“It may seem that the gamblers are keeping all the promises made, but rarely does this last long. After a while the gamblers are back, confessing a lack of self-control, asking for money, and making the same promises again.”
Source: GAMES COMPULSIVE GAMBLERS and WE PLAY Second Edition
“The belief that blind trust is necessary in a successful relationship is false and is a distraction to the real issues of recovery. Recovery is less about trusting the gambler and more about trusting ourselves. We have already experienced the dangers of trusting someone who has not earned our trust. Trust is something that will come over time during the recovery process. How much trust to give the gamblers, and when, is a personal decision.”
Source: GAMES COMPULSIVE GAMBLERS and WE PLAY Second Edition
“I do love my husband, but I will not endanger my financial security or personal serenity to prove it.”
Source: GAMES COMPULSIVE GAMBLERS and WE PLAY Second Edition
“After I found out about my husband's gambling and debt, I cried and he promised he would never do it again. But…it was only a matter of time until there was another debt…and another promise.”
Source: GAMES COMPULSIVE GAMBLERS and WE PLAY Second Edition
“I literally gave her a choice, "Me or gambling" and she said, "You, of course," and then proceeded to lie and gamble.”
Source: GAMES COMPULSIVE GAMBLERS and WE PLAY Second Edition
“In order to gamble, the gamblers need time. Family time interferes with gambling time. Dating interferes with gambling time. Work interferes with gambling time. School interferes with gambling time. If the gamblers need to feel justification in order to gamble without guilt, they pick a fight. If guilt is not an issue for the gamblers, the fight is a power play. Either way one thing is certain: the gamblers will get to gamble.”
Source: GAMES COMPULSIVE GAMBLERS and WE PLAY Second Edition
“My life is replete with imperfections, which is why it is perfect in the first place.”
Source: Heaven's Gate
“The gamblers may seek to carve out time to gamble by picking a fight and then marching out the door. The gamblers pretend to be so "upset" that they can't be in the company of loved ones, can't go to work, and can't go to school. Whether the need to gamble takes the gamblers outside the home to a race track, card club, or other gambling destination or to another room to sit in front of a computer for a session of internet gambling, this game attempts to turn the home into a battleground for the purpose of escape. After a while, the loved ones aren't fooled. They know where the gamblers are and why.”
Source: GAMES COMPULSIVE GAMBLERS and WE PLAY Second Edition
“My husband always picked a fight on card game nights. Either dinner was cold, or overcooked, or undercooked, or tasteless, or he didn't like my tone of voice, or he picked on anything that came into his mind. He would stomp out the door and I would spend the night wondering what I could have done or said differently to avoid the fight. When I realized that there was nothing I could ever do or say to stop this cycle, I told him that on card game nights he should eat dinner out and not come home first. Those became my most peaceful nights of the week.”
Source: GAMES COMPULSIVE GAMBLERS and WE PLAY Second Edition
“Often non-gamblers know the truth, or part of the truth about the gamblers’ gambling and gambling debts. Yet, when the gamblers ask for money, or ask for financial sacrifices that will make money available for gambling, the non-gamblers feel they must comply with the gamblers' demands in order to protect others from learning the truth. They think the truth will destroy these others emotionally or financially.”
Source: GAMES COMPULSIVE GAMBLERS and WE PLAY Second Edition