BLACK
HISTORY
MONTH
Special edition features inside
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‘City of Roses’
Volume XXXXII
Number 7
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20, 2013
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Established in 1970 ,
Committed to Cultural Diversity
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Oregon Lottery customers are glued to their video poker machines at a Lottery outlet in north Portland.
photo by
C ari H achmann /T he P ortland O bserver
Routing an escape from gambling madness
C ari H achmann
T he P ortland O bserver
by
When Nathaniel Peterson got off work, he checked
into his fantasy world.
Once in front of a video poker machine, he could
forget reality— the shock of his father’s death, his
anger, loneliness and depression, all the burdening lies
to his wife, family and friends, borrowing money and
embezzling large sums of it from his work, the closing
walls o f shame and secrecy.
Another 10 bucks and it would all go away, “Just let
me win, so I can sit here and keep playing,” was his
magical thinking.
For many people, gambling is recreational, but for
some it can be life consuming. Three percent of the
adult population has a problem or pathological gambling
addiction, said Philip Yassenoff, program manager at
Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare’s gambling treatment
program.
" I couldn’t even
look at myself in
the mirror—I hated
myself so much. I
just wanted to get
caught and finally,
I did.
I
— Nathaniel Peterson
Many gamblers are unaware that treatment ser­
vices are free, paid fully by the state of Oregon. With
several different locations, C ascadia Behavioral
Healthcare is one of the Portland area providers that
offer no-cost counseling and treatment programs to
individuals and families affected by gambling.
When Peterson hit rock bottom he felt worthless. He
couldn’t eat or sleep, “I couldn’t even look at m yself in
the mirror— I hated m yself so much,” said Peterson.
Isolated from everyone close to him, he said, “I just
wanted to get caught and finally, I did.”
While recreational gamblers may enjoy the initial
excitement of pulling a slot machine or can budget $20
to spend before cashing in for the night, problem
gamblers enter a warped state of mind.
“Gambling is a disease,” said Yassenoff. Addiction
is the result of altered brain chemistry. Often times a
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