Gambling, a pastime, can become an addiction

by Jessica Snow sports editor

It is gambling season. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Associations "Don't Bet On It", a guide about gambling for college athletes and anyone involved in sports, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship is second only to the National Football League's Superbowl in money wagered by gamblers. It is almost always gambling season.Bingo parlors, slot ma- and younger lately," junior AJaka Shetty, who works at the Turf Club in Oaks, said.

The Turf Club caters to a variety of gamblers and features betting on horse racing and athletic competitions. The events are projected on several large television screens in a main room, a dinning room and a "Director's Room" with free food, drinks and the complete royal treatment, for those that wager over $100,000 a month.

"There a Mafia, horse owners, every three months," Shetty said.

This very costly addiction can be treated in several ways, but the most important, according to Luchko, is Gamblers Anonymous. Like Alcoholics Anonymous participants in GA tell stories and help each other cope with this problem.