Gambling addict hopes to inspire others to seek help

Gambling addict hopes to inspire others to seek help
Written by Andy Fitzpatrick
The Enquirer

The subject of gambling addiction will feature one substance abuse counselor and others hoping those in the area who need treatment will seek it out.

Don Horner, a licensed psychologist with Psychological Consultants of Michigan, said Tuesday the visit from recovering gambling addict Peter Harrington will benefit others by allowing them to hear another's story of struggle.

Harrington, a former lawyer who is active in 12-step recovery programs for gambling addiction, will speak at the Alano Club of Battle Creek, 1125 W. Territorial Rd., Battle Creek, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

"The line is, 'We're as sick as our secrets,'" Horner said.

Hearing someone else talk about what a gambling addict struggles with, he said, can be enough to spur them to get help.

Roy Tooke, president of the Alano Club Board of Directors, said Tuesday there is a need for a Gamblers Anonymous group in Battle Creek, but there's been difficulty starting one.

"It's not that there aren't people to do it," he said. "It just appears to me that they just don't stay clean long enough to actually lead it."

The premise of a treatment group, he said, relies on someone with the actual problem leading the group.

"I don't have that problem; I can't start that group," he said.

Horner had a list of 20 questions people concerned about gambling addiction should ask themselves. The list was provided by Gamblers Anonymous. Horner requires anyone he counsels on gambling addiction to attend G.A. meetings.

"Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?" and "Have you ever gambled to escape worry, trouble, boredom or loneliness?" are just two of the questions.

Horner said anyone asking themselves these questions should seek help if they answer "yes" to just seven of them.

Gamblers in the area have plenty of opportunities to indulge themselves. State lottery tickets are found in most convenience stores. FireKeepers Casino is near Battle Creek, and Mount Pleasant, Detroit and Wayland all have their own gaming establishments.


Even the workplace is a potential location for gambling.

"Nobody complains if it's an office pool," Horner said. "They would if you brought in something to drink, but somehow it's OK to have a little office pool betting on when somebody's going to have a baby."

The Internet is also a source of gambling, and is particularly worrisome for those with an addiction, according to Tooke. That's because it can be done at home with nothing more than an

Internet connection and a credit card.

Still, he said, people shouldn't pick out one form of gambling to demonize and Horner added that casinos are more likely to draw in people already addicted, rather than create new addicts.

"I go to the casino," Tooke said, referring to FireKeepers. "I may go out there five or six times a year. I enjoy the casino being in the community."

FireKeepers spokesman Mike Facenda told the Enquirer in 2010 that the casino has a self-eviction program in place, allowing people who believe they have a gambling problem to effectively ban themselves from the casino. FireKeepers is also associated with the Michigan Association on Problem Gambling.

According to a 2006 study conducted by the Michigan Department of Community Health, the most common form of gambling was lottery, at 50 percent. It was followed by casinos at 34 percent, charitable events at about 25 percent and office pools at about 24 percent.