Watertown Daily Times (NY)
November 30, 2003
RISKY BUSINESS
GAMBLING ADDICTIONS CAUSE WIDESPREAD DESPAIR
Author: Robert Ferringo
Times Sports Writer
Edition: Both
Section: Sports
Page: D1
Article Text:
This October, area residents witnessed firsthand both the agony and the ecstasy of gambling.
Sackets Harbor residents Lawrence and Roberta Carpenter won a $19 million Lotto jackpot. The couple, whose odds of success were 1 in 45,057,474, took home a lump sum payment of $9.83 million.
John Breen Jr., stepfather of supermodel and Watertown High School graduate Maggie Rizer, was charged with a string of criminal charges, including second-degree grand larceny and scheming to defraud, for allegedly writing nearly $90,000 in bad checks to cover Quick Draw losses throughout the Watertown area. Breen has reportedly gambled away millions of dollars belonging to Rizer, one of the world's highest- paid fashion models.
While stories like the Carpenters' are more rare than they seem, stories like Breen's are becoming increasingly more common.
"The stories of destruction are so unbelievable," said Paul, the founder of the Watertown ! chapter of Gamblers Anonymous. "Ordinary people who don't really know what they're getting into. They get addicted without even knowing it."
As the name suggests, Gambler's Anonymous discourages participants from revealing their full names in anything associated with the group.
Paul has been a compulsive gambler since 1965. He has won as much as $44,000 in one day at the race tracks, but admits to losing that amount several times in his lifetime.
Gambling has become one of the largest industries in the world, with nearly a trillion dollars gambled through legal and illegal channels yearly throughout the world.
Americans illegally wager up to $380 billion annually on sporting events. From March Madness office pools to NFL-picks sheets, a person wouldn't have to look very hard to find examples of how sports betting is involved in everyday lives.
A recent study on gambling behaviors in Jefferson County was performed by the Center for Community! Studies at Jefferson Community College on behalf of NoCasino, an Thousand Islands-based anti-gambling group.
The study projected that $49 million is spent on gambling per year. That represents almost 3 percent of people's annual income.
An estimated $15.9 million were spent on scratch-off tickets, Quick Draw and Daily Numbers, according to the study. According to state figures, the actual amount was closer to $28.9 million, a difference of 81.6 percent.
If the same amount of error for this portion of the study is assumed in the overall total, then the new estimate for overall spending on gambling for Jefferson County residents becomes $89.1 million. This new total represents almost 5 percent of county residents' annual income.
"It's all delusional," Paul said. "The whole idea is built on this fantasy of being the big winner. And we see that all around in our society - the big winners."
A subsection of gambling involves betting on sporting ! events. Football is the weapon of choice among most sports gamblers, with estimates about how much was laid on last year's Super Bowl ranging anywhere from $4 billion to $10 billion.
"(Super Bowl Sunday) is a suicide bet for many," Paul said. "It's the end of the football season, they're already in big trouble, so now they go and bet the farm on the Super Bowl. The day after the Super Bowl, the calls to Gamblers Anonymous are enormous. It's the premier betting event for gamblers everywhere."
Not only are athletes making millions of dollars on the field, but people - whether they're bookies running illegal operations at a state university or a legally licensed offshore businesses involved with Internet gambling - are raking in billions of dollars off it.
The Super Bowl may be the premier sports betting event, but it is merely one golden calf in a subculture of gambling addicts.
There are nearly 8 million compulsive gamblers living in the United Sta! tes, according to sources at the New York Council On Problem Gambling. It is estimated that 3.6 percent of all New York residents - roughly 225,000 - have a gambling problem.
The study done by the Center For Community Studies projected that 7.3 percent - 6,018 people - of people in Jefferson County would be considered as having a gambling problem.
Those 6,018 people account for 40 percent of all gambling revenue in Jefferson County. Also, 95.7 percent of persons identified as problem gamblers in this study didn't believe they had a problem with gambling. For many of them, it isn't about their love of sports, or even their love of money.
"It's the rush," Paul said. "It's the anxiety, anticipation, excitement. Knowing everything was riding on what the result was. If you won, you had your mortgage and money for food. If you lost, you have to figure out what to do now."
And while gambling continues to grow and become a more serious domestic issue, ! more businesses appear ready to capitalize on its growing popularity.
For example, the success of televised high-stakes poker events on ESPN and the Travel Channel has convinced NBC to broadcast matches during Super Bowl Sunday.
Poker's popularity and increased presence in the mainstream is also having an effect on general participation. In 2001, a $10,000 poker tournament at the Foxwoods Casino had fewer than 60 entrants. This year, there were 313 players.
"We have succeeded in branding poker," said Steve Lipscomb, CEO of the World Poker Tour, in an interview with an Associated Press reporter.
Gambling will never go away. It has been around since the Ming Dynasty, and is even mentioned throughout the Bible.
Even Gamblers Anonymous, as an organization, refuses to lobby against gambling. The group knows it would be pointless, and isn't trying to wipe out betting, it is merely there to help those left in its wake.
"I'm 40 years old, I ! shouldn't have to worry about where my retirement is going to come from," said Patti, the wife of a gambling addict. "Forged checks, stolen ATMs where money is taken out, a post office box (that) I didn't know existed where the mail was going. I mean, it's amazing the lengths these people go to to steal."
Paul and his wife, Betty, established the local chapters of GA and Gam-Anon - which assists the families of gambling addicts - to help people like Patti.
One day, Anna thought she had nearly $8,000 in a joint bank account with her husband, only to find out that she was nearly $90,000 in debt. There was a lien on her house, and numerous credit cards had been maxed out in her name.
"(He) took a check, forged it," Patti said. "Used to take my ATM, take money all the time. Take out credit cards that you're not aware of, jack them up $80 grand. (He'd even) embezzle money from (his) boss. "Except, it's not the money. It's not. It's the devastation of the h! uman spirit, you know."
"I cry almost everyday," Patti said. "There is devastation, but there is hope, too. That's the light at the end of the tunnel. There's always hope, there has to be, in everything."
New Yorkers spent roughly $4.75 billion on the state-run lottery in 2002. Only
$1.7 million was spent by the state toward the treatment of addicts.
Problem gamblers
In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association recognized pathological
gambling as a mental disorder. To be diagnosed as a pathological gambler, an
individual must meet at least five out of following 10 diagnostic criteria
established by the APA:
1. Thinks about gambling constantly
2. Increases bets to sustain thrill
3. Exhibits agitation when cutting back
4. Gambles as an escape
5. Chases losses
6. Lies to conceal activity
7. Finances bets through illegal acts
8. Jeopardizes significant relationships
9. Relies on financial bailout
10. Fails to control or stop wagering
Poker has ! become a popular programming choice for networks such as ESPN, the
Travel Channel and NBC.
Copyright (c) 2003 Watertown Daily Times
Record Number: 0311300204
