After flushing his $$$ and his life down the toilet, this Gambling Addict is helping others avoid the same mistakes:
Ashburn Resident Helps Others Overcome Gambling Addictions
Jeff Schneider, Contributing Writer Leesburg Today Media Services
Jeff Schneider, Contributing Writer Leesburg Today Media Services
Ashburn resident Mike Ryan started gambling when he was 12 to 13 years old-playing nickel and dime poker with his friends. As he got older, his gambling became more intense as he went through a bookie and made bets more regularly. He would experience the "Sunday Night Sweats."
"I would be staying up late trying to figure out how I am going to pay my bookie the money I owed him, which at times would be in the thousands of dollars," Ryan said. He would try to keep his problems to himself. "When I won, I would let it ride and try to make more. When I lost, I would keep betting to chase the losses so no one would know how much I lost."
Of all the types of gambling, Ryan preferred to place bets on sports, especially football and college basketball. Once summer rolled around, the number of sports he could gamble on decreased dramatically, yet the urge to gamble was still there-causing him to bet on more obscure sports such as the WNBA and college baseball.
In 2007, Ryan was in an intense downward spiral. His addiction was running his life. Not a day would go by without him making a bet, averaging $900, on a sports game or on Internet gambling sites. His year kept getting worse as he lost his house, job and wife. His company fired him when they found he was stealing from them in addition to taking pay advances. But at rock bottom, he caught a break and his employers realized he had a problem and funded his treatment at the Williamsville Wellness Center in Richmond-the only gambling treatment center in Virginia.
Ryan also had the support of his parents, who helped him pay back the money that he stole from his former employer, keeping him out of court and out of jail.
"I realized what this disease had done to me and I wanted to change right away, so I entered treatment the day after being terminated," Ryan said.
Now 43, Ryan has gone more than three years without placing a bet.
This is a problem that affects more than six million American adults and 180,000 adults in Virginia and these numbers are continuing to grow, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling.
Today, Ryan works to help other problem gamblers find the road to recovery, replacing the "high" he got from gambling with the satisfaction of seeing others avoid his mistakes and find treatment. In April, Ryan established the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling. Although the program is in its initial stages, Ryan has already helped several people take steps toward recovery from problem gambling. He offers peer counseling, interventions, in- and outpatient referrals and a 24/7 helpline for those who have had gambling ruin their life.
"By working with problem gamblers, you can see the downsides and it makes me realize, I never want to go back there again. The faces change, but the stories stay the same."
Along with his own non-profit organization, Ryan is attempting to influence how the state helps problem gamblers. He has been working with several politicians including Del. Thomas "Tag" Greason (R-32) and Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-VA-10), to introduce bills that would help problem gamblers in Virginia. The General Assembly House Bill 1977, introduced by Greason, would have set aside one-sixth of 1 percent of the proceeds from the Virginia Lottery-about $2.6 million per year-to support gambling education and treatment programs. The bill died in committee earlier this year, but Greason said he plans to introduce a new bill during the next session in January.
"Right now, the alcohol companies take a percentage of the money from the sale of alcohol to promote drunk driving and alcohol awareness," Greason said. "The same goes for the tobacco and cigarette sales to educate the public about the dangers of smoking. We are trying to require gambling and other outlets, such as horse racing, to be more responsible when it comes to their products."
While Greason is working to raise awareness of the problem in the state legislature, Wolf has long pressed the issue at the federal level. In the late 90s, he helped create the National Gambling Commission, which "estimated that direct gambling costs borne by the government are about $6 billion per year." This number does not account for the indirect or psychological costs that come with problem gambling such as loss of jobs and family. Wolf has worked with Ryan on a regular basis to create legislation that could further help problem and pathological gamblers. They are currently working on re-introducing a bill in Congress next spring.
Through the legislation, Ryan hopes to offer scholarships for problem gamblers that would allow them to receive treatment at a discounted price. He points out that by the time a gambler realizes he or she has a problem, there is little usually little money left to pay for treatment
"Virginia is still behind the rest of the country when it comes to helping problem gamblers. Some states, such as California, offer free treatment to problem gamblers," Ryan said.
Options are limited. Williamsville Wellness in Richmond provides inpatient treatment that can cost $20,000. Other than that, Ryan said, there are several Gamblers Anonymous meetings throughout the state; however they do not provide the in-depth therapy that a treatment center offers.
Along with creating ways to treat problem gamblers, Ryan advocates the establishment of a gambling court in Loudoun. Currently there is only one in the United States, located in Buffalo, NY. Gambling courts would work the same way as drug courts: non-violent offenders would be assigned to the judge-supervised program that mandates compliance with additional treatment programs. This would allow people to receive treatment after they have been charged with crimes such as embezzlement, if the crime was done to support their gambling habit. The belief is that the courts could help these people get treatment so they would not become repeat offenders as well as get their lives back on track.
While Loudoun has a drug court, its use, effectiveness and cost have been long debated by the Board of Supervisors and the legal and law enforcement communities.
Another big concern, Ryan said, is that Virginia has failed to recognize gambling's effect on youths. "In Virginia, 24,000 adolescents [age 14-17] suffer the consequences of problem, compulsive and addictive gambling," according to the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling. While school systems devote significant resources to addressing drug and alcohol addiction, depression and suicide, gambling is not a frequent topic. Ryan said he has offered his services as a speaker to Loudoun County Public Schools, but has not yet found interest.
"People don't think of it [gambling] as a disease; yet it has the highest suicide rates," Ryan said. "The schools have a double standard. They will have casino nights, but they won't serve alcohol because people recognize alcoholism as a terrible disease. Just because you can't smell blackjack on your breath doesn't mean you don't have a problem."
Through VACPG, Ryan hopes to offer new resources to families dealing with problem gambling and to raise awareness of the addiction. The organization's website is http://vacpg.org/.
Ryan has come to terms with the fact that not everyone who goes to treatment or gets help is going to change their lifestyle, but he makes it known to them that his door is always open for when they really want to make a change in their lives.
"You don't let them off the hook...you keep asking them tough questions that they may not want to hear, but you know it's for the best."
"I would be staying up late trying to figure out how I am going to pay my bookie the money I owed him, which at times would be in the thousands of dollars," Ryan said. He would try to keep his problems to himself. "When I won, I would let it ride and try to make more. When I lost, I would keep betting to chase the losses so no one would know how much I lost."
Of all the types of gambling, Ryan preferred to place bets on sports, especially football and college basketball. Once summer rolled around, the number of sports he could gamble on decreased dramatically, yet the urge to gamble was still there-causing him to bet on more obscure sports such as the WNBA and college baseball.
In 2007, Ryan was in an intense downward spiral. His addiction was running his life. Not a day would go by without him making a bet, averaging $900, on a sports game or on Internet gambling sites. His year kept getting worse as he lost his house, job and wife. His company fired him when they found he was stealing from them in addition to taking pay advances. But at rock bottom, he caught a break and his employers realized he had a problem and funded his treatment at the Williamsville Wellness Center in Richmond-the only gambling treatment center in Virginia.
Ryan also had the support of his parents, who helped him pay back the money that he stole from his former employer, keeping him out of court and out of jail.
"I realized what this disease had done to me and I wanted to change right away, so I entered treatment the day after being terminated," Ryan said.
Now 43, Ryan has gone more than three years without placing a bet.
This is a problem that affects more than six million American adults and 180,000 adults in Virginia and these numbers are continuing to grow, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling.
Today, Ryan works to help other problem gamblers find the road to recovery, replacing the "high" he got from gambling with the satisfaction of seeing others avoid his mistakes and find treatment. In April, Ryan established the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling. Although the program is in its initial stages, Ryan has already helped several people take steps toward recovery from problem gambling. He offers peer counseling, interventions, in- and outpatient referrals and a 24/7 helpline for those who have had gambling ruin their life.
"By working with problem gamblers, you can see the downsides and it makes me realize, I never want to go back there again. The faces change, but the stories stay the same."
Along with his own non-profit organization, Ryan is attempting to influence how the state helps problem gamblers. He has been working with several politicians including Del. Thomas "Tag" Greason (R-32) and Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-VA-10), to introduce bills that would help problem gamblers in Virginia. The General Assembly House Bill 1977, introduced by Greason, would have set aside one-sixth of 1 percent of the proceeds from the Virginia Lottery-about $2.6 million per year-to support gambling education and treatment programs. The bill died in committee earlier this year, but Greason said he plans to introduce a new bill during the next session in January.
"Right now, the alcohol companies take a percentage of the money from the sale of alcohol to promote drunk driving and alcohol awareness," Greason said. "The same goes for the tobacco and cigarette sales to educate the public about the dangers of smoking. We are trying to require gambling and other outlets, such as horse racing, to be more responsible when it comes to their products."
While Greason is working to raise awareness of the problem in the state legislature, Wolf has long pressed the issue at the federal level. In the late 90s, he helped create the National Gambling Commission, which "estimated that direct gambling costs borne by the government are about $6 billion per year." This number does not account for the indirect or psychological costs that come with problem gambling such as loss of jobs and family. Wolf has worked with Ryan on a regular basis to create legislation that could further help problem and pathological gamblers. They are currently working on re-introducing a bill in Congress next spring.
Through the legislation, Ryan hopes to offer scholarships for problem gamblers that would allow them to receive treatment at a discounted price. He points out that by the time a gambler realizes he or she has a problem, there is little usually little money left to pay for treatment
"Virginia is still behind the rest of the country when it comes to helping problem gamblers. Some states, such as California, offer free treatment to problem gamblers," Ryan said.
Options are limited. Williamsville Wellness in Richmond provides inpatient treatment that can cost $20,000. Other than that, Ryan said, there are several Gamblers Anonymous meetings throughout the state; however they do not provide the in-depth therapy that a treatment center offers.
Along with creating ways to treat problem gamblers, Ryan advocates the establishment of a gambling court in Loudoun. Currently there is only one in the United States, located in Buffalo, NY. Gambling courts would work the same way as drug courts: non-violent offenders would be assigned to the judge-supervised program that mandates compliance with additional treatment programs. This would allow people to receive treatment after they have been charged with crimes such as embezzlement, if the crime was done to support their gambling habit. The belief is that the courts could help these people get treatment so they would not become repeat offenders as well as get their lives back on track.
While Loudoun has a drug court, its use, effectiveness and cost have been long debated by the Board of Supervisors and the legal and law enforcement communities.
Another big concern, Ryan said, is that Virginia has failed to recognize gambling's effect on youths. "In Virginia, 24,000 adolescents [age 14-17] suffer the consequences of problem, compulsive and addictive gambling," according to the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling. While school systems devote significant resources to addressing drug and alcohol addiction, depression and suicide, gambling is not a frequent topic. Ryan said he has offered his services as a speaker to Loudoun County Public Schools, but has not yet found interest.
"People don't think of it [gambling] as a disease; yet it has the highest suicide rates," Ryan said. "The schools have a double standard. They will have casino nights, but they won't serve alcohol because people recognize alcoholism as a terrible disease. Just because you can't smell blackjack on your breath doesn't mean you don't have a problem."
Through VACPG, Ryan hopes to offer new resources to families dealing with problem gambling and to raise awareness of the addiction. The organization's website is http://vacpg.org/.
Ryan has come to terms with the fact that not everyone who goes to treatment or gets help is going to change their lifestyle, but he makes it known to them that his door is always open for when they really want to make a change in their lives.
"You don't let them off the hook...you keep asking them tough questions that they may not want to hear, but you know it's for the best."
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