tagged With: , ,

Casinos: What’s the Attraction?

The majority of people think casinos are just for gambling. While that’s at the heart of the concept, most casinos offer many types of entertainment. In fact, just walking through the door gets the adrenalin pumping, one way, or another.

Visitors are immediately bombarded with sights and sounds — bright, flashy lights and a cacophony of loud noises. Various sounds, most of them loud, come from so many directions it’s hard to determine the source.

Most of the bells, cheerful ditties, and “hurrah” sounds are coming from the slot machines. They make exciting noises on even the smallest wins and there’s a good reason for that. Casino operators want to make sure that everyone within earshot knows there is money being won. If a would-be gambler sees and hears a jackpot being paid out, it’s a strong motivation to sit down and play a few quarters. Since there is no particular skill involved in playing slots, anyone of legal age to gamble has the same chance of winning as die hard, habitual player. Some people do win money playing the slot machines – sometimes.

Casinos generally offer free or low cost beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. In fact, casinos strive to make patrons as contented as possible so they will be in no hurry to leave. Even smokers are welcome to puff away when they gamble, as casinos in most states are exempt from laws that ban indoor smoking. A riverboat casino in Illinois tried to enforce the smoking ban, and suffered the lowest revenue in a decade. Non-smokers who are sensitive – or allergic – to smoke will find smoke-free gaming areas in larger casinos.

Most gambling establishments have excellent restaurants with reasonable prices. Patrons are welcome to relax and enjoy the restaurants with no obligation gamble. Once you’re in the casino, you might as well play a bit. At the end of the day, there’s only one big winner – the house.

Filed Under: Odds Tagged With: , ,

Compulsive Gambling

Jerry King has a secret. He goes to lunch and doesn’t go back to the office. He tells his boss he is meeting clients, but he is really at a casino. He may be at a blackjack table, playing poker, or in the Sportsbook lounge betting on college or professional sports. His family doesn’t know he has emptied the kids’ college accounts and has borrowed money. Jerry is a compulsive gambler.

Most people can gamble without becoming addicted. A few risk family, friends, home, financial ruin, and their job to gamble. How do you know if you are a problem gambler? Do you lie about how much or how frequently you gamble? Once you start to gamble, can you stop before you have spent all the money you have? Do you risk money you know you shouldn’t spend, in hopes of winning big? You can be a compulsive gambler even if you do not gamble every day. The binge or periodic gambler – can still be out of control. Compulsive gambling seems to be a progressive condition and cannot be cured, only arrested. Once your gambling is under control, you cannot return to gambling.

There is help for compulsive gamblers. Gamblers Anonymous, based on Alcoholics Anonymous, is a 12-step self-help organization based on spiritual beliefs. Anyone can join and membership is strictly confidential.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy also works in treating compulsive gambling. This therapy uses a four-step program that helps the individual concentrate on a program that re-labels, reattributes, refocuses, and revalues their compulsions

No addiction happens in a vacuum. A compulsive gambler’s family is almost always harmed. Gam-anon offers support groups for gamblers’ partners. They help define the problem and help the person survive their partner’s addiction. Compulsive gambling is an emotional problem that endangers a gambler and his or her family. It can be treated, but like all addictions, the addict has to be willing to admit the addiction and follow through treatment.

Filed Under: Genaral Tagged With: , ,

Online Casino Bonuses, Part 1

In a effort to increase the amount of players at an online casino, quite a number of them have started offering online casino bonuses. These bonuses are used to encourage more people to come and play online at the casino. Many people think that there must be something wrong with these cash bonuses or that they are not actually free money.

However, just as other companies give out freebies, online casinos allow players to sign up and try them out by giving a bonus. This is a very advantageous marketing scheme by the Internet casino industry and it is a great way to try out a casino using bonus money given to you. Therefore, even though it might seem to good to be true, it is possible to make use of these bonuses and there are many advantages to doing so.

One of the first advantages to using casino bonuses is the ability to have more money to try out a casino. The most common way a bonus is given is as a match bonus. A match bonus is when you are required to deposit a certain minimum amount of money and then the casino will give you a bonus to match the amount you deposited. This bonus can be anything from 20 percent of the amount you deposit to as much as 100 percent of the amount you deposit. There will be certain rules that apply to your casino bonus, but usually you can use it to play almost any game that the online casino has.

Filed Under: Advice, Bids Tagged With: , , , ,
« Older Posts