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Bobby was always an independent and enthusiastic person. He became very involved in everything he did. He became an avid tennis player, and after that an effective worker for charitable organizations. Bobby then adopted still other enthusiasms, first for old cars, which he bought and repaired, and then for computers. During these overlapping periods he started to drink too much alcohol. His wife convinced him that he was edging toward alcoholism, and he was able to quit. Unfortunately, he turned to gambling as his new source of enthusiasm. In the long run, the gambling was worse than the drinking. He first mortgaged, and then lost, land that he had bought with the intention of building a retirement home on it. He took all the money out of his retirement fund and lost it. He got a second mortgage on his home, without his wife's knowledge, and lost the money. He got the maximum cash advances on all his credit cards, and lost that. He borrowed money from his mother and brother, and lost that. When his wife found out what he had done with the house and the credit cards, she kicked him out of the house. She was liable for all of the debt, and nearly lost the house, but she managed to keep it and to stave off bankruptcy by using all of her savings, refinancing the house, and stretching out all the repayments. She was hanging on by a financial thread. Bobby moved around, living with relatives and friends until he wore out his welcome with each, and spent more and more time gambling. His job didn't require a fixed schedule, but Bobby wasn't able to maintain any work schedule, and he soon lost the job. He started drinking again, and started smoking heavily. Bobby is still looking for the big score, but it isn't clear where he is going to get money to place a bet. He owes money to several bookies, who don't take kindly to being stiffed. The only ray of light is that he has not yet been arrested for any criminal behaviors, unlike the former NFL quarterback, Art Schlichter, another pathological gambler who has been arrested repeatedly, most recently on charges of money laundering and of using someone else's credit card to obtain cash. Bobby's case is typical of pathological
gamblers. They, like alcoholics, have to "hit bottom" before
they have the slightest interest in reforming, and the reform still
doesn't work in the majority of cases. Bobby has repeatedly been encouraged to
seek help from Gambler's anonymous, but he has no interest in doing so. Last updated 12/19/03 |
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