Janis Huckaby spent $150,000 in Casinos over the last Three Years
Casino fun is not fun anymore when you spent $150,000 over the past three years playing in a casino. This is what Janis Huckaby realizes after she collected her stacks of stapled ATM and credit card receipts from the past three years. An unbelievable $150,000 - enough to have paid off her house was the cost of her fun. She fed the money into slot machines, and it steadily disappeared into their metal bellies.
Janis, 53-years-old, is among a small but varied group of people who are considered pathological or compulsive gamblers. It angers her to think she gambled away so much money. Yet she was powerless to fight it off. At some point, Janis lost control. In spite of all that happened to her she never ended up in jail for committing a crime to fund her habit. Her relationship with her husband is intact and she is on the road to recovery.
Some people enter the casino for the sake of fun or entertainment. They can enter and leave after winning or when they've hit their own set limit in losses. But there are still people in the throes of a gambling addiction.
Pathological gamblers usually meet at least five of 10 criteria set by the American Psychiatric Association. 3 million people in the United States - 1 percent of the adult population - meet the criteria. According to recent study by the California research Bureau, which state Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
According to the California Council on Problem Gambling, the state's affiliate of the national council, there are four phases of compulsive gambling: winning, losing, desperation and hopelessness.
At first hand, there is usually little financial consequence, and the gambler views the activity as positive and harmless.
As gambling replaces other activities, and gamblers begin repeatedly trying to win back what they've lost it became the losing stage.
When they are already losing, they became desperate. They begin to feel guilty. The debts are usually increasing at this time.
A compulsive gambler may commit a crime or attempt suicide, give up or seek or return treatment when they became hopeless.
Black Oak Casino acknowledges the problem which is why they offer brochures on gambling addiction in Spanish and English, lists help resources on signs at the casino and its Web site and offers counseling for its employees.
People can remove themselves from gambling addiction. They just need to recognize and accept the problem and seek help. Gambling addiction is never encouraged in any casino. Casinos are only here to provide fun and entertainment.