[coyotegal]

Well, I made it to yesterday. Then I blew it. How does it happen? How do I fool myself into getting in my car and driving 30 miles to go give my money away??? It’s a rhetorical question, but still I ask myself again, HOW? I will not let it derail me and I will find a way to get on top of this. #rockbottom #nobodysaiditwaseasy #Nevergiveup #Lightattheendofthetunnel

[coyotegal]

Starting my 7th day without Gambling. Gotta deliver to a casino today. I swear, I will not gamble today. I can do it. #nobodysaiditwaseasy #Nevergiveup #Lightattheendofthetunnel

[coyotegal]

Thanks Monique ;0) My life before gambling was a hard one. I believe that everything happens for a reason. EVERYTHING. Life has taught me this, time and time again. Even gambling had a reason to come into my life, as crazy as it sounds. Before I got started, it took an act of congress to get me to go. After my first big win, that was it for almost 8 years.
Before gambling, I had been living in a violent relationship. He almost killed me several times before I finally gave up. He is also the one who got me into gambling. When he went to prison for almost killing me the last time, I divorced him while there. I stayed single for 4 years and spent alot of that time at the casinos. I just wanted away from everything. I had two teenaged boys from a previous relationship that I had to finish raising who went between myself and their father who lived down the street. I worked for myself and every spare penny went to the casinos. Sometimes money I really needed too. BUT… One day I ran into an old friend whom I am sure I would never have found, had I not been in the casino. We hooked up and he has been a blessing in my life. He takes good care of me and I don’t have to worry about much. We rarely argue and he has never hit me. I didn’t even know a relationship could be this good. He has a great job at a mine and makes pretty good money. Were buying a little old house in a small mining town and life is good, but it could be so much better… But he too has a gambling problem..lol.. it’s not really funny, just ironically funny. Because of the gambling, we find ourselves struggling at times to pay the bills. It’s rediculous! We both know and readily admit we have a gambling problem and we both are trying to quit. I am outspoken and socialable and he is shy and is an introspect. So here I am, trying to work my end of it out. I think he has a stronger will than I, though because a while back he quit for 6 months. I went twice during that time. Then we started up again. We had been going strong for several years when about 6 months ago, he became to ill to work and went on disability pay. With too much time on our hands and way less money, boredom and desperation set in and we went on a binge from h-e-double-l! We just about lost everything and are at this moment recovering. He went back to work three weeks ago and together we have decided enough is enough. I just hope and pray this will be it because we make enough money together to have a decent, happy life. Our house payment is very small and we now own our old cars, after giving up our new truck. So if we can stay away from that evil place, we can be comfortable and stable. Today is the 4th day and still no gambling! #Nevergiveup #Lightattheendofthetunnel

[coyotegal]

It’s been a little over 24 hours so I made it through today, my first day. Thats a blessing. I have decided to totally educate myself about compulsive gambling and what it is doing to me and people just like me. Actually, I realize that though I have allowed it to tear my life up, there are people who have even more problems than I do. For that I am grateful. Thanks for the welcome ;0) and all the best to all of us! Just NEVER GIVE UP@@

[coyotegal]

I’m not saying it doesn’t work. Perhaps in some locals and for some folks it works but for my boyfriend and I, well, not so much. Several years ago, we both self excluded from our favorite casino which was the closest. It is aprox. 40 miles away and is a small casino where they actually know most of us by name… So yes, we did stay away from there for an entire year. The problem though, was we ended up going to other casinos that were aprox. 60 miles away. We started to self exclude ourselves from those, but after talking to staff and security, decided it would be futile as we were told that they have no way of keeping up with who and who is not self excluded and that what usually happend was if someone who is self excluded goes in and plays and happens to win a jackpot that requires ID, that if they are on the exclusion list, the jackpot is forfeited and they are asked to leave. No jail, no hassles. Just hope you don’t hit it big if you are going to break the self exclusion. The only time they had people arrested for trespassing was when they got out of hand after being asked to leave when found as winners of forfeited jackpot. I realize that each of us has our own threshold of addiction and for some, self exclusion may be all it will take, but for others, it may not work, but still, I believe there is hope for each and every one of us. We just have to never give up trying. Needless to say, we both are still struggling with our addiction and struggle daily to stay out of the casinos.. sometimes we do. Sometimes we don’t. I just hope and pray that someday we all find the strength to take back our lives and embrace all that we have been missing.

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