The girl, addicted to gambling, went to the casino as to work for 20 years. Her story began with a big win, and ended with the sale of a house, a dormitory and a divorce. But everything changed when the gamer spent her wedding night not in bed with her beloved, but at the card table.
Lisa Walker is a 48-year-old resident of Essex (a county in the south-east of England) who was fond of gambling from a young age. Before coming of age, according to the Mirror, the girl often watched her grandfather and father playing cards for symbolic bets. After Lisa turned 18, a real addiction to the casino appeared in her life.
According to Walker, at the age of 29, she hit the jackpot in the amount of 127 thousand pounds (about 5.3 million rubles at the exchange rate in February 2001). However, the money did not bring happiness to the girl: in an interview with the publication, Lisa called the day of winning “the worst in her life.” The large sum of cash, Lisa said, marked the beginning of a two-year nightmare.
My heart was pounding in my chest, and all I could think about was how in a couple of minutes every person in this casino would know that I had won the jackpot. When the dealer slowly revealed the cards to the players, he got to mine and slowly revealed a royal flush (the best poker hand. – Approx. Medialeaks). In an instant, the alarm went off, people screamed, the casino manager ran up to me and said that they needed to check the cameras immediately. Random strangers ran up to me with congratulations, it was the worst day of my life, – Walker began.
It would seem that with a large amount of money, the heroine will be able to start a new life and change for the better, but it turned out exactly the opposite. The winnings became the starting point for an even stronger dependence on gambling: Lisa literally lived in a casino, not orienting herself in time. According to Walker, she spent five days a week at the gambling table. At the same time, the girl was not limited to a few poker games: the amount with which Lisa came to the casino gradually increased to 500 pounds (about 20 thousand rubles), and the playing time was about ten hours a day.
However, gambling not only worsened Lisa’s financial situation, but also affected her health. A casino addicted girl could not sleep at night trying to find extra money. In addition, Walker divorced her husband.
This also led to the breakdown of the marriage and ultimately to the fact that I was forced to move to the hostel for a while with the children, added Lisa.
According to the heroine, the turning point in the history of severe addiction was the wedding with her third, current spouse, which took place in 2018. Instead of having fun with the guests, Walker spent the night at the casino.
We decided to hold our wedding in Las Vegas and, despite the fact that 15 of my closest family friends flew in to enjoy the wedding with me and my husband, I spent the whole night playing slot machines until six in the morning, without leaving for a minute, after returning from Las Vegas, the girl decided to end gambling for good. Lisa shared her story to draw attention to the problem of bet addiction. The girl added that during the difficult journey, no one paid attention to her addiction.
Nobody ever told me about my money problems during my addiction. The problem with gambling is a very easily disguised addiction as opposed to alcohol or illegal substances, Walker explained.
It seems that the British woman still managed to improve her life and now, relying on her own bitter experience, helps other gambling addicts. Now Lisa Walker consults people who suffer from a similar ailment, and is engaged in educating the public about the problem of gambling addiction.
