In The Beginning

My first introduction to Video Lottery Terminals (VLT's) came around 1994. At first it was something that a small group of my friends used to do after a meeting that we would attend bi-weekly. After each meeting we would contribute five or ten dollars to a pot and play the machines for an hour or so as we relaxed and enjoyed a beverage or two. After three or four months of this I found that I was hanging around a little longer and putting a few extra dollars in on my own. No big deal I thought.

By mid 1995 every spare moment that I had was spent in front of a VLT. I had my own business, so therefore my lack of discipline affected not just my work time but my personal time as well. I started making excuses to leave the house in the evening so I could spend a few hours gambling. It was about this time that the worst part of any addiction kicked in - the lies. You start by telling one lie and before long you are telling lies when you don't even need to tell a lie.

By the end of 1995 I could no longer keep my business afloat. I told my wife and my friends that there was just not enough business in the area where we lived to stay open - the truth was that I had spent so much time at the machines and had lost so much money that I ran the business into the ground.