Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
My Share
#1
Just Wanted to put my share in writing and go from there... here goes

Sorry its boring but i need to do it for me.

Now aged 35  hopefully its as familiar story to most.




My Early years to aged 16

My earliest memory of gambling is when i was around 10 years old,  i used to spend the school hollidays at my grandparents house and would have days out with my late Nanna.

These days out consisted of days out to the seaside where she liked to use the falling machines and the fruit machines,  of course she let me play them alongside her with real money for fun.  I used to just like the buzz  of playing them and didn't wanna go home at the end.

Other days would involve meeting up with her friends at the local pub,  she wasn't short of me and these days started by walking into town and going into the arcade for a bit then onto the pub.

Whist she bought me a coke she began to let me play on the fruit machine in the corner,  money wasn't much of an issue to my Nanna and she would give me a note to go to the bar to get change so i could play,  I look back on this as both nieve and irresponsible on her behalf,  i used to blame her for my gambling addition until  i started GA,  i realize its my compulsive nature not her generosity. 

I used to go to the football every home game also with my other set of grandparents,  these days would involve dropping my other Nanna at the bingo  and me and my granddad would go onto the match stopping at the bookies for his coupon and horse bets,  I would wait outside the paper shop then we would sit in his camper van whilst he would study the horses whilst he sent me to buy a programme to read,  these were the days before the betting odds were plastered all over them.  in the next few years the odds on first goalscorer would appear next to the player names and he would always put money on a player of my choice and let me keep the winning if it won.  The trip home would involve us stopping in the bus stop whilst i run in to tell my Nanna she needed to come off the O & X  machines where she would be playing 3 at at time and hurry up.

The bizarre thing is my parents apart from the bet on the national and the odd game of bingo would never gamble,  it was my grandparents who were the big gamblers.

I have always had the keeping secrets and doing things i shouldn't bug  and instead of coming out with A's and B's gcse  i came out with C's and D's.  I ran the school stationary shop  where i would sometimes skim money here and there.  Allways knowing what everyone else was up to but them never really knowing what i was.

From 12 to 15  i had a paper round and i would often get the bus to the seaside on a sunday afternoon  and spend it all and end up walking the 5 mile back.


16 On wards

I couldn't wait for my 16th birthday,  I could buy Cigs and scratchcards (age 16 restriction not 18 in 1996). I wouldn't sat i was addicted but i did buy too many scratchcards when i didn't win.

Moving on i ended up on a YTS scheme because i wanted to work and it gave a free bus pass and £70 per week wage.

Looking back it wasn't just gambling i always had an urge to spend any penny i could get my hands on no matter wheather i needed or not.

My YTS landed me a plum job at the local university following a project i won to present in front of the then secretary of state for Northern Ireland Mo Mowlem,  what a lovey woman she was in my career development.

I worked in the Uni for about 18 Month was able to pay and buy myself a car  well above the means of other 18 year olds at the time. I cant remember alot of gambling during 17 -19 this time,  but wasting money and collecting things maybe.

I decided to go part time at 19 and start a degree course,  in reality all i had to do at my part time uni job was turn up when i could between lectures days off etc and take pictures and upload to the website,  easy money and mostly time to spare, for about a year, early 99 the department at the uni was would down and my contract wasnt renewed.

I got a job at a famous computer shop at weekends and evenings to coincide with my uni course,  this was when i was introduced to the casino,  often going after work regularly and playing roulette and drinking,  it became my life and i eventually dropped out of uni.  I started working full time at the computer shop earning good money, and doing the late shift in order to go to the casino afterwards in a group. Once i was spending more than i was earning i started to think of ways to make more money.  Looking back i needed to feed my addiction so needed cash easily,  i started being accepted for credit here there and everywhere  and i had worked out a way to make easy money on top.  I still had my uni cards as i hadn't officially dropped out,  and my mate worked at a famous music shop  and he got 20%  staff discount  and then an additional 20% student discount.


I started buying popular tv boxsets on my credit card at nearly half price  and getting full price on Ebay  and postage as they were in massive demand.  This funded me with cash for about a year. In a way looking back this was a gamble as a few months after i stopped doing it the bottom fell out of the market when amazon became popular.

I also bought a house cheap near my parents  and got a steady girlfriend by 21.

More to follow
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)