The Winning Hand: West End Times Article - November 14, 2009
Fires destroy homes.
Gambling destroys families.
I have had the horrific task of watching, on a weekly, if not semi-weekly basis, families torn apart because of gambling; ripped apart because of gambling; destroyed because of gambling.
I suppose it is because of what it is that I do for a living that I see this happen so often, and with every family crisis I work with, a part of me is destroyed as well.
Mothers not talking to children.
Wives not talking to husbands.
Siblings not talking to each other.
All because of money, greed, grandiosity, and forgive me, dear gambler, stupidity.
I cannot tell you how often how often I become nauseous listening to families telling their gambling stories to friends, employees, employers, neighbours etc.
What starts out as an innocent card game or a pull of a slot machine turns into life-altering unhappiness.
The sadness in people’s eyes.
The greed in people’s voices.
The lying and cheating in people’s daily lives.
It is enough to make you sick.
Ripping the government apart is the easy part.
But the sad part...the very sad part...at the same time, is that I look into people’s eyes daily and see the sadness ooze from their facial expressions.
It is pathetic.
It is horrible.
It shouldn’t happen.
It is pitiful to the nth degree.
How can something that began so innocently ruin and sometimes end people’s lives?
I read stories from around the world and the story is always the same.
People, I beg of you, to take a step or 2 back and think ‘What are you doing?’ What the hell are you doing?
Is your marriage worth it?
Is your friendship with your buddy, worth it?
Is the relationship with your boss or coworkers, worth it?
Is the momentary high you get, worth it?
It is gambling. It is dice. It is machines. It is cards. It is paper. It’s a bloody lottery ticket.
It’s not worth it.
It is absolutely and categorically, not at all, worth it.
We spend our entire childhood, adolescence, and for some of us fortunate ones, our late teenage years and 20s in schools, high schools, colleges and universities.
We spend years and years learning and studying right from wrong.
Our parents or guardians spend so many waking hours working to give us the best, their best, and what do many of us do?
We screw it up.
I ask again, from my heart of hearts, what are we doing?
Families; your family; you; deserve far better than what any lottery ticket or casino could possibly give you.
At the risk of sounding like former vice president Al Gore, we live on a beautiful planet with so much to offer.
Allow ourselves, our children, and our families, to enjoy what life has to offer in one of the planet’s finest countries.
Gambling and family go together like Canada and separatism.
About Me
- Howard
- Having gone through the tunnel and made it out the other side, Howard Riback is a gambling survivor who has seen it all. After 25 years of gambling, Howard overcame his own addiction and is living proof that an addiction can be cured quickly and permanently. From his own despair, Riback built a new career as a counsellor to those who, like him, have reached bottom as pathological gamblers. But forget the white-coat approach. Howard’s experience led him to create a unique approach to treating compulsive gambling based on practical methods and proven results. The extent of theory in Howard’s methods can be summed up in his own words: “It takes a former addict to know an addict.” With a 97% success rate in helping his clients ovecome problem gambling for good, Howard is leading the way to a new paradigm. Howard has certificates in Problem Gambling, Prevention and Treatment of Youth Gambling as well and the list goes on. But his clients aren’t looking for someone with a formal education - they come to him for his proven track record. Visit www.theribackgroup.com for information on Howard’s services and seminars as well as videos and articles.