I am a college graduate. I was a swimsuit model for Carnival Cruise Lines. I was a licensed middle school teacher who taught almost 7 years. None of that mattered to me. I would not let anything or anyone come between me and my gambling. I broke the law in 5 different counties to do whatever it took to gamble.
The only thing that stopped me was handcuffs and a jail cell and eventually a sentence to prison for almost 4 years.
It started as a simple trip to Vegas. A girl's weekend away. I got very lucky, threw some money into a slot machine and kept winning. I just thought, "Wow!" I didn't gamble for months afterwards, not really paying attention to the gambling itself.
A weekend away almost a year later all of that would change. It would become instantaneous...
I gambled and won enough money to pay for the entire weekend and my bills for that month. Little did I know that my life would change and I would learn the true meaning of hitting rock bottom.
Welcome to My True Story...
Responses:
"The impact of your story is having an affect."
- News Anchor, T.Sater, ABC News Milwaukee
"It reads like a work of fiction, yet I can't believe it is true. The hell that you went through."
- Director of Non-Profit Organization, Washington DC
"The lady who told her story really got to my heart. It proves how serious the addiction is. I am so glad someone 'real' came to speak at our High School."
- 10th grade female students at Kohler High School
"You're a thief, you're not an addict."
- Several judges and district attorneys in Wisconsin who had never dealt with a case where gambling was a mitigating factor
"I just set your story down, and I had tears rolling down my face for what you went through. I never knew."
- Carol, Arizona
"I am a gambling addict too. I just can't tell anyone. Thank you for sharing your story with me, it made me admit it to myself and to my family for the first time."
- Male Inmate
"You got into all this trouble over gambling? You have got to be joking."
- Arresting Police Officer in Gulfport, Mississippi
