Bad bet for seniors…

Older Americans can be vulnerable to gambling’s allure, but they find it’s hard to recover the loss

senior adultThe 70-year-old Dallas man knows all too well the highs and lows of gambling.

Once he won $1 million playing blackjack at a casino in Lake Tahoe.

Three hours later, he’d lost it all.

“I had a million win, already had it in the [cashier’s] cage, already had it in the bank,” he said. “It wasn’t enough. I thought of something else I probably needed the money for and lost it all.”

That was 10 years ago. While he’s been “almost clean” ever since, the businessman said his problem gambling dug into his retirement savings.

“I just took money and bonuses and everything else to pay off gambling debts,” he said.

For some seniors, gambling can be a bad bet against their retirement. The consequences of problem gambling can be devastating financially and emotionally because many seniors live on fixed incomes.

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By Pamela Yip – The Dallas Morning News