I was going to title this "How did you get addicted to gambling" but thought that a bit harsh a term, though I personally do admit to being an addict. Hate those GA meetings!

Anyways, this may be rather lengthy, but I thought I'd tell my story of what led me to gambling.

As I've mentioned in other threads, I grew up with a father who owned harness racing horses, and when I was as young as 6, he tought me to handicap the horse programs. At the Northampton fair in Massachusetts that year, he gave me $10 to bet on a race, I picked a horse named Jet's Puppy, and it won and I hot back $93 for that $10 bet!

Fast forward, growing up, my dad gambled every day, whether it be going to OTB to bet on the horses or driving all the way to Foxborough,MA to watch his horses race.

I can remember once Foxwoods opened in 1992, he was there every night, some days returning at 3am, and waking up for work at 7.

In 1992, he took us to Foxwoods, and I remember bringing $250 and losing it real quick in slots and thinking "this sucks!"

In my early 30s, I got involved with a crowd and started majorly partying on the weekends, never impacting my job, but I was doing stuff I said I would never do.

Then in 2006, at age 36, my dad got me 1 ticket to Bon Jovi at Mohegan, and I went and I remember playing a quarter slot and missing the opening act, Chris Daughtry, because I was so mezmerized by slotting. The slots still had coins coming out in 2006!

Well, soon after that concert, my weekend partying came to an abrupt end when a bunch of folks got arrested. So, I was left with all this extra time and nothing to do.

I remember going to bed at 9pm on a Friday night, waking up at 11pm. and feeling Iike "I really HAD to gamble"!

So, I took a shower and drove a bit over an hour to Mohegan and played the Triple Cheeseburger 25 cent machine til my $200 was gone. I was so anxious to gamble I got pulled over going 84 in a 65 zone, but the cop let me go.

I started going to Mohegan every weekend with $250. I remember the guilt I felt the first time I used my bank card to take out more than $250.

Then, at my local bar, the bartender told me how she and her boyfriend got into the players lounges for free food and drink. All I had to do was play high limit slots!

After that, I was hooked. If I could turn back time, I wish I never started, but my genetics seem to dictate my destiny!

What's your story???

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