For all the gamblers out there

[helpsoneeded]

Hi, Just wondering how many of you are told that you can't gamble during a 13. We have been really good about not going, but I cant see not going in the next 5 years. The good news is that it would only be with very little money because there wont be alot left after paying every month to the trustee, but even if its a hundred here and there. Just to have alittle fun. Thanks!!!!

[lrprn]

You can do whatever you want with any extra $ left over during your Ch 13. However, first putting any extra dollars you squeeze out of your tight Ch 13 budget is far better used building up an emergency fund to deal with the inevitable unexpected costs that come up.

And forgive my bluntness - I don't know why you are considering filing - but if gambling was a major contributing factor to ending up in bankruptcy, then continuing to go to the casinos after filing is playing with fire. Whatever debt you accrue (including gambling debt) after filing is yours to pay off - it can't be rolled into your Ch 13. If gambling is a problem for you or your spouse, then please don't go into the casinos again.

[helpsoneeded]

Thank you for that. We did get into major debt because of it and that is why we are filing. We havent gone in a while and dont plan on it. I know what it did to us and to our family. I was just curious if we would even be allowed at a casino again? I'm sure it would be along time before we could even look at one at this point and if we did ever go again, it would be only for fun and very little money. Thanks again, I really do appreciate it!!!

[Flamingo]

Thank you for that. We did get into major debt because of it and that is why we are filing. We havent gone in a while and dont plan on it. I know what it did to us and to our family. I was just curious if we would even be allowed at a casino again? I'm sure it would be along time before we could even look at one at this point and if we did ever go again, it would be only for fun and very little money. Thanks again, I really do appreciate it!!!

No preaching here, just some insight as our good friend's mother is a bad gambler and lost her house....Try to get around it and stay away...gambling is like any other addiction - if you stop it and then have the opportunity to do it again just once, it doesn't take much to get back into the old habit. Like the chip commercial - "Bet you can't have just one!" Realize that, don't give your extra cash back to the casinos and the state that takes a percentage of it. We have racinos/casinos in our area in several states and they are moaning they have no business and are losing money like crazy. Just think of where all that money comes from now that people have zipped their wallets. I stated to our friends and hubby that all those slots are computerized so since the casinos are doing so bad now, can they fix the slots and anything computerized to hit less putting more in their pockets? I know slot machines are programmed to pay out less than they take in on a daily basis (big program on History Channel several months back on how they are made and programmed).

[broncho14]

I have a gambling problem and that is a major reason that I am in Chapter 13. I have not been since my 341 hearing because as bad as my situation was it was a lot better than many others. I saw a grandmother who had been cheated out of $20,000 by her granddaughter show up to the 341 and basically be told that she could object but she would most likely never see her money again. I made a decsion to stop. I have done real well and I have had help from a counselor and it has made all the difference in the world. I am able to save a little bit every month and I am ready to take on new challenges in my life. However, I must be careful because I know that if I go back it could start all over again. I just take things one day at a time, sometimes just one hour at a time. Some days are easier than others but I know that I am on the right track. Best wishes and please join me in staying away from the casinos/

[helpsoneeded]

Thanks for the input. We havent been in a while, so I think it is best not to go too!!! I always tell my husband, if we dont go we are winners because we manage to save alittle bit and if we go we become losers, giving what we did finally save.. I will take all advice on that.One thing is true, if we did go again and win, then will try to go back again to win more, but as history proves, we just ended losing what we won and losing even more trying to get our money back...Bronch14, did you have any problems with your 341 or with the judge considering why you were there? Thanks again to everyone

[deadbroke99]

Just curious, what's the most any of you have ever won and lost?

[broncho14]

The Trustee is who you meet with and he did not say a word to me about gambling. He did tell everybody in the room that if we were gamblers and we could not make a payment due to gambling then the judge would most likely order us to go to GA. I have my payment automatically deducted from my check. The payment is gone before I ever see it. The Trustee, in negotations with my attorney, insisted that we put that in. I agreed because we got a little bit back in the negotation process as well. (When I went to my 341 the Trustee requestes that I pay $1200 a month. Our proposal was $800 a month. I was not confirmed at my 341. Instead, my attorney met with the Trustee and they negotiated and I pay $900. I get paid twice a month a $450 is deducted from each check. If I stay in my current job I will never miss a payment. I am a teacher and coach and I have been with the same school district for 20 years and I hope that I have another 20 years in me!!! I got in trouble when my father got ill and then I got sick and had to have major surgery and then the gambling started and it got me into a financial hole that I could not get out of. I am not proud of this but they are indeed the facts. I think that I am a good person who made some bad decisions. Chapter 13 seemed to be the most ethical way that I had to get out of the mess that I created for myself.) I am glad that they are taking out of my check before I ever see the money.

[broncho14]

I made over $9000 one day. I gave it all back plus $2000 more over the course of the year. It was crazy. The money doesn't seem real. It seems like numbers without any ramifications. However, there are a lot of ramifications. Another year I made $2500 in one day and gave $1500 of it back before I left the casino. I am not proud of this but it is what happened and I can say that I am proud that I am taking steps to heal myself. It makes me almost sick to think about how much money I have spent doing this. I am glad that I am not going in that direction now. As I said earlier, I really think of myself as a good person who got tied up in the wrong thing. I am a better person now than I was a year ago at this time and I just take things one day at a time and I am very blessed that I took action before it got worse.

[VegasMom75]

Please do not go back to the casino's. You need to start attending GA immediately. A hundred dollars here and there turns into credit card advances, check writing and pawning what little you have left because you "KNOW" you are bound to hit eventually.

I am a cocktail waitress in the nicest casino on the strip. I see it every night I go to work. People playing my whole shift+ at the same table or machine. They know that the next hand is the big one...finally when the every cash source is tapped and there is nothing left they leave. How do they explain that to their family? How will you explain it...what will you do? You are already filing bk.

I have seen a multi-millionaire who had his own villa's at muliple casinos, lines of credit everywhere in the millions even his own table games LOSE EVERYTHING. The man owes everyone and is basically 86'd from Vegas until he is paid up.

Part of the reason I am here is because my husband had a problem gambling. To this day I still have anxiety that I will look at the account and see thousands gone nightly. Thank god something snapped in him and his eyes opened but I know the temptation is always there.

I wish you all the best

[VegasMom75]

I stated to our friends and hubby that all those slots are computerized so since the casinos are doing so bad now, can they fix the slots and anything computerized to hit less putting more in their pockets? I know slot machines are programmed to pay out less than they take in on a daily basis (big program on History Channel several months back on how they are made and programmed).

They absolutely CANNOT fix the machines to payout less or hit at a certain time. The casino's do not program the machines. The gaming board regulates that and trust me they do NOT mess around. The only people that would be able to program wins/losses are the slot game manufacturers. One man has done it and was caught and prosectued...
The slot tech's that you see fixing the machines do not have access to the programs.

[sassiebaz]

My husband played with $25 and once he hit $400 he left. This was ONE time and he hasn't been back since. Secretly I wish he'd go once a month and see what happens, but I believe that it can become an addiction so I'm glad he hasn't been back. I couldn't inagine losing it all just because you have a good feeling about something....that may NEVER happen. It's sad!

[deadbroke99]

We went to Vegas once. We lost about $500. Never wanted to go back.

[broncho14]

The curse was that I won a big jackpot one of the very first times I went. It was like $1000 (big to me) and then I won early a few other times. I got suckered in and the odds caught up to me and over time I lost everything I had ever one plus thousands and thousands more. My best advice is to stay away from gambling. I went down the wrong road. Please, please, please, learn from my experience and don't go. I can't undo what has happened as far as how much money I have lost. However, I can start fresh and I did that the day that I walked out of my 341. I have a little over four years left on my Chapter 13 and then I will be totally past this. Lesson learned I hope. I think I have learned my lesson and I have made other changes that are very positive. When I get done with this I do not plan on having any credit cards and I plan on saving my extra money instead of blowing it on gambling.

[jobGONE]

Won 15$..cost me 150K!!!

Boy do I love to gamble. Detroit casinos opened, went one time and hit a couple hundred, Never looked back. Yes I have hit for 15K-6K-5K, but everytime I hit, it took 10-15K to get those JACKPOTS.
YOU NEVER WIN....DO NOT ENTER.