cover story
IN A SPIN
With the depth of painful personal
experience, Owen Baily explains why
gambling treatment is still a lottery
W
ith sweaty hands, deep physical anxiety in my chest and a
sense of panic, I committed to placing my last bit of money
on the roulette terminal in the casino. With acute
anticipation, I watched the ball spin chaotically around the
wheel and waited for it to land. It landed, as the ball
always eventually does, but not on a number I had placed
the bet on. I lost, and I had no more money. Literally.
Right there and then, the emotional roller coaster of a journey I had been on for
the past two months came to a sudden and abrupt stop and it hurt badly. I was
winded. I couldn’t breathe. The panic turned to dread. Starting to comprehend what I
had just done and not quite knowing wh