Mark Kershner

Slaying the Devil: One Man's Fight to Kick a Gambling Problem into Touch Mark Kershner

When's the last time you endured that all too familiar gut-wrenching feeling? You know, that horrible 'sinking' feeling when the remainder of last week's wages disappeared at the turn of a card or the drop of a ball on the roulette wheel. Or maybe it didn't happen at the casino - maybe you lost it at the bookies' shop. It was all looking so good at one point; the horse you backed had what seemed to be an unassailable lead going into the final furlong, and you were beginning to count your winnings. Then, from nowhere, an outside shot comes steaming home and pips your horse right on the line. BANG!! Gone, just like that - not just what would have been a handsome win, but with it the stake money that you could barely afford to lay out in the first instance. You had sworn in earnest that you weren't going to go through that whole palaver yet again, the one where excuses have to be thought up. And fast. Excuses and lies to the wife as to why you can't afford to take her out to that smart restaurant for a treat. Excuses and lies to explain away the unpaid phone bill. When all is said and done, is it all really worth it? Ask yourself seriously. I am a regular kind of guy who got caught up in precisely this kind of struggle to quit. My story initially charts how I got in with a group of people, in my late teens and early twenties, who were quite simply addicted to gambling, and how I soon fell into the same trap. I then go on to explain how I went about 'Slaying The Devil' ! And it wasn't easy. . not by any stretch of the imagination.