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~aîrntaîî 4ja toî Mitons Community Newspaper Since 1860 C*éNA Named Canada s Top Community Newspaper R EA L E ST AT E See what's on the market inside S POR T S CO0M MU NIT Y Fastpitch slugger So many seniors set for nationals at nisk of abuse www.mlltoncanadlianchamfpion. com Gambling addicts "become something elseý" Susan snuck away from the office to play the siots, ultimately losing thousand By Tim Whitnell SPECIAL TO THE CHAMPION Susan may be one of the luckier ones when it comes to problem gambling. The 52-year-old successful business management consultant - who didn't want her last name published - ult.imately real- ized she had a problem and sought help before it was too laie. She was confronted by her husband, and alter several failed attempts to refrain from venturing to a casino for hours on end, tumed to a Burlington-based regional addic- tion counseling service. It was a different story in the beginning, though, with ber well-paying job and go-go personality helping to feed her addiction. "Work was my first addiction. 1 worked a lot of hours and it was a lot of stress. In a way it was a pretty addictive environment at my work. I was usually managing multi-million dollar projects. When you are well paid they expect a lot and 1 was a perfectionist. The casino was my escape." Susan worked in an office that was 20 minutes from Woodbine, a horseracing track with hundreds of slot machines located near Fraud cases up, violent crime down Halton Regional Police have released their mid-year statistical report on crime in Halton and in short, fraud is up while violent crime is down. The analysis, created by the Hahton police Niche system, found that for the first six months of 2008 a total of 234 more criminal offences occurred than during the same period in 2007. This mncrease is being blamed on incidents of fraud, whicb jumped up from 400 offences by mid-year 2007 to 749 in 2008. Halton Police Chief Gary _Crowell. said much of this increase can be cbalked up to internet scams and simi- lar frauda that weren't tallied before. "Some of those infamous scams we see coming from. African countries, froîn eastemn European countries, we are now stating those as frauda." -see HALTON on page A9 to play the slots, often losing bundreds or tbousands of dollars per visit. "There were imes 1 didn't tbink t could bit the button fast enough," she recalîrd. Wbile admitting to bluwing tbousands of dollars on siot machines at casinos across southero Ontario, the I-lton resident bad the means to eventually wipe out tbat self- imposed debt. Unlike some people wbo morph into emo- tionalîy broken-down and financially-broke gambling addicts, Susan didn't lose ber life savings, bouse, car or maniage tbrougb ber habit. But she acknowledges ber actions did put a lot of stress on the relationsbip witb ber husband. "Everytbing we bad was joint," she ssid of bank accounts and credit carda with ber bus- band, "(but) t didn't care." Her busband eventually figured out some- thing was amiss based on irregularities in their bank statemenis. In order to avoid detec- tion of ber activities, she took out credit carda in ber own name and Tri up debt to tbeir limit. She did that witb two.cards, she said, and could have kept losing thousands of dol- lars witbout ber busband knowing. "Could t bave bidden it? Probably, but it weighs you down. You come out (of a casino) witb no money and wondering wby you are there. 1 came out crying many times. You bate yourself, you become sometbing else, you become a liar, you cheat, steal. 1 took from US." She said at ber worst sbe tbougbt about burting berself. "You've got this buge secret that no one undersianda and t did tbink of running my car into a bridge (support). If t wasn't dreaming about the casino, 1 was scbeming." Mamred for 10 years, Susanfs busband said he initially ssw no indication that bis wife bad a problem. "I've been in casinos lots of times. To me, its a bit of entertaimnent... Susan and 1 used to go for a few bours. 1 neyer saw any (wamning) signa, altbougb t could see sbe was mucb more into it tban 1 was." He eventually began to notice odd entries in tbeir bank statements but initially believed i ee LUCK on page A10 End 0f SeaSOBLOWOU!i«su8mt cOs. introducing. Denlm & Dlomorwi Jewellery. up 7'~ FF sEq* & m f Jole-ens .,a.scCC 2 l4 M 78«4 ITems ONL.à. _ GIZ*CASUAL - ÇLASSIC et A CO*"ý CLASSIEDM A16 www.rrWtoncanadianchamTpon.com Interts: FULL DISTIBSUTION LOBLRW' S* PARTIAL DISTRIBUTION: - M&M*S - M INDUSTRIES SPORT CHEK - RONA -GIANT TISER -CURVES* - IA ARSW FARNITURE R ENTLET - HME SEPSO RHE SRSE COMPANY BUSINESS SEPOT www.miltontoyota.comf Insc;ide% Todlay's Champion OPINION A6 cHAuPIONq couNTRYA1II SPORTS A14 1 -