Secret Story

In a quest to make some money, Paul, 41, developed a serious problem

The dealer spread the cards and my heart leapt. I’d won again! It had been worth it, taking the day off work and driving five hours to the casino.

I’d been here all night, the sun was just coming up, though I couldn’t see it from where I sat at the poker table.

The casino made sure you couldn’t tell what time it was.

Is there time to deal another hand before I have to drive back? I wondered.

My wife Nicky had no idea I was hooked on poker.

It’s not gambling, I told myself.

It’s a skill and I’d studied hard. My job at the mines meant a lot of waiting around in the truck and I had read every book I could on poker.

Sometimes I even played on my phone until the early hours and she thought I was playing video games.

With two little kids, Charlotte and Sam,

she was exhausted at the end of the day and always fell asleep before me.

Married six years, I hadn’t really wanted a career in the mines, but the money was good and I got a lot of overtime.

We had a big mortgage and with Nicky not working, it was up to me to provide for our family.

Our huge mortgage meant I never had any money for myself.

That’s why I’d turned to poker.

After a buck’s night where my mates and I went to a casino, I’d gone back there on my own and it became a habit.

Winning a few times, suddenly I had spare cash for little things again. It felt great.

But then my luck turned and I started losing. Hoping my lucky streak would return, I kept on playing.

Then we fell behind on the repayments for the house. ‘How can we be behind on the mortgage when you’re working so much overtime?’ wailed Nicky when she saw the red numbers.

Ashamed, I couldn’t admit I had a problem. Instead, I retreated back to the casino. One day my supervisor told me there was a full-time job going in another mine and he had put me forward for it.

It meant no overtime, but a secure, steady job paying more than I was getting now.

And it was mostly during the day so I could be around for Nicky and the kids in the evening.

It was what we needed, I knew that.

But how could I play the cards? Nicky would find out or I’d have to give it up.

Going online, I searched for help:

What to do if you have a gambling problem...

My wife Nicky had no idea I was hooked

Calling up a helpline and getting linked with my local gamblers anonymous group, I realised I could make a change.

Although it was hard, I stopped going to the casino.

But I couldn’t bring myself to tell Nicky about our huge mountain of debt.

A year on, I haven’t gambled since. But Nicky still has no idea about the $25,000 I lost while looking for a big win.

Gambling really is a losing game.

If you have a gambling problem, call 1800 858 858 (Aus) or 0800 654 655 (NZ).