Lost All Money At Casino

• This topic has 256 replies, 37 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 9 months ago by .

• What To Do If You Lost All Your Money Gambling
• How Much Money Have Casinos Lost
• Has A Casino Ever Lost Money

• Hello, I’m Adam. I’ve just signed up to this site after advice from Katie on the live chat. I’ve been gambling since I was probably 13/14. Slot machines are my thing. I would go to the arcade at dinner time when I went to school, or into town on the weekends to spend all my pocket money.
  I guess I graduated to more serious money when I left school and got a job in a pub glass collecting. I’d be happy to lose 20, 30 quid on the bandit even if that was a big percentage of my wages. As I got older I was promoted to the bar and eventually assistant steward. As the position went up, the wages went up, the gambling went up. The inclusion of a £1 a spin machine at work proved too tempting and I was regularly losing hundreds.
  More recently I’d signed up to Betfred to try my hand at gambling away from work. Once again, video slots were my thing. Started easy with £2 a spin, but it gradually grew and grew. £10 a spin, £20, £40. Soon I was losing £100 with every spin of the reels. I recently lost £11,000 from a£17,000 life savings account. I was destroyed. So imagine my delight when I managed to win and build it back up to £20,000. That should of been the end of it. But for the fact I’m here, we all know it wasn’t. I lasted roughly 1 week before I was gambling again. £100 a spin. I lost £11,500 over a week or so. I lost the final £8,500 in around 20 minutes yesterday.
  I’m absolutely mortified to say the least. I’ve no idea where to go from here. That money was supposed to go towards a new house next year. This is where my problems lie. I can’t bare the thought of telling my parents who have basically wiped my arse for 30 years. It’s all going to come out eventually when I try to get a mortgage and they check my financial history. Further still, my girlfriend who has always struggled financially, will never understand. She’s thousands in debt herself, so she’ll never be able to come to terms with me losing £8,000 in 20 minutes. I just can’t face them. I’m basically eyeing up as much stuff in my possession that I have to sell. Try and claw some of it back. If I saved £200 of my wages every week, I’ll get it back in about 100 weeks. That’s just never going to happen.

  I think I’m going to have to settle into this depression…

  Hello and thanks for starting a thread in the Gambling Therapy forums

  Here at Gambling Therapy we pride ourselves on being a caring and diverse online community who can help and support you with the difficulties you’re currently facing. We understand that this might be a tough time for you, particularly if you’re new to recovery, so come here as often as you need to and participate in the forums, access online groups and connect to the live advice helpline if you need one to one support. We’re in this together!

  Here on the forum you can share your experiences in a safe, supportive and accepting environment. The beauty of writing it all down is that you can take your time and you will be creating a record of your progress that you can look back on if it ever feels like you’re not moving forward. So, share as much or as little as you like but do try to stick to keeping just one thread in this forum so people know where to find you if they want to be updated on your progress or share something with you.

  And on that note….

  I’m going to hand you over to our community because I’m sure they will have some words of wisdom for you 🙂

  Take care

  The Gambling Therapy Team

  
  PS: Let me just remind you to take a look at our
  privacy policy and terms and conditions so you know how it all works!
  

  Hey Adam, thanks for sharing and welcome to the forum. I was never able to hold onto the money I had available neither. I could never leave a loser. I would either be up for the session and quit or gamble, stepping up if necessary, to the bitter end.
  I was well aware of this and I made a good portion of my money unavailable / not easily accessible to me. It was in an account in a different country where it would take 2 or 3 days for it to clear into my current account and only then I could use it for gambling. In addition to that the amount I was able to transfer on any single day was limited.
  So whenever I was steaming out of my ears (which was often) I could only lose the money I had available and never the money that was put aside. By the time I transferred the money back to my current account and it cleared I wouldn’t be steaming so badly. Also, whenever I won anything meaningful I would wire it to the account I didn’t have an easy access to.

  Anyway that money you had is gone and you can’t have it back. It is no longer yours. What you can do is make sure you don’t lose more. Actually you can make sure you never lose another penny. Easier said than done, I know. I’ve been fighting my demons for decades and I gambled as recently as yesterday. Go figure.

  I would recommend that you read “the easy way to stop gambling” by allen carr. It is quite a good book.

  Out of curiosity, you mentioned in your post that you’re waiting for a bonus / cashback money from BetFred and if you got it you weren’t sure whether you would gamble with it or cash it out. Were you serious? Did you honestly think there was a slightest chance you would not gamble with it? I’m not trying to rub it in or anything, I just think it’s highly unlikely you honestly thought you would not gamble the money readily available in your betting account. Not to mention the fact that you probably can’t cash out bonus money till you meet their betting requirements (i. e. betting 8x the bonus amount).

  Good luck. And make sure you come here often and post often. you will find it helpfull I’m sure.

  Adam, I feel for your story. It is so similar to mine and I guess many others. It is the worst feeling in the world. Over 3 years of gambling (poke), quitting, relapsing, losing etc etc I have lost my life savings but more importantly my self respect. Now my busienss is in trouble, my marriage is over and I have to rebuild. I read so many blogs by ex gambler and they all say the same things. Take one day at a time and be kind to yourself. We all make mistakes, god knows I have. Over the last few weeks I have been deep in remorse for so many things, but that is gettng me nowhere. No one’s life is perfect, far from it, and we all —- up. I am trying now to move on, be kind to myself and rebuild what I have lost. My life will never be the same again, but hopefully now it will be better and so will yours.

  Keep posting whenever you need – don’t keep thoughts in your head, it is much better to get them out. The great thing about this site is that you can then see what you wrote and where you were at a certain time.

  All my love to you and yours.

  Adam, I feel for your story. It is so similar to mine and I guess many others. It is the worst feeling in the world. Over 3 years of gambling (poke), quitting, relapsing, losing etc etc I have lost my life savings but more importantly my self respect. Now my busienss is in trouble, my marriage is over and I have to rebuild. I read so many blogs by ex gambler and they all say the same things. Take one day at a time and be kind to yourself. We all make mistakes, god knows I have. Over the last few weeks I have been deep in remorse for so many things, but that is gettng me nowhere. No one’s life is perfect, far from it, and we all —- up. I am trying now to move on, be kind to myself and rebuild what I have lost. My life will never be the same again, but hopefully now it will be better and so will yours.

  Keep posting whenever you need – don’t keep thoughts in your head, it is much better to get them out. The great thing about this site is that you can then see what you wrote and where you were at a certain time.

  All my love to you and yours.

  Hi Adam, why not close that gambling account? Better yet, why not ask them to ban you? The n you won’t keep getting those tempting bonuses.

  The finances will take care of themselves if you stop gambling. Trying to keep things hidden will make it harder for you to do that. In fact trying to keep things hidden can in itself send someone gambling as they try and recoup hidden losses or pay hidden debts.

  What positive steps can you take? A blocker for your PC so you can’t reopen that gambling account or find another one? Someone to hold your money? Getting to GA meetings?

  Keep posting and let us know what positive steps you are taking.?

  Hi Adam,

  As hard as it is, it’s better for you to come clean and tell your parents and girlfriend what you’ve done. The initial shock and upset it will cause will eventually lead to what they can do constructively to help you repair the damage. In my experience, if you keep it a secret and exist in this secret world of gambling, you’ll only continue to chase losses and compound the problem further.

  I’ve self excluded myself form many online gaming sites and now can’t access most of them for 5 years. You can also set daily gaming limits to reduce losses. Again, it’s not a perfect solution because it’s best that you don’t gamble at all, but added to other measures it helps.

  I have still found ways to gamble, that is why I’m on this forum and seeking outside help, but you still have family and people close to you that can support you, care for you and guide you through this, so don’t shut them out. I let things escalate so far that I’ve pushed everyone close to me away, so I speak from experience. This fight is hard enough with the help of loved ones, but it’s far, far more difficult if you stand alone in isolation like I do.

  You may think that you have the ability to win all your losses back before anyone finds out, but even if you do, you’ll think that you can go again and next time win big. I have won tens of thousands of pounds over the years and hardly ever quit while I was winning. I always pushed my luck further and further until I eventually lost everything. There’s never a happy ending to gambling, it always ends in misery.

  I wish you all the best and hope you find the strength to confide in loved ones.

  Take care,

  Charlster2

  Hi Adam it is good you are wanting to stop. I would say you need to self exclude yourself from that online casino today! If you dont the odds are you will deposit again. Keeping it open means that possibly somewhere deep down you know you will gamble again!

  Exclude and do it now and exclude from any other casinos you may have open. Then install blocking software on your pcs to block ALL casinos. Without this you could stumble again. Wishing you all the best!!!

  Hi Adam,

  I can relate to what you’re saying. There are many times when I could have cashed out and won thousands, but because I had won large amounts in the past and because of how much I’ve lost over the years it was never enough. I always push my luck to the brink until I eventually lose everything.

  Not long ago I was £12000 up playing online roulette and all I did was increase my stake so I was spinning £200+ a spin, and in no time I lost the lot. That has happened to me on many occasions, I very rarely cash out when I’m winning. I gamble with trepidation and fear now, there’s no fun factor in it. I know I can’t afford to gamble a penny, yet I gamble every last penny I have on an all too regular basis!

  Just to pick up on something you said at the end of your latest post about you not deserving help, believe me, asking for help now and coming clean is the best thing you can do. You’re £17000 down at the moment, when do you think you’ll qualify for help and understanding, when you’re £50000 down, £100000 down? Now is the time to gather those close to you and meet this problem as a collective rather than face it in silence alone.

  Others may have a different view point, but from my experience, I can only say it as I see it. At the moment £17000 seems a ridiculously large amount to lose, but in hindsight, if I had come clean when my losses were only £17000, I would still have my house, still probably have my long term relationship in tact and wouldn’t be the complete wreck I am today.

  Use your family, girlfriend and friends for support sooner rather than later, don’t try to sort this out on your own.

  I obviously wish you all the best and hope that you stay strong day to day. Keep it going, you’re doing great.

  Take care,

  Charlster2

  i wanted to buy one but I’m not sure? would I be able to un-install it? cause if I can then i will.so ill be wasting my money?

  Just a note on blocking software. Gamblock is virtually impossible to uninstall unless you have very good coding / programmings skills and even then it can go horribly wrong and totally mess the system. Others I wont comment on. But gamblock is about as strong as it gets. Basicially when it is installed on your system ALL sites related to casinos/gambling are blocked including gaming forums and such like.

  Nothing is ever 100% but it can give you another layer of cover and protection. But the real quitting starts from within. Self excluding from casinos is at the basic level and is a must in my book for any person who is struggling with an online based gambling addiction. But hey thats just me.

4 Mark Jonhston lost $500,000 at a Las Vegas Casino in one weekend Las Vegas casinos are notorious for serving their patrons a few drinks while they are gambling, to loosen them up and bet a little more money than they should. Losing that amount of money didn’t seem to phase him and I’ve seen him back many times since.” #5 – $2,200,000 loss ended in suicide “The house lost $3 million in an hour to this player, and then they won $5.2 million back from him over the next six hours. The player slowly lost all his gains and an additional $2.2 million to the casino. Kashiwagi was up by $10 million at one point. However, his luck turned sour and he lost all of his winnings, plus an additional $10 million. The real estate mogul angrily left the casino after Trump cut him off at $10 million in losses. Kashiwagi claimed that Trump violated their agreement, which originally stated that he could lose up to $12.

• This topic has 47 replies, 16 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 4 months ago by .

• Hello my name is ray, I’ve always been successful and level headed person… Ive been working as a junior doctor for the past three years and I am currently 27 years of age…. However I was introduced to gambling one year ago and in the past couple months I have lost my entire savings of $50000 on roulette… Both online and in actual casinos…. The problem is Noone knows about this not my parents not my pathner…. It all started with winning 2000 the first time I gambled… I began to gamble every month and began to loose 1000 every month…. I began to chase losses and over the past couple months have gambled it all out… I’m sick to my stomach and suicidal…. My job is a good one but very demanding… I seem like I can’t even function properly in my workplace because of this depression…. My other problem is what if I can’t stop gambling… I dnt even have anyone to tlk to personally because I’m so ashamed.. That savings was to invest in a new house.. Now I’m stuck

  <

  Hello and thanks for starting a thread in the Gambling Therapy forums

  Here at Gambling Therapy we pride ourselves on being a caring and diverse online community who can help and support you with the difficulties you’re currently facing. We understand that this might be a tough time for you, particularly if you’re new to recovery, so come here as often as you need to and participate in the forums, access online groups and connect to the live advice helpline if you need one to one support. We’re in this together!

  Here on the forum you can share your experiences in a safe, supportive and accepting environment. The beauty of writing it all down is that you can take your time and you will be creating a record of your progress that you can look back on if it ever feels like you’re not moving forward. So, share as much or as little as you like but do try to stick to keeping just one thread in this forum so people know where to find you if they want to be updated on your progress or share something with you.

  And on that note….

  I’m going to hand you over to our community because I’m sure they will have some words of wisdom for you 🙂

  Take care

  The Gambling Therapy Team

  
  PS: Let me just remind you to take a look at our
  privacy policy and terms and conditions so you know how it all works!
  

  Your predicament sounds not to dissimilar to my own. I gambled away my entire life savings I was banking on using for a house. I too haven’t been able to tell my family or my partner. Talking to people on here helps and I can happily say I’ve been gamble free for just over a year now. Something I can’t say I’ve been since I was about 13. All I can say is, listen to the advice of the people on here. Stay strong. You’re better than any addiction. Each passing day will make you more confidant you can beat this. Take care of yourself and your finances will do the same.

  Hi Ray,

  Sorry to hear about you losing all of your savings. Unfortunately this is the typical end result of a gambling addiction. We inevitably hig rock bottom before we can stop and actually think about the full extent of the financial, psychlogical, and physical damage we have done to ourselves. How much we’ve sacrificed our time and energy, destroying our relationships with our family, friends and partners. Underperforming at our jobs. The problem isn’t that you lose money, the problem is that you can’t stop gambling until it’s all gone.

  You need to accept these losses and realize that gambling is futile and will only get you deeper into the hole should you continue. The addiction does not discriminate. I was similar to you, a good education, a good job, healthy savings, a loving partner and even have a mortgage for an upper class apartment. I only gambled recreationally prior to my 3 months meltdown of online/casino blackjack, where I had losing swings of up to 40k in one night (and winning ones too, but these are just as bad as they reinforce your addicted brain that you can win back your losses). I was confident I would not become one of these “degenerates” that somehow my intelligence and good upbringing shielded me from being a big time gambling loser. I was wrong. A gambling addiction can affect anyone, and is so strong that any logic you have is thrown out the window when you play. You lose your sense of money, take irrational risks and compulsively chase losses with ZERO control when gambling. That’s what the addiction does. It will trick your into thinking you can control it, that you can play small or just walk away with a small loss. That you’re smarter than that. It’s all just your addiction convincing you its ok to gamble. Truth is, for people like us, we simply cannot gamble AT ALL. We cannot control ourselves. You need let go of your pride and accept that you are powerless to this addiction. You can beat it but it will be the toughest battle of your life and it WILL BE A LIFELONG BATTLE. You need all the help you can get. Tell a partner/friend/family member. Otherwise go to GA. Most importantly, self-exclude from ALL land and online casinos you have access to and install a gambling blocker asap. I assure you that the chances of you gambling again is VERY HIGH, especially in your current state. You are still in the denial stage. Exclusion is paramount at this point (and recommended permanently). You must actively take action to stop yourself from gambling. The urges will feel unstoppable. You may relapse but don’t let that phase you. Do whatever it takes to overcome this and you can reclaim your old life back. What we lose most from gambling is not the money itself but we lose our former selfs. We become something else which we are not proud of.

  You have not hit rock bottom yet. A long term gambler who struggled with addiction once told me: “just when you thought you couldn’t go any lower, a gambling addiction can bring you a new low that you didn’t even know could exist.” The next step is to take out loans and gamble that away. Then begging/borrowing/stealing money to fund your addiction. The pit really is bottomless. If you continue you will lose your family, friends, partner and job. Most importantly, you will lose your sanity and everything good about who you are. True rock bottom awaits should you keep chasing your losses. Stop now before it’s too late.

  I wish you the best in recovering from this.

  I have taken a loan out to clear a car finance on a better rate. Suddenly thought I was rich. Lost 3/4 of it in3 months – suicidal (considered) running away (considered). Best advice I have read on here is to take each day as it comes. You feel like this at this moment in time. You will be in work for over 40 years earning a staggering amount of money – I earn £26,000 per year after tax, pension etc. x that by 40 years and its more than 1 million – put that into context with what you’ve lost – money will come and go. make sure you have food, a home (you don’t have to own one) and you have a hobby that keeps you busy or that you enjoy – excercise based is the best. It feels horrific, trust me I know…I am 4 days into hitting rock bottom and I am £16,000 in debt from gambling – I am recently married and my partner knows nothing. What has made me realist that if I continue – I will lose it all and not the money but her, my family and everything. With every day that passes you’ll feel better. Come on here and post – I’ll help if you need to talk.
  Stay strong

  Hi Ray,

  Well hopefully you’ve learnt that quitting gambling isn’t as simple as “ok I promise I will stop now.” Yes at that moment you feel 100% confident that you’ll stop but we know time will always tell an entirely different story. It starts with boredom or a stressful event and your addiction will tell you it’s ok to just play a little bit “for fun” and even set a time/loss limit for your session. This is just the trap to get you started back on that rollercoaster that digs your hole just that little bit deeper each time you go for another ride. We all know this inside ourselves yet we trick ourselves into thinking we are in control every time. Ray, you MUST self-exclude (especially if you are not handing your finances to someone else for control). You are in a very dark place right now and I get it, it’s living hell down there. You’ll feel physically and emotionally sick from the big loss (huge losses over small times are very psychologically damaging) and you need to grieve this loss. Not just the loss of your savings but the loss of your former self that you are proud of.

  Time will make things easier but your primary concern should be preventing yourself from all triggers or ways to access gambling. Keep posting here and we’ll be here to support you along you way but ultimately this is a battle only you can win by your own efforts.

  Hey Ray sorry to hear about your relapse, but sadly to say, I am not surprised. Having gambled away so much in a short period of time and experiencing such a huge loss is immensely emotionally damaging. It essentially “rewires” your brain and you can never be the same person again after it. The good news is that you are still young (same age as me) and you have time to change for the better, to turn your life around.

  The hardest part about getting over gambling is the losses you’ve incurres. It’s extremely hard to let go of. I might say that without other supports in place, it is virtually inpossible to do alone. On top of extreme willpower and a WANT to actually stop gambling, you will need two things assist you:

  1) Blockers/self-exclusion: this is the most critical element – whichever online or offline casinos/bookies you use, self-exclude from all of them now. If you really want to quit you will do it. It you don’t, it means you’re not really ready to give it up and I can guarantee that you return to it (with whatever reason your addiction tricks you with) and your rock bottom will only become deeper. After countless relapses, full self-exclusion plus computer gambling blocking software got me clean for 6 months+.

  2) Now this one is optional but highly recommended. That is emotional support and honesty. Gambling thrives in the dark and keeping your secrets from your partner + family will only make you feel more alone, ashamed and guilty. These thoughts alone can sometimes drive you back to relapses. Disclosure not only ensures emotional support, but also gives you the opportunity to hand over your finances to someone you trust as a further preventative measure. If you really cannot bring yourself to do it, go to GA. Stay active on these forums and post often. Read other people’s diaries and tips. Know that you are not alone in your struggles. But let me tell you, given the extent of your gambling, full disclosure is HIGHLY recommended as it will inevitably come out in the fall out.

  Please be proactive about step 1 and seriously consider step 2. Not to sound harsh but if you do nothing except tell yourself you’ll stop, you will repeat the above cycle multiple times until breaking point, and everything in your life will crumble. Do not let this happen as you have many years ahead and a great career which will earn you way more than what you’ve lost recently in the long run.

  Hey Ray,

  Great to hear that you’ve self-excluded. That’s a great first step. Now one thing to keep in mind is that online gambling has SO many different options. If you even have an inkling that you might open up another account elsewhere, I highly recommend installing Gamblock of Betfilter (for less than $100 it probably saved me many thousands during those first few months after I installed it). I also encourage you to confide to a few people because let me tell you, those closest to you already know something isn’t quite right with you or that your behaviour is odd, they may be surprised as to the nature of what you’ve been doing but they won’t be surprised that you’re currently struggling mentally.

  As for the losses, I totally get it. It’s the hardest part about staying gambling free. I was actually going to touch on it in my previous post but I didn’t want to make it too long. The thought of the losses was also the main factor which caused many of my relapses. I know it sounds cliche but time will indeed help. The first few month or so is the absolute worst. You will constantly be beating yourself on it, self-hating, replaying those nightmarish nights over and over. Thinking about why I hadn’t have stopped there or why I was so stupid not to walk away when I was up at that time. It will tear you up inside. But over time, the thoughts will become less consistent. If you just think about your life and what you still have, your health, your family, your partner and your great job. It will help to ease the pain. Now even as you get better mentally, every now and that that figure of your loss will come back like a ton of bricks, you’ll sometimes wake up in the middle of night and think about it. You’ll have moments at work where you just cannot function. It’s times like these that you need to stay strong. Trust me, the longer you can withhold yourself from gambling, the more positive things you can do in your life, the easier it will get.

  Try to think of the loss as a business venture that didn’t work out. Alternatively, think of it as a life lesson to NEVER EVER touch gambling again, ever in your life. For us compulsive gamblers, that demon was always inside of us and it just needed for us to get the right exposure or to be in the right circumstances for it come out and take control of us. Learning it at a young age (and if you actually learn to fight it and to control your triggers) can be a seen as a lesson learnt that will prevent you from ruining your life at a worst time – what about when you’re married and have kids of your own? What about when your 30-40 and earning big $$$? You will have A LOT more to lose then. Money comes and goes, yes 50k is a very large sum of money, but consider this – during your life time you will earn well over $1 million dollars. As a doctor if you progress well in your career you will earn well over $2 million dollars in your life time. I know it’s not easy to think long term but dwelling on losses will simply drag you back to more relapses, and take you into a darker and darker place. The light is dim now, but if you can stop now, you can turn it around. The money is gone and it’s not coming back (through gambling). The addiction is the one that’s telling you to keep trying. I know, we gamblers don’t want to give up, we want to recoup our losses now. Well the reality is that’s not going to happen. Science has found that once we ACCEPT our reality, no matter how dire, we can deal with it mentally much better. So you must accept your losses and move on. There’s no easy way around it. I wish you the best of luck.

  I know exactly how you feel about the monetary loss, Ray . They say money is not the issue but it sure was/is for me. I found it very difficult to stop chasing and let go. It will come eventually. I think we need to mourn every loss we experience in life. There is a grieving process to go through. The loss of money symbolizes all the other losses a gambler experiences. This is the tangible one, so it hurts a lot. Give yourself time, Ray. Time without gambling. Time to put things in order. Gambling will increase the chaos. The more we try to undo the damage, the greater the torture. It’s a form of self destruction. Be kind to yourself. Deep breaths! The hurt will pass. Everything passes and life goes on.
  Best wishes in recovery. Gambling ruins lives.

  Vera is correct, we need to grieve the loss in order to accept it. Losses incurred from gambling is extra hard to get over because it makes us feel so stupid, ashamed and guilty to have lost our money like this. Society also looks down on gamblers and even relatives find it hard to fathom why an otherwise intelligent person would do such a thing.

  Ray you could get over your 15k loss because you HAD TO accept it. Insurance wasn’t going to pay you and you were never gonna be able to catch the person who stole your vehicle. The difference now is you still think that gambling can get your money back. The dream will win it all back, to get our “revenge” against gambling, to strip away all of our monetary/mental worries with that one big comeback. Unfortunately this is not how real life works. Even if you do win it back you’ll just give it all back and more. The only way to win is to not play.

What To Do If You Lost All Your Money Gambling

How Much Money Have Casinos Lost

Has A Casino Ever Lost Money