Don't Gamble with Your Life

Whitney Hopler

Gambling has become as pervasive in our society as weeds that have overtaken a garden. No longer confined to casinos in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, gambling has sprouted up on the Internet, in convenience stores, and even at social events sponsored by companies, schools and civic organizations.

Most people would probably agree that gambling becomes a problem when people use their grocery money to feed slot machines instead of themselves or wager against their savings accounts at blackjack tables. But what about occasionally buying a lottery ticket or betting on the outcome of a football game? Those seemingly innocent forays into gambling can also bring you pain.

Here are some ways you can break gambling's destructive power:








Adapted from Turning the Tables on Gambling, copyright 2001 by Gregory L. Jantz with Ann McMurray. Published by Shaw, an imprint of WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House Inc., Colorado Springs, Co., www.waterbrookpress.com.

Gregory Jantz, Ph.D., is a speaker, author and host of a daily radio program. He is also the founder and executive director of The Center for Counseling and Health Resources, Inc., a mental health and chemical dependency treatment facility with three clinics in the Seattle area. Ann McMurray is a freelance writer who has worked with Dr. Jantz on several projects.

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