Also, $2200 is more than enough to get a place and get back on your feet if you are smart about it. Get out of the extended stay motels. I lived in them on and off in Absecon and Atlantic City for a while, and while they can be cheap, you need stability in your life, especially now. What eventually happens is that you run out of money or run low because you are not working, and then regret not getting your own place badly.

I used to be a master of finding cheap apartments and studios. I don't have to tell you, I guess, but if the landlord likes you, they will bend head over heels to get you in, reducing rent and halving the deposit, at minimum. I once found a place in Florida one block from the beach in Boca for less than 800 when a real estate agent told me it could never be done. Drop all of the excuses, dude. I didn't even have a job, but just knew what I wanted and was determined to find it and get it.

You can even make money by selling stuff on Ebay. If you make a point of listing 5 items a day, no matter what they are and where they come from (even dollar stores) you can easily have a 100$ a week income coming in for a minimal amount of work. In one month you will have 100+ items up. Everything sells on Eaby. I mean EVERYTHING. You can list an old pair of shoelaces and someone will buy it.

You need to put your roots down somewhere I think. You need stability, your own place, some kind of work... and really need to assess your "spiritual" condition. I don't know if you believe in God or not, but regularly attending a church or synagogue might do you some good. Lots of people are going to judge you harshly here and have. And you earned it, too. But you can't just wallow in self-judgment, either. You still have your health, and that is the most important asset you have. There's still hope for you yet, and you have to believe that.

I think you found a good Simpsons episode.

I'm not sure which is more pathetic.. Mike asking you to find meetings for him, or, you actually responding. Like someone has said, nothing will change until Mike wants to change. The mere fact that he can't spend 2 minutes with Google and find a meeting himself tells me where his head is at; he is not (yet) willing to put in the effort.

Or maybe it is to show him that there are other people out there who made the same mistakes he made who were given a 2nd chance at life by complete strangers who understand how addiction works. When I was at rock bottom a co-worker took me to my first AA meeting even though I was too scared to go by myself because of my pride and ego. I was always told if I ever got clean and sober and made something with myself to pass it along to others who are struggling to show them people do care and that they have a chance to turn their life around.

will be very curious how he comes off. i find it fascinating that he is such a skilled grifter...very little he writes comes off as sincere but obviously if he gets a person one on one he must have some real acting chops

the usual number given for GA success rate is 10% and one counselor told me 3% would be more accurate. not rooting against Mike but I would say the chances that he reforms in any way are well under 1%. "productive member of society"? seems utterly implausible but good luck, you seem to have intimate knowledge of some great success stories (although it is hard to imagine someone having an addiction "much, much worse than Mike")

I'm not defending Mike in any way (you can read my old posts to see that), but why does Mike have to confirm to us that he went? It's his own train wreck of a life, if you wants to continue to lie and tell us he went when he didn't, that's his business.

due to a chemical imbalance in the brains of compulsive gamblers, those odds should not prove daunting

Drunk drivers who killed innocent people, car accidents while drunk with kids in car, $100,000's stolen from parent's bank accounts, watching wife OD on crystal meth that you made for the both of you..... just some of the things done by friends of mine before they got the help.

Me personally, I stole $1,000's from family and work, drove drunk close to 75 times putting people in danger, took advantage of a woman while she was nearly passed out among some of the things I did. I was able to make amends with each and every person who I harmed and made restitution to those I stole from. Took me a long time but I did it. Was it easy? HARDEST THING I EVER HAD TO DO! At times I was scared out of my mind calling people who I hadn't spoken to in years who hated my guts for what I did. Some appreciated what I did with my life, some wanted nothing to do with me. All I could do was clean my side of the street.

people have done more hideous things than Mike but when I said I thought it improbable to find a worse case all I meant was that his desire to gamble seems to be the only thing that has motivated him for essentially his entire adult life...we have seen no evidence of normal social interactions or peripheral interests...he is a PURE addict, lives for nothing but to keep gambling

And you don't think I or my friends who are in AA/CA/NA weren't the same way??? You are being very naive.

This thread is fascinating on many levels....

How it started... what it morphed into...is Mike a habitual scammer with terminal hopelessness..... is he just trying to milk his 15 minutes of fame to scam some ITT like suits at the airport...does Mike actually want to get better.... can Mullet man motivate mike to fix himself... finally of all games, why Pai Gow wtf???

stay tuned.

I for one hope Mike can pull himself out of the muck and get happy. one day at a time.

P.S. mulletman seems like righteous dude, so Colbert tip of the hat to you my man. One obv question though... is that your actual high school pic?

Haha, wp.

3% - 10% is a pretty grim percentage, but it beats the living **** out of 0% if you dont go back to GA.

I wish.

Beaver - why are you ( and others ) rooting for Mike to relapse ? kinda sick if you ask me ... there are a bunch of kids dying of cancer at children's hospital; I can get you the visiting hours if you'd like.

Actually, I'm not hoping for him to relapse. I hope he gets clean. I'm merely just playing the percentages. If he does relapse, I'd love to hear stories of him running it up and why the love for pai gow(out of all pit games). If not, I'd love him to come back on here in 5 yrs with compelling tales of improved lifestyle, how he battled his addiction to gambling/scamming, and what he did to fight the urges.

I still don't understand how people gave this guy hundreds of dollars with the expectation he was actually going to pay you back. I mean was this the first time you had ever walked by a begger? Every large city I've ever been in for a period of time people have given me the sob story to help them out. I just don't understand how such low level thinking really exists out there that he was able to make a living doing this for a large part of 14-15 years straight.

In 12 step recovery, we talk about "hitting bottom"; getting to place where you're physically emotionally and/or spiritually at the end of your rope.For some, it's waking up in a grimy detox facility after living in your trench coat under a bridge for 3 years. For others it's getting divorced / declaring BK / losing your job.

Whatever it is that gets you there, you gotta hit rock bottom.

Call me a gullible jackass, but I think this thread is getting Mike closer to the truth.

PS Mullet Man you are a good dude. Keep fightin the good fight brother !

Never mind that ****.Who teaches their kid to dance like that in your avatar?!?!? Or is that a midget acting as a kid?

Haha welcome to Miami

http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/...g-his-shirt-up

Many well intentioned posters do not realize that Michael might be a clinical psychopath (or antisocial personality disorder in DSM 5). Based on his past actions, lack of empathy and remorse, lack of impulse control, "talent" to pick out marks, and narcissism, he is a textbook case.

Here is a brief overview of the condition:

Mask of Sanity Summary

Or he might have some other Cluster B personality disorder as some other poster suggested above.

However, it is also possible that he acts like a sociopath because he is a genuine addict. Regardless, he should definitely see a professional psychologist/psychiatrist in addition to GA.

Edit: Hare's book "Without Conscience" is also a good source on psychopaths. One does not have to read the book to get an idea about the disorder. Just use google and read the summaries online (e.g. Amazon reviews or some blogs).

That's his standard scam. I wonder what he did first before unpacking if he really did leave LV. Put the bite on a local rabbi or scam someone at the airport.

High School pic or GTFO I hope you are able to motivate Mike to get off his dumb ass and fix himself.

I assume you mfg or deal crystal meth IRL?

It's his desire to not work that keeps him going. Scam a few marks at the airport (or hotel lobby) then try and run it up at Pai Gow or a poker tournament. Lose it, repeat ad naseum. Anything but work. Lazy. No morals. No remorse.