The largest growing demographics suffering from gambling addictions today are the elderly and college students. The lure of getting rich quickly and easily—whether to pay off loans or purchase expensive, trendy electronics—can entice college students who can find themselves in the throes of an often-misunderstood addiction.

Mark Zuch is a certified compulsive gambling counselor working in Flagstaff. He specializes in helping patients and their families overcome this often debilitating addiction. Zuch said our gambling-obsessed culture is to blame for the addictions faced by many young people.

“When you go into Wal-Mart these days, you see mini poker tables in the toy section,” Zuch said. “The general understanding is that gambling is okay and it is fun – which it can be, but when it gets out of control, it is hard to regain composure.”

Zuch also cites the glamorization of poker tournaments on television as one way young kids are lured into the lifestyle. High school graduation nights are often centered on gambling tournaments and Flagstaff’s proximity to casinos, whether in Laughlin, Las Vegas or 53 miles down the road at Cliff Castle Casino, means that once students turn 21, there are several nearby gambling venues.

“The way people often first get addicted is by having a ‘big win,’ where they win $400 or $500 and think it will always be like that,” Zuch said. “It seems like such easy money. However, as time progresses it takes more and more for the person to achieve the same sort of ‘high’ they felt when they initially started gambling and soon, instead of spending $20, they’re playing $500 they don’t have.”

This increase in tolerance is similar to other physiological addictions, like those to alcohol and other drugs. Like drug and alcohol addictions, brain chemistry is a key component to continuing the addictive behavior.

“The cocktail of chemicals that is released when a compulsive gambler starts a binge is a really powerful reinforcement, and creates a really powerful feeling and desire,” Zuch said. “Compulsive gamblers will escape for hours at a time within a casino. Gambling can make liars and cheaters out of good-hearted, kind people.”

However, unlike drug and alcohol addiction where there is a physical limit to how much a user can consume, with compulsive gambling there is never enough. A compulsive gambler won’t pass out or overdose from gambling; as long as there is money within reach, the addict will keep playing. Compulsive gambling might not cause physical harm, like the brain damage associated with long-term drug addiction, but it can play a roll in taking away material possessions.

The progression of gambling addiction is a swift and rapid one. Students who start young, partaking in poker tournaments with friends at 15 years old, can reach the late stages of the addiction by age 25.  For example, one of Zuch’s patients is an NAU student who, after spending his student loans on his addictions, now finds himself $30,000 in debt at age 26.Caislin Weathers, a clinical psychologist in Flagstaff, agrees with Zuch on the swiftness and severity of the disease.

“Compulsive gambling is a very difficult addiction,” Weathers said. “It is not something to be taken lightly.”

However, there is help available and Zuch has been helping compulsive gamblers for 11 years. Zuch said most often gamblers turn themselves in; they’ve hit rock bottom and have no more money to spend.

“The first step of the treatment program I run includes not just admitting one has a problem, but writing down and really itemizing how the gambling hurt that patient and the patient’s family, as well as how gambling affected school, work and love lives,” Zuch said. “This process helps the patient back through all the denial problems when they see how much hurt they’re causing so many people through their addiction.”

Counseling is a reality check to most patients.  Learning what triggers the desire to gamble, which can include paying for gas at the station where one used to buy lottery tickets or driving down the freeway past the exit to the nearest casino, are important parts of the recovery process.

Carol Landrith, a sophomore psychology major, said there are many misconceptions about gambling addictions.

“Gambling addicts can be intelligent people,” Ladrith said. “It’s not a matter of being ‘smart’ enough to avoid becoming addicted.”

Rather, it is important for compulsive gamblers to learn other mechanisms for coping with stress and managing their feelings. There are 12-step Gambler’s Anonymous meetings around the country, but one has never really taken off in Flagstaff.

“That type of group dynamic and support system can really aid in an individual’s recovery process,” Zuch said.

The type of program that Zuch runs is the most effective and readily available to Flagstaff residents. It is a state-funded program, which means part of the funding comes straight off the taxes casinos pay to the government. Zuch said many of the Native American-run casinos donate to local charities.

“When dealing with compulsive gambling, it is important to separate the myths from the truth,” Zuch said. “There is no such thing as ‘warming up’ the machine; the machines are programmed to only pay out certain amounts in certain intervals, no matter how much money you feed into one. The truth is that Vegas was not built on the backs of winners.”