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45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 27, 2004 Chasing the win: when gambling becomes a problem By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Compulsively throwing dollar after dollar into a video machine is more like obsessively snorting line after line of cocaine than you might think. A common misconception is that a gambling addiction is different than being hooked on drugs, said John Higgins, an addictions counselor who heads up the gambling treatment program at On Track in Medford. "It causes changes in the brain chemistry," he said. "Those changes are similar to cocaine addiction." OnTrack, in conjunction with Addictions Recovery Center, both in Medford, offers the only treatment program for problem gambling in the county. The program has seen a 100 percent increase in two years in people seeking treatment. Advertisement When the program began in 2001, 31 people came to the offices for assessment, and last year 62 people came forward, according to Ed Burns, program director for the Addictions Recovery Center. Higgins said the first steps in treatment are teaching coping skills and breaking patterns. For example, the client might need to reroute a drive home from work to avoid passing the place where he or she used to play video poker. He said he also suggests asking someone else, like a family member, to handle finances. By the time gamblers seek treatment, most are in dire financial straits, and the program helps set them up with a credit counselor. Higgens also recommends clients attend Gamblers Anonymous support groups. The secretary for Gamblers Anonymous in Jackson County is Bill C. (last names are not used in the group) of Medford. He said the group follows the 12-step framework of Alcoholics Anonymous. While local AA groups can have 20 people in attendance, and Narcotics Anonymous can have 50, it’s much harder to get folks to show up for GA meetings. "We’re lucky if we have four or five," he said. He attributes low turnout to addicts not admitting to their problem. "It’s easier to deny: ‘I don’t have a gambling problem, I have a cash-flow problem,’ " he said. Bill C. said that "action gambling" — yelling at a craps table, for instance — historically has been a male problem, where there was an inner urge to be "a big shot." But with the introduction of video poker machines, more women have joined the group as "escape gamblers" (quiet players who want to be left alone), and they often use gambling as a way to feel in control of their lives. He said the local group has unofficially modified some of the literature to more accurately reflect the group members. Counselors also look at issues driving the addiction, said Kelly Jeffries, outpatient clinician at Addiction Recovery Center. "No one gets through life without issues," she said. Some clients are addicted to the chase and the fantasy, while some are addicted to the win. One client spent $10,000 one night trying to win a $650 jackpot. Often her clients have one machine that’s theirs, and can spend 12 hours at it, foregoing eating and restroom stops. Gambling is more of a middle-aged, middle-class addiction, she said. The average age is about 40, and most are homeowners, working, with 14 years of education. She said the average income is $35,000 to $40,000, but she has two clients who make more than $100,000. And amazingly, an addict will gamble about what their yearly income is. The state will pay for 50 hours of treatment to help deal with the gambling addiction, she said, but that’s eaten up quickly. With individual and group counseling and education, a person is looking at about five hours a week minimum at the beginning of treatment, so 50 hours only gets them 10 weeks of paid treatment. But months or even a year are needed for many people. At the same time, free treatment is a great benefit, and not something that’s available for all addictions. So she’s not complaining about the funds. "I don’t think the state is totally responsible for someone’s recovery," she said. Success rates are more difficult to track than for drug addiction, because it’s an easier problem to hide. For example there’s no blood test for gambling, and unlike cocaine use, gambling itself is not illegal. Jeffries said while gambling treatment may be suggested by a judge if someone has committed a crime to support his or her habit, it is not mandated. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers