Big Story?

I don't know how many of you are aware of the illegal gambling scandal which is hitting the National Hockey League but it seems the awareness level of gambling and illegal gambling has moved up a notch. The most famous names in regards to this scandal are Wayne Gretzky and his wife actress Janet Jones. It appears Ms. Jones was quite a prolific sports bettor and has been implicated in this scandal as someone who has placed bets with this illegal gambling ring. Of course what Ms. Jones has done is illegal but I would guess that she won't be implicated in any criminal proceedings because she wasn't the one taking the bets. The bigger fish are out there but I fear the federal prosecutors may want to make an "example" out of her. Does this really work, I may have to ask Martha Stewart.

I have read about many illegal betting rings shut down over the years and I don't remember seeing any of the bettors implicated in any criminal wrongdoing. Yes, it is criminal to place illegal wagers; however; these crimes are rarely prosecuted. Janet Jones and Wayne Gretzky are very big names in the world inside and outside of sports so hopefully they aren't covering something up for anyone and secondly if Ms. Jones was doing the gambling she may have bigger problems than the legal ones she may face.

I am not going to take inventory of Janet Jones and all the facts of this case are certainly not out there but I hope if she does in fact have a problem that I pray to God she finds treatment and commits to this treatment. It can change her life and it can save her life but if she continues down the path of denial like I did for so many years there isn't any therapy that can help. This story has a long way to go before it is all said and done but I hope the awareness shifts to compulsive gambling and how people can get treatment. This is where the real hope is in my opinion because there are so many people out there that won't seek treatment and won't commit to treatment until really bad things happen. I know because I was one of these people; however; it is never too late and my life has gotten better and continues to get better each and every day.

I wanted to post this story out of Wisconsin and yes, it is another story about how a compulsive gambler's life had gotten out of control. One part of the article refers to treatment as being "reasonably effective"; my opinion on this is that most people are unwilling to get treatment and when they enter treatment they continue to fight. However; for those people who are committed to their recovery the treatment will be "extremely" effective every time. Here is the article;

Gambling habit likened to crack addiction

MEQUON - Former fire chief Jim Wucherer admitted Monday he is seeking counseling and undergoing medical treatment for his obsessive-compulsive gambling disorder, which led him to resign amid allegations of receiving inappropriate reimbursements from the city and other funds connected to the Mequon Fire Department Organization.

Wucherer, 55, said his addiction cost him his livelihood, which has left him in "limbo" and asking himself why he didn't seek help sooner.

"He isn't alone," said Rose Gruber, executive director for the Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling. "It’s not something someone can stop and walk away from on their own."

She said statistics also show that 5 to 7 percent of the state’s population has a gambling problem.

"It’s an addiction like no other," Gruber said. "It’s very often compared to having a crack cocaine addiction. Like crack cocaine addicts, gambling addicts will try to get money for their habit anyway they can."

She said many times an individual with a gambling addiction will take items from their workplace or home and try to sell them for money because the person has fallen into deep personal debt. Gruber said some, who never had financial problems before, will ask their friends and family members for money.

"A lot of times as they fall deeper they think they are the only ones with a problem," Gruber said. "Hopefully we can help because there is not a great deal of tolerance in the workplace for it."

She also said tisn'te isn’t a Gamblers Anonymous meeting in every community. The closest regular meetings to Ozaukee County are in Jackson and Milwaukee.

"Gambling is where alcohol was 20 years ago," she said. "We are behind the times when it comes to gambling. It all comes back to the awareness factor. Sometimes it takes someone who has a personal connection with the individual afflicted with gambling addiction to understand it."

Dr. Michael J. Bohn, a psychiatrist with Aurora Healthcare in Wauwatosa, said the prevalence of gambling has been on the rise throughout the last decade.

"Pathological gambling reflects a disturbance in the brain where there is a circuit which helps us with our primitive behaviors that helps us find food and is also related to our sex drives," Bohn said. "That part is connected to another area in the brain that helps us slow down and make careful choices and inhibits things that are potentially dangerous to us," he said. "When that area is not working as well or as quickly someone can have strong wills for rewards in what we call symbolic rewards such as trying to win the big one."

Bohn said at present there is no medication available through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help one with a gambling disorder.

"We are the only site right now in Wisconsin studying a drug that affects what we call the regulator of the drive system so as to help block or lose the intensity of the urge," Bohn said.

"This medicine seems to block the enkephalins that bind to the proteins in the brain which helps to regulate the driving mechanism that provides instant pleasure," he said.

Bohn said the drug, ndoesn'tene, doesn’t have an impact on daily pleasures such as how food tastes, sex or seeing a thriller-type movie, but it does reduce intense urges such as obsessive-compulsive gambling.

Although Bohn said there is no approved medication, he said counseling - including such programs as Gamblers Anonymous - has been "reasonably effective."

"Only 1 in 30 people with a gambling problem seek treatment, but if they don’t delay treatment, it can help," Bohn said. "It’s a disabling condition which can cause a great deal of personal burden if it goes untreated."