That’s the thing about having a gambling problem: You never come out on top. No win is big enough to satisfy you. No loss is big enough to wake you up. There’s always the next hand, the next game; there’s always the promise of that big score just around the corner…when the fact of the matter is you’re already too far gone for saving.

Or almost too far gone, I should say. I got help for my gambling addiction. It worked. Didn’t get me my money back…but it freed me from the Need, made it so I could wake up in the morning without thinking about parlays and doubling-down. Gambling treatment gave me my life back. Seems like that’s about the biggest score anyone could ever hope for.