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...

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itsjustmeagain 10/06/2016

so, having a casino 1 1/2 hours away, that by itself has at least given me some peace of mind, i dont drive it, its not an easy ride - NY and all, w/the traffic, its a huge undertaking, bridges/tolls, traffic insane - but if you wanna play, you wanna play right?

well, not sure who lives in NY, but they will open a new casino - 20 min away from me - December is the open date... MOFO!!~

when i heard the news, i had a glimmer of joy, then, dread

if we are on a desert island, with no access, addiction is easier, but if i had to guess, most people would say to me, as i would to them, even if the slot machine was in your living room, you have to learn a way to exist and not play

just venting, roadblocks in place, just that one time/one night scares me.....sigh.....

hows the rest of the group doing?

blkjcklady 10/06/2016

I completely understand how you feel. A new casino is opening in Maryland in December and this casino is a 15 minute drive. All others casinos in the area were a 45 - 1 hour drive........ I guest it doesn't bother me too much because I banned myself from local casinos and I know that I cannot go. If I had not banned myself, then I know I would go to that casino every day....

Qwit4Good 10/07/2016

For me, my state allows state lottery owned poker machines and keno in almost every restaurant and bar. 7-11's and others that ilk sell the state lottery scratch offs and Keno. Opportunities to gamble are on every other corner in my town and neighboring towns and the state has 6 Indian Casinos. I had to learn to live with it being all around me, much like I presume an alcoholic must do. I use a small tool where I picture the faces of my former abusers on the screens of the poker/slot machines if I do look directly at one. (This helps me remember that I am just furthering the abuse of me if I gamble.)
Hugs and prayers

NoMoreOneTimers 10/07/2016

I'm from NY & I'm a truck driver...so I hear ya on the driving LOL My local casino is only 15 minutes away. I've only been back on the wagon a couple months now (had a few 3, 4, 5 & 6 month stretches GF but I don't seem to get past the 6 month mark). There are several casinos in the area, much to my dismay...its more & more common no matter where you live I think. I'm doing the best I can to try to re-learn how to live my life without gambling. Hugs to all doing the same :)

nancyzoman 10/13/2016

That's rough. That sucks.

Sometimes I think about how different my life would've been if they hadn't opened casinos in my area. I turned 21, and all of a sudden, there were casinos within 20 minutes of my home within a year. Over the course of the next nine years, I proceeded to gamble over $60K and lose every penny I ever earned.

I don't know if this is helpful, but I've started to fall in love with the idea of strength recently. Being a warrior for my own life. Fighting for my own life. Not ever playing the victim again. There will always be something negative you can choose to focus on -- or you can choose to focus on your own greatness. Fighting the good fight for your recovery, for yourself, for your loved ones, for freedom to live your own life.

Hope this helps.

itsjustmeagain 10/13/2016

nancy, yes, makes great sense, i often catch myself saying "stop ..............that's what you were worried about, you can handle that??

like its just a place, and i dont have to do a goddarn thing if i dont want to....thanks

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