Monday, January 28, 2013
The earlier a person starts gambling the greater the risk they will become an addicted gambler
Can your child become an addicted gambler ? Based on the results of 14 studies of people with gambling problems, ?young
people suffer from disordered gambling at about two to three times the rates of
adults.?
A Canadian survey of 1,471 college students found that nearly 27 percent of the pathological
Gamblers among them didn?t just fantasize about killing themselves, but had actually attempted
suicide.
Arnie Wexler, gambling treatment specialist:" We run this gambling hotline ( 888 LAST BET ) and in
the last five years, one third of all the calls coming in are coming in are from poker players
between the ages of 12 and 30, young kids or parents of these kids. I see these kids all the time
who don?t want to go to college. They want to be a professional poker player"
The following are some other personal stories I have heard from high school college students:
* Paying someone else to take exams or write papers so as not to interfere with time needed to gamble.
* Betting on games they were playing in.
*Gambling under age in legal gambling establishments
*Shaving points in High School while being looked at by Division I colleges.
* Robbing a convenience store and a bank for money with which to gamble.
* Using fake credit cards, bouncing checks and creating phony checking accounts to get money for gambling.
*Selling drugs and their bodies to pay gambling debts.
*Stealing objects and money from other students, or from college property.
*Selling or pawning property that belonged to the college they were attending.
*Running bookmaking rings, football pools or card games in college(in order to pay off gambling debts).
*Using tuition money for gambling.
*Using financial aid or other loans for gambling.
*Conning their parents to send additional money, which was used for gambling.
*Robbing 8 Banks, to support a gambling addiction.
*Stealing cars, items or money from employers for gambling.
*Selling personal property for money to gamble with.
One case , in particular, has had a lasting impression on me. This young man played college football, and even appeared in a Bowl game. He was also a track star for his college. His gambling started with a $5 football pool card and progressed to the point of embezzlement of $350,000 from his employer.
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IS POKER A GAME OF SKILL OR CHANCE FOR MOST PEOPLE ??
FROM AN ARTICLE
26 May 2006
by Ed Vogel
Las Vegas Review Journal
Professional poker player and television commentator Howard Lederer said the charm of poker is that "people at home believe they can be part of it. Anyone can win. Occasionally you get a guy who has a lucky run" Lederer maintained it would hard to become a compulsive poker player "based on the skill element. It is a skill-based game"
"You may have the skills," Wexler told Lederer.
"The kids all over America think they all can be professional poker players," added Wexler, who called for television to start empathizing the potential problems of poker playing. I run a National helpline for gamblers
888 LAST BET and 1/3 of all the calls are coming from young people from age 12 - 30 or the parents of these young people.
These questions were prepared by:
Arnie and Sheila Wexler Associates
888-LAST BET
Www.aswexler.com
YOUTH QUESTIONS
These questions may help you consider whether or not you have a gambling problem.
1. Do you find yourself gambling more frequently than you used to?
2. Has anyone ever suggested that you have a problem with gambling?
3. Did you ever gamble more than you intended to? (time or money)
4. Do you have a fantasy that gambling is going to make you rich?
5. Do you believe you have superior knowledge when you place a bet?
6. Do you lose time from school due to gambling?
7. Do you have intense interest in point spreads or odds?
8. Do you make frequent calls to sports phones or lotteries?
9. Have you ever bet with a bookmaker or used credit cards to gamble?
10. Have your grades dropped because of gambling?
11. Have you ever done anything illegal to finance your gambling?
12. Is gambling language or references part of your vocabulary?
13. Do you prefer to socialize with friends who gamble?
14. Does anyone in your family have an addiction?
15. Have you ever borrowed money to finance gambling?
16. Has anyone ever paid your gambling debts for you?
17. Does gambling give you a ?rush or high ??
18. Do you find yourself craving another gambling experience?
19. Do you find yourself ?chasing: your losses?
20. Have you ever tried to stop or control your gambling?
21. Have you lied about your gambling to family and/or friends?
22. Are you spending more time on the internet?
23. Are you playing poker on the internet?
aswexler@aol.com
HELP FOR GAMBLING ADDICTION CALL 888 LAST BET
TO REACH ARNIE 561 2490922 CELL 954 5015270