Gambling Addiction & Recovery Support Group
Compulsive gambling is an urge or addiction to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. A preferred term among many professionals is problem gambling, as few people described by the term experience true compulsions in the clinical sense of the word. Problem gambling often is defined by whether harm is experienced by the gambler or others rather...
Ugh. My venture into a casino last night started with 3 free play $5 chips for BlackJack. This is the only local casino I haven't ban myself from as it's right on my commute and offers free breakfast /free play on Tuesdays, free appetizers on Thurs/$10 free play and these free $5 BJ chips on Fridays.
Back to last night, I won one hand of BJ for $5. I considered this "free money" so I put it into a slot machine and won $40 and cashed out then put this money back into the new slot game Zombies (appropriate name) and quickly lost that $40. Then I played all the money I had in my purse on another game - luckily I only had $12 in it. I started playing 1 penny a spin just to stay longer. The bad news- I actually lost $52 last night as that $40 was mine, I thought about getting a cash advance on my credit card to continue playing, I played about an hour and had only planned on a quick 15 minute stop and I played all the money I had on me which I told myself I would only use "their" free play $$.
The good news, I no longer carry my debit card, it's left at my office. I am sure I would have used the debit card at casino last night if I had it as there is money in my bank account. I had about $10 in my car but didn't go back into the casino and lose that. I didn't get that cash advance.
What I've learned
1. I'm not safe to carry a debit card. I can get cash at my bank with my drivers license.
2. I have been using credit cards to pay for food/gas then transfer funds from my bank account to pay off at the end of the week using my IPhone.
3. I need to use my other credit card that I can't get cash advances on and ditch the one I was carrying last night (which I recently paid off) So glad I did not get a cash advance.
4. Whether its $12 or $1,000 losing money to a casino really irritates me.
5. Self-banning is great. I banned myself from 7 casinos close by but that I had to go out of my way to get to. I don't think about going to them anymore and now recognize the underlying stress they caused me in the past with having to continually choose to not go gamble at them. I didn't realize how much stress that was until now, when its a non issue.
6. I may have to ban myself from the convenient casino I went to last night.
Back to last night, I won one hand of BJ for $5. I considered this "free money" so I put it into a slot machine and won $40 and cashed out then put this money back into the new slot game Zombies (appropriate name) and quickly lost that $40. Then I played all the money I had in my purse on another game - luckily I only had $12 in it. I started playing 1 penny a spin just to stay longer. The bad news- I actually lost $52 last night as that $40 was mine, I thought about getting a cash advance on my credit card to continue playing, I played about an hour and had only planned on a quick 15 minute stop and I played all the money I had on me which I told myself I would only use "their" free play $$.
The good news, I no longer carry my debit card, it's left at my office. I am sure I would have used the debit card at casino last night if I had it as there is money in my bank account. I had about $10 in my car but didn't go back into the casino and lose that. I didn't get that cash advance.
What I've learned
1. I'm not safe to carry a debit card. I can get cash at my bank with my drivers license.
2. I have been using credit cards to pay for food/gas then transfer funds from my bank account to pay off at the end of the week using my IPhone.
3. I need to use my other credit card that I can't get cash advances on and ditch the one I was carrying last night (which I recently paid off) So glad I did not get a cash advance.
4. Whether its $12 or $1,000 losing money to a casino really irritates me.
5. Self-banning is great. I banned myself from 7 casinos close by but that I had to go out of my way to get to. I don't think about going to them anymore and now recognize the underlying stress they caused me in the past with having to continually choose to not go gamble at them. I didn't realize how much stress that was until now, when its a non issue.
6. I may have to ban myself from the convenient casino I went to last night.
1. Yes. Leave it with the one that you can't easily access or cut it up.
2. and 3. Cut them both up.
4. Absolutely, no bet is worth it at this point, once you start playing mental games on limits you're in trouble. A great quote- If you bet with money you lose money, if you bet with your head, you lose your mind.
5. and 6.- Yes, ban away- especially any one of them that is "convenient." I know someone that is making it a mission to ban himself from every state/casino that he knows of. Really a tremendous undertaking and using it as part of his recovery.
Good luck to you, my friend.
Jay