John,
Thank you. I reached out to the Gaming Board to get me banned from these video arcades in Illinois. I received a call from one woman whom we met and shared stories. Everyone has told me don’t carry money, don’t gamble. I have no one but one very selfish brother who has never given me one dime but always finds away to come over and take things out of my house. His wife has never treated me like a sister-n-law and his kids don’t even sent Birthday cards. I explained everything to him and he acted like I’m crazy and told me to go see a good doctor. MY GA meetings are full of people who brag they have been gamble free for ten and twenty years. We are not allowed to talk about money or how much we lost. I really don’ think they give a crap. The other woman I met who had some hardships met me because her company who is a non-profit gambling company whom she is paid by asked her to. When I called or texted her she never got back to me. I picked a sponsor who never called me back and had no clue why my addiction s so hard to beat. I appreciate all the support here and I will come here through this entire mess. I fester over all the money I lost and can’t stop. This year alone I could of gotten a brand new car cash …. I depleted my savings and have no retirement. Now I just want to make it day by day. I will keep paying the bills each month and maybe in some time I’ll see the light. I never in a million years would ever escape to playing stupid video games and putting in hundreds to only know you could win 400.00 dollars. Just escaping and in a trans. I bought the book Addiction By Design and will see if it can help me realize that these machines are made to make you become addicted.
Thanks for letting me share. Tiki.