Gamblor’s World

Saskatchewan News Network; Regina Leader-Post, Saturday, January 05, 2008

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/local/story.html?id=39ec23e5-89a7-4128-a78b-2d1985697ff6

REGINA (SNN) — A 44-year-old woman has been spared a jail term for stealing more than $130,000 from two First Nations
organizations over a period of several years.

But Agnes Worme will still pay a significant price for her crime.

On Thursday, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Ian McLellan gave Worme an 18-month conditional sentence, the first nine months
of which will be served under house arrest in the community. Worme will also have to pay back all the money she took by
making payments of $500 a month, and contributing her entire residential school settlement when she receives it.

Worme pleaded guilty in December to stealing a total of more than $130,000 from the Kawacatoose First Nation and the
Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre in Saskatoon. She took the money through multiple transactions while working in
high-ranking positions with the organizations between 2002 and 2005.

Worme stole $79,000 from the Kawacatoose First Nation while working as a financial manager between January 2002 and June 2004.

…………

At the time of her guilty plea, court heard that the stolen money went toward bills, purchases, hotels and purchases at Casino Regina.
Worme didn’t have a previous criminal record, but was addicted to drugs and gambling at the time.

The Crown had been seeking a jail sentence for the thefts, but the defence argued for a community-based term.

Court heard that Worme turned to drugs and gambling after a series of deaths in the family.

But McLellan said she has since made significant changes in her life, including marrying a man who doesn’t drink, gamble or do drugs.

Cont.

at www.femalegamblers.org

ED - Another example of white collar crime associated with gambling problems.

Susan Lazaruk, The Province, Sunday, June 03, 2007

An accountant who admitted to defrauding the B.C. Nurses Union of almost $700,000 over six years has been expelled from the Certified Management Accountants Society.

Maureen Jean MacLean officially lost her right to practise as a CMA on May 15 after admitting the fraud before a hearing by the society’s professional-conduct-code committee.

MacLean was identified for the first time after the society ran public notices announcing the expulsion in newspapers on Friday.

“If we expel someone because of misconduct, we have to run a public notice,” said society spokesman Rick Lightheart.

Union president Debra McPherson, who didn’t respond to a request for comment, has said the union’s former finance director, at the time unnamed, had a gambling problem.

The union has recovered $503,000 from MacLean, who stole the money from 2000 to 2006, after she agreed to liquidate a home, recreational property, vehicle, RRSPs and Canada Savings Bonds that belonged to her and her spouse to pay the union back.

The union said earlier this year it is trying to recoup money from the unnamed firm that audited the union’s books without noting any improprieties.

MacLean became a CMA in 1999 and was fired last June after working for the union for 15 years.

The union said at the time of the firing that its priority was recovery of its members’ money and concluded that a negotiated settlement would be more successful than pursuing criminal prosecution.

slazaruk@png.canwest.com

© The Vancouver Province 2007

© 2007 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.

Last Updated: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 | 1:35 PM AT, CBC News

A woman whose addiction to VLTs cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars and her freedom hopes her story will be a cautionary tale for gamblers.

Margaret Alice Baldwin, 62, a former military nurse currently serving a five-year sentence for robbing a bank, told CBC News her problem started innocently enough in 1994 when she put a loonie in a video lottery terminal in a northern New Brunswick bar.

At the beginning, gambling gave Baldwin a high. And not even a bartender’s snide comment could dampen her spirits the day she won $300.

“‘I don’t know why you are so excited, you lost over $3,000 before you won that $300,’” she recalls being told.

As Baldwin’s addiction spiralled out of control, she lost friends and was unable to pay her bills, despite a substantial pension cheque from the military.

“I had a $500 watch on me and I would sell it for $25,” she said. “I would take it just to keep playing the machines.”

Fearing there was no way out, Baldwin held up a fast-food restaurant in 1999 with a toy gun she stole from a department store, hoping to be shot and killed by police.

She received counselling in prison but succumbed to the sparkle of the VLTs soon after her release. Numerous suicide attempts followed.

In September 2006, Baldwin robbed the Scotiabank in Amherst. She told the teller she had a bomb and demanded $100,000.

Throughout the entire incident one thought kept playing over and over in her head: “You’re going to be shot very shortly and this will be over,” she recalls.

Baldwin barely made it out the door when the police nabbed her, again without firing a shot.

Baldwin says she doesn’t want sympathy, she simply hopes her story can help others realize how deadly a video gambling addiction can be.

Copyright © CBC 2007

Linda Nguyen, Vancouver Sun, Friday, May 18, 2007

VANCOUVER - The family of a missing 40-year-old East Vancouver woman is pleading for the public’s help to find her.

Editha Mangaoang, mother of four teenagers, told her husband late on May 8 at their home in the 1200-block of East 60th that she was going to Richmond’s River Rock Casino with a friend.

Her family has not heard from her since and police say they have reviewed the casino’s surveillance tapes that night and have no record of her showing up.

continued ….

By Nicole Smith
April 5th, 2007
Along with chicken wings and orange shorts, restaurant chain Hooters
hopes to make its brand synonymous with a Las Vegas casino and hotel.
Hooters has enlisted Advanced Results Marketing to produce a DRTV
campaign for its Casino Hotel, which opened in February last year. In
addition to media planning and buying for the Casino Hotel, ARM is
producing a 60-second commercial that features a promotional offer
for $25 rooms.

continued at

NS woman addicted to VLTs gets twoyear sentence for theft and fraud

By The Canadian Press, Last updated at 4:31 PM on 22/03/07

TRURO, N.S. (CP) - A woman who is addicted to gambling on video lottery terminals has been sentenced to two years in jail for stealing from her employers.

Court heard that Debbie Rushton stole more than $230,000 from T. A. Orthodontics and Donford Enterprises of Truro.

The 45-year-old woman from nearby Debert pleaded guilty to theft and fraud charges in January.

During her sentencing hearing Thursday, the Crown and the defence detailed Rushton’s addiction to VLTs.

Court was told Rushton stole the money over a seven-year period.

Judge John MacDougall initially imposed an 18-month sentence in a provincial jail, but increased the sentence at Rushton’s request because she wants access to rehabilitation services available at federal prisons.

By VALERIE DUFOUR, Calgary SUN MEDIA, Sat, March 17, 2007.

Gambler wants VLT ban, Clotilde Berube is a compulsive gambler. She has unsuccessfully tried to get Quebec’s casinos shut down, and now seeks to rid the province of VLTs.

Clotilde Berube is sick, but not with an illness that stops her from going out. The 58-year-old woman is a compulsive gambler and that compulsion led her to burn through more than $1 million at the Casino du Lac-Leamy.

“In the beginning, it was a game, but I eventually lost control. I never thought I would become a slave to it,” Berube told Sun Media in French.

The compulsive gambler decided to speak about her experience in casinos after the release of a tell-all book by a former croupier named Eleonore Mainguy.

HUSBAND DIED

It was the death of Berube’s husband in 1996 that sent the lawyer’s life off course.

Overcome with grief, she sought refuge in diversions, including going to the Casino du Lac-Leamy daily.

“I would go to the casino crying. Once there, I’d become a different person. I’d forget everything,” she said.

She said she’d leave for the casino at around 11 a.m. and spend the afternoon there before picking up her daughter around 5 p.m. She’d eat dinner and return to the casino at around 8 p.m.

Berube said she followed that routine every day for five years.

“I didn’t think you could become sick from gambling, but the casino was a crutch,” she said.

At the time, Berube had the money to make big bets. The professional success she and her husband had enjoyed allowed them to live in an upscale Ottawa neighbourhood and to buy eight other properties in the capital region.

“There comes a moment when you stop looking at money the same way,” Berube said.

She said she took home some big winnings, but the money didn’t matter to her.

“All I wanted was to keep playing,” she said.

Berube said she would always bring $20,000 to $25,000 cash in her bag and once made a $10,000 bet playing baccarat.

Pathological gambling is worse than alcoholism, she said. When you drink you crash after drinking 40 ounces, but gambling is more deceitful. Nothing can stop you and your body keeps going like a machine, she said.

BIG STAKES ROOM

Her gambling habits also evolved over time. She went from card games to the slot machines. And because she was a good customer, she had access to the big stakes rooms and received special treatment.

“I was a VIP client,” said Berube, who added that all her meals were paid for and she was given several weekend ski trips to Mont Tremblant as gifts. She said Loto-Quebec also paid to celebrate her kids’ birthday on a boat with all their friends.

Berube has been through therapy three or four times.

“It’s like a drug. What I’ve found as a compromise is I go to the U.S. once every two months and spend $500 and play poker. I hate myself for doing it, but I need to.”

C. Rose, R. Williams & G. Nixion University of Lethbridge

———————————————————————
Adapted from the Summary:

Senior women were interviewed in focus groups to gain an
in-depth understanding of their lived experiences with
problem and pathological gambling. In addition they were asked
about their experiences, if any, with treatment for their
problem gambling. The aim was to help design an effective
group intervention for problem/pathological senior women
gamblers.

What They Found:

Several focus groups were held at two senior�s
facilities, as well as two treatment facilities. All of the
participants were 55+ years old. All of the women self-identified as
problem gamblers. Similar to what has been found in
previous research by others, these older women with gambling
problems were identifying that that they felt marginalized, they
had a sense of financial disenfranchisement, and they had
lots of spare time on their hands.

In addition, all the women identified that in addition to
having a problem gambling and they also had another
addiction (in other words, comorbidity).

Their identified addictions were: smoking cigarettes,
alcohol, misuse of prescription medications, and illicit
substances (marijuana, cocaine). Also of significance was that the
majority identified histories of childhood trauma (sexual,
physical and emotional).

In terms of implications for group treatment, all the
women felt that being in women-only groups was of benefit.
Otherwise they would often feel the need to “care take” of
the guys or would be overwhelmed by male participants in
co-ed recovery groups.

The women also identified they needed to learn
self-monitoring skills to avoid the pitfalls of succumbing to resuming
gambling. Of most significant import was the unanimous
request for treatment groups that helped these senior women
resolve their historical trauma.

An article entitled “The At Risk Gambler: Older Adults
Opinions, Perceptions, and Beliefs About Gambling” based on
thevstudy has been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

http://www.abgaminginstitute.ualberta.ca/s2.cfm

Ivanhoe Newswire, February 12, 2007

(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Roughly 3 million U.S. adults are problem gamblers, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling. Now, a new study reveals a type of medication used to treat restless legs syndrome could add to that number.

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., report a small number of patients became compulsive gamblers after starting treatment for restless legs syndrome, also known as RLS. The three patients were taking dopamine agonists, a class of medications used to treat restless legs syndrome and Parkinson’s.

Dopamine agonists essentially mimic the behavior of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine helps the brain control movements, which is why patients with Parkinson’s disease are prescribed dopamine agonists. Dopamine is also involved in the reward functions of the brain. The newest medications of this kind, pramipexole (Mirapex) and ropinirole (Requip), target the motivation, emotion, and reward centers of the brain. Researchers speculate the strong stimulation of those areas of the brain encourage patients to seek out pleasurable behaviors, like gambling.

Mayo Clinic researchers describe the case of a woman who, after starting treatment for restless legs syndrome, developed an uncontrollable urge to gamble. The patient reported no previous history of gambling. She eventually gambled away more than $140,000. Once she stopped taking ropinirole, she completely lost the urge to gamble.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: NEUROLOGY, 2007; 68:301-303

ED. - One of the factors contributing to RLS is low iron consumption (easily checked through blood tests for ferriten and RBC). I do hope that physicians are ruling out physical factors such as low iron before putting patients on dopamine agonists. Low iron is endemic in most societies at this time for women but many physicians do not run these routine blood tests. Fatigue, depression, shortness of breath on exertion, hair loss, bruising, restless leg syndrome can all be related to low ferritin levels.