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money, but the worst part was the look on her face when I told her about all the lies over the last six months. I said that I didn’t want to go back to GA and I was able to convince her that I would be fine without it. I was able to stay away for many months, but I would still
buy some stocks every now and then, and the odd lottery ticket.

In January 2006, I called another bookie and started betting again. The next 10 months were the worst of my life. I started playing online poker daily, betting on sports daily, and when I needed a stress break, I would leave my
office and go to a bar where I
could bet on the horse races.

“...I would still buy some stocks every now and then, and the odd lottery ticket.”

My poker playing got to such a
point that I would be at the office and play for 5 or 6 hours straight. If a customer walked in I continued playing, or sometimes sat out a few hands and rushed them out of the store. I was completely out of
control. I got into some major
financial debt and owed a bookie a large sum of money, so I went to my father under false pretenses, (he thought I needed it for my business); I paid the bookie and stopped for about 2 or 3 months. I never told my wife about the relapse, and I continued buying

Pro-Line tickets even though I
stopped betting with the bookie.

But in July, I started betting
uncontrollably again. I amassed
more debts and this time took
money from my business,
promising to pay it back. I didn’t
pay it back and continued
gambling. My business partner
kept trying to get me to seek help
but I refused. I was so afraid to
tell my wife about my gambling.
Our relationship was terrible,
we were growing further and
further apart. Mandy told me
that she didn’t think I loved her
anymore because I was so
disconnected from her.

One Sunday I sat in the
Synagogue asking God for
forgiveness for all the wrongs I
had done in the last year, and I
couldn’t stop thinking that as
soon as this day was over, I would be betting on the Monday night game. This was the greatest pain that I had ever felt, knowing how wrong my actions were, yet at the same time thinking I had no options - I MUST MAKE A BET. I ended up in a lot more trouble in the next couple of weeks and again I went to my brother-in-law for a bailout. This time it wasn’t
so easy. He told me he knew that
I would just blow it away if he
gave me the money. He would
help me any way he could, but
this help constituted getting me
into some sort of treatment. I
went to see a psychologist
specializing in addictions and
shared my innermost thoughts
and fears with her, but I still wasn’t willing to stop gambling.

On Monday, October 23, 2006, I called Nick Rupcich at Problem
Gambling Services in Windsor. I
knew Nick from many years ago, and he told me this, “Even if you can’t stop, at least tell Mandy, she deserves to know what’s going on.” I knew he was right, but I continued trying to make a big win before telling her. The next day I went to my office at 10:00 pm and played online poker until 2:00am. I kept waiting for the phone to ring, thinking Mandy
would be wondering why I was so late. I lost more money that night than I ever lost in one sitting. I transferred money from both my U.S. and Canadian bank accounts, and I knew that I would be in big trouble in the morning because I had cheques written against both accounts. I woke up at 6:00 am the next morning and checked my bank accounts. I saw that both cheques had gone through. I went to work and told my partner that I needed money and I was taking it because I had no choice. That afternoon, Mandy showed up at my office
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