Gambling History

I was asked by the producer of the Al Roker Investigates program which online sportsbooks I used. I put together this list of all the online sportsbooks that I have dealt over the past 8 years and I had no idea I dealt with so many. Fortunately, I have since deleted all of these bookmarks from my computer and couldn't remember many of them. I did remember the one I dealt with the most in the past 3 years but I had no idea there were at least 17 others that are still active and probably another 7 or 8 that have since gone out of business. Oh my how I was in the depths of such a progressive addiction and had no idea.

There were a few sportsbooks that I actually (for lack of a better term) "screwed over" with credit card chargebacks and other inaccurate claims so I could get my money back. I used to joke with my gambling buddy that we needed to keep a list of the sportsbooks we couldn't play at because it was getting longer and longer. Also; there were two sportsbooks that wouldn't let me play there because I won too much, go figure this one!!! These two sportsbooks are still in business and there are a few others that kicked me out because they couldn't pay me the full amount in a timely fashion. How stupid was I? Even if I did win at some of these online sportsbooks I wasn't going to get paid but I still continued to gamble. If this doesn't speak to the "it is NOT about the money" issue I don't know what does. I needed action and I had to have action and I would find it just like a junkie finds their next fix. Insanity run rampant!!

Also; there were companies to send money to these online sportsbooks via credit cards and checking accounts. I think I "screwed" all of them over as well. Towards the end of my gambling career the only way I could get money to the sportsbooks was through Western Union or Bank Wire. The Western Union method was a pain because it was always in cash. I was sending such high dollar amounts Western Union didn't allow credit card transactions this high to be sent to Third World countries. I would have to go to the bank withdraw cash then go to the Western Union office and wire the funds. When I lived in Las Vegas I was on a first name basis with the Western Union lady because it was a weekly event. This means I was constantly SENDING money and not receiving money, again how STUPID was I??? When I moved to Southern California I didn't like the fact that the Western Union people knew me so well in Las Vegas I devised a plan, I would do rounds of the Western Union offices in my area each week, it really was a pain in the neck but I would do it anyway. Finally (I got smart!!), I set-up bank wires to one particular sportsbook and I really didn't like going down to the bank to do this so I inquired on how to set-up an ongoing wire so I didn't have to come down to the bank. This was the end (thank God!!) because by setting up this type of transaction the bank had to perform a certain due diligence on my account and the end was finally here. The morale to all of this madness is I COULD NOT STOP until I was found out. I know this is so hard to imagine because most "normal" people would have not let it get this far and most normal people would have stop somewhere along the way. Well I am NOT normal, in case you haven't figured that out by now!!!

I would like to congratulate my father for getting his second hole in one yesterday. In fact it was the same hole he got his first hole in one at, way to go Dad, CONGRATULATIONS!!!