- A 16-year-old bet his four year savings ($6,000) in onde day on lottery and lost. He attempted suicide by slashing his wrist with a razor.
- A 19-year-old sold his car to return to the casino to win back his losses.
- a high school athlete was distraught over owing money to a bookmaker. He couldn't pay the $800 he owed and was on the roof of his apartment building contemplating suicide, his mother stopped him.
- a 15 year-old was taken for a ride and dropped off 15 miles from home to pressure him into paying a $1200 debt he lost to a student bookie in school.
- An 18-year-old was killed after an argument over money. Fambling debts owed froma dice game led to his shooting death.
- a 17-year-old high school student, who owed a bookie $1400, broke into a house to steal jewelry and money and was surprised by the owners presence, a widow. He panicked and hit her. She died. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
- An outstanding Division I college football player was kicked off the team and out of school for booking bets on professional football teams.
- An ex-college athlete fixed Division I basketball games and was subsequently sentenced to prison.
The article continues to discuss ways to address this new "emerging and growing"addiction. As a parent, and a very competetive one, it made me realize that even the most innocent appearing games and competetion can, over time, make a person lean towards more compulsive ways to work out their competetive behaviour. Perhaps 3-year-olds shouldn't have such a desire to win?
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