Gambling Debt- I thought gambling was a problem- well now this is worse!

[mar]

[rockobuster]

I filed chapter 7 in May for gambling also. I really know how you are feeling. When I realized we could no longer continue paying the minimum payments on our credit cards, I knew I needed help for the gambling AND our finances. I was lucky to find a good attorney. He had previously dealt with other gamblers. I thought we would have to do a chapter 13, but he said because of our total debt ($120,000) minus our expenses, that we qualifed for a chapter 7 (we had $200 disposable income). Did you say that you will definately be losing your house? Car? From what you have said, I would say your on the right track. You may want to talk to another attorney (free consultation) to see if your attorney is right for you. A friend of ours had used a different attorney in our area and did not have good results, and he also did not like his attorney from the start.

[mar]

Thanks for the response

Coming from another gambler, I feel better. I have an appt. with someone else on Mon. I asked around my Gamblers Annonymous meeting, but no one has filed recently. The one I found is a trustee (this is in his profile on the net). I'm figureing he should know how best to address my situation.
My house is going into foreclosure. So far I've kept the car payment up- figured I can find another place to live, but I can't walk everyplace.
My concern is I lost so much in such a short time, and my employment opportunities are pretty glum once I am released to go back to work.
I'll see what this atty says before I get to stressed again.
Thanks again!

[dumbpig]

Mar- I know how you feel. I saw a couple of lawyers before the one im with now and they are like you have a serious problem. they informed me my problem was worse then cocaine and how could i lose 10-15k in 2 months. He wanted to know how I was gonna stop from doing this and so on. I think every lawyer has his own opinion. My lawyer who I signed with now kinda scares me as he is so lacadasical. He has been doing bankruptcies for 25+ years and seems to feel very comfortable. I have had cash advances 500-1000 in the last 2 months and charges on my cards recently but he doesn't think it should stop anything. I don't know if he is comfortable with local laws and knows the trustees. He stated it will take 4 minutes and it will all be over. He even knocked some of my expenses down and bumped others up. For a single guy he made food 550 dollars. I think it depends on what lawyer you get. Hopefully someone can make the case work for you. I know how you feel. Gambling is an amazing thing as you don't realize how bad it is until you can't gamble any more. I have a friend who is 21 who went to vegas with me and he won 350k in like 12 hours at bj with his last 500. He then proceded to lose it and 10k(marker he can't cover) He know has 30k in debt and no job and doesn't know what to do. Gambling is a hard thing to understand and the person without a problem will never understand. I try to warn him to stop and don't do it but he will have to learn for himself like we have

[edwards2]

I emphasize with you guys about your gambling addiction because my sister's mother in law has a gambling addiction too. She goes to the "boat" every day. She is in her 70's and has already emptied a lot of her savings and has even dipped into her husband's social security check. It upsets my sister because she thinks she will eventually(at this rate she will) wipe out everything and they will be expected to pick up the pieces and take her in. The whole family has begged, pleaded and threatened her to quit gambling but she will not do it even to the point it has caused a family split and despite the fact she is the root cause of it, she won't seek help. She doesnt think she has a problem; it is her money and she can do with it as she pleases. She goes and stays all day and night. She has even gone home in the wee hours of the morning in a part of Chicago that it is not safe to be living in much less driving around in at all hours. They are at wit's end. At least you have recognized the addiction and are dealing with it. I wish we had your lawyers instead of ours. We had a medical catastrophie in our family(self inflicted) and have had to endure submitting more paperwork, more justification and yet another day in court just to get our Chapter 7 discharged. We have medical bills, meds and a young son who was and still is reeling from what could have happened yet we still have to fight for our right to start over. Sometimes the wheels of justice are simply unbalanced. I know of people who have filed on extravagant purchases from credit cards and have managed to "beat the system" with a high priced lawyer. I am not gullible or a Pollyanna but there is something as they, say rotten in Denmark. Maybe our case will come out okay but my faith in the judicial system is nil. We have been honest and as forthcoming as possible and yet they are trying to squeeze minimal at best from us and force us to convert. The only optimistic thing about this disaster is if she had wanted to convert us - she would have already. We have been told she doesnt think she could convince a judge so she is testing our resolve and demanding any and everything that resembles receipts. We will however, have our chance to face the firing squad next week. Our attorney has already said if she turns us down he is appealing to the judge.

[mar]

Oh my gosh Edwards2. At least I am by myself, and my mess is of my own making. If I had to worry about kids I would hope to die!
I wish someone had pointed out to me what I was doing (this is my sick thinking I would have listened to them lol!) and maybe I wouldn't be in such shock!. I kept my addiction in check for many years, just a binge here or there. I moved to MO where there are boats- that's all it took. Held off for a long time, but it was inevitable. I'm moving where there is no legal gambling when this is over!
I'll let you know what happens after I see this new guy Monday.

[BKSorrow]

Find a good attorney and be ready

We filed cht 7 a few months back and our attorney was fully aware that we gambled and had markers that would be included in our filing. Apparently he did not know how this would effect in bankruptcy court. To make a long story short a US trustee has now been appointed to us and they want more documentation. We have alreay given more than the ordinary, they already months and months of bank statements, income documentation, casino statements, credit card statements. Most of our credit card debt was accumlated over several years. Now they want a break down of our debt, "food, shelter, travel, gambling". I can't even begin to figure out how to do this. Yes it is true that we have taken money out of our credit cards at casinos but in some cases it could have been paid back the next month. In other cases we may have won and spent that money on something else. These are transactions that go back many years not just one or two.

To make things even worse our attorney doesn't have the slightest clue!! He just says "Supply them with what they want". I am all for giving them what they want but some figures just don't come up that easily.

Good luck to you and please be prepared for some out of the ordinary requests.

[Flamingo]

I wish you all well and hope you can get a grip on your addiction of gambling because that is just what it is - an addiction. To participate in in the addiction gives you pleasure. Without it, you are in withdrawal. You all know that. The states in our area allow slots and racinos and I am within a short drive of Atlantic City which is a mini Las Vegas. We go with friends to a racino once in a while (once every 3 to 4 months) and thankfully I don't have a gambling bone in my body - I set a limit to play with or if I win a decent amount, I get up and walk away. I have more fun walking around watching people yelling at the slot machine or freaking out at the video black jack tables. At the ATM machines, people are lined up attempting to get money out of empty accounts and hitting the machine when it won't disburse money because they are overdrawn or it won't give out more money to them. It's awful the excuses people make in that situation when you are standing behind them or near them. They are just covering up with their denial. I posted on here in the past about our good friend's mother who's major pastime is the slots. She has lost over $20,000 in one year and her family just cannot stop her. The racino keeps sending her freebies and junk trinkets trying to keep her coming back. They talked to an attorney about it but since she is in sound mind (now 86), she just continues to gamble away cause it is something to do. It's a pathetic situation as she has several grandchildren who could benefit school-wise from all that lost cash.

The History Channel not too long ago did a segment on how they make slot machines. During the program, it was indicated that all slot machines are always set to take in more than they give out in a 24 hour period; in plain words, they are programmed to the House's favor. You could sit at a slot machine that just hit for a large amount and sit there all day playing it and maybe make a few bucks but due to that programming, you are out of luck...and how would you know? Guess who is making the money....

Best of luck to you all and I hope things work out for you.

[ssdsco]

I didn't pick up on any fraud in what you stated. What's the concern over having to review bank/cc statements with an attorney. Given your situation it sounds like going over the last year or two of financial transactions so your attorney can give you the best advice is a good thing.

[Help!]

Gambling addiction is a neurological disease:

http://www.medical-online.com/addict.htm

...and is believed to have a genetic basis:

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/units/addiction/genetics/

So you should seek treatment the way you would if you had diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis... it is just a disease, so don't give it the power to decimate your self esteem or your sense of self worth.

Don't assume the court will judge you more harshly than someone who lives on credit to keep cash available to buy drugs or for frequent trips to the liquor store.

A good place to start would be to enroll in (and complete before filing) an addiction treatment program. This would accomplish several things:

1) It establishes that your CC abuse was a result of a mental disease.
2) It shows you understand how serious the disease is and that you took the initiative to seek treatment.
3) It convinces you, your attorney and the trustee that you will never find yourself in this position again if you are granted a discharge.

It is difficult for people who don't understand addiction to see that gambling addiction is no different than drug or alcohol addiction. In many cases, addiction is inevitable... one just chooses something healthier to be addicted to (running marathons instead of drinking alcohol, for example).

There's a reason why I don't set foot in casinos other than to get to the $4.99 steak and egg dinner.

[Help!]

...and when I say "treatment program", I mean something like Schick Shadel or personalized counseling by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist. Courts like credentials. It won't be cheap or free, but it will get you where you want to be and will be worth it.

[danaf]

dang, 80K in such a short time....makes my bk look like a pittance. No judgement here, but just make sure you wait a long while before you file so your bk goes through ok. And seek help like the others are telling you.

[Phillymanhere]

Mar,
I'm not sure what the problem is with the lawyer looking through your bank statements. You understand, I hope, that the bk courts can (and sometimes will) easily do this right? And you understand, I hope, that one does NOT have to have a "legitimate" reason for filing for bankruptcy.

Most folks here don't have compulsions, but many made utterly foolish choices on how to spend and invest money. So there is no shame as far as the law goes in having run up debts through gambling. So I'm not sure what your worry is here. If this lawyer is a pain, you might need to consult with another. This board recommends consults with 3 to 5 lawyers before hiring one.

Now the bad news is that bankruptcy is the least of your challenges. The real challenge facing you will be to lick that gambling compulsion. And here's the tricky thing: once you hopefully get your debt discharged, it will be so EASY and tempting to think you don't have a problem anymore. And boy oh boy is that the recipe for relapse and disaster.

I had a different addiction than yours, but one that was/is equally as foolish as gambling. I've been "sober" now for 10 months and it is still a struggle at times. I go to 12 step meetings and therapy, actually several therapists.

Get into a program and get some help. This problem ain't gonna cure itself. That's a fantasy if you think that. Don't let the relief over bk delude you into thinking otherwise.

good luck.

[texanboy76]

How long do you have to wait before you file? DO you need like 10 clean months of no new credit? Will the attorney tell you what is needed after he reviews your CC and bank statements?

[TEW]

How long do you have to wait before you file? DO you need like 10 clean months of no new credit? Will the attorney tell you what is needed after he reviews your CC and bank statements?

No not 10 months you can not use your CC's for 60 to 90 days. the lawyer needs those statements for the filing they need the history. they are not going to bother you if you used a CC to pay your electric bill or bought mike or gas. I DID and it was not a problem.
The lawyer will tell you what to bring. mine did most over the phone before i came in. IT IS NOT HARD