Male, 48, Texas
I have never been a gambling man.
I always felt like people who constantly spend money on lottery tickets or at casinos are total suckers.
I worked a low level job at a chemical factory for over 15 years, and oftentimes ridiculed my coworkers for the amount of money they lost due to gambling.
However, on the eve of my 41st birthday, I decided to hit the casino with two of my closest coworkers.
My birthday had already been fully planned and I knew I would be spending it entirely with my wife and our three children.
I ended up leaving the casino with a little more money than I entered and felt motivated to push my luck some more.
I was the designated driver to take myself and my two coworkers home as they had both been drinking heavily.
On our way home, I decided to stop at a corner store to purchase a lottery ticket.
I laughed to myself as I purchased the ticket as I knew that the probability of winning was exceedingly low.
That night, I told my wife that I bought a lotto ticket and asked her to look out for the winning numbers.
Fast forward a few days, I received a call from my breathless wife while at work. As I took up the phone, the first thing I heard was “YOU WON BABE, YOU WON!”
My wife was shouting at the top of her lungs. She could not contain her excitement. It felt surreal, almost like I was intsantly transplanted in an alternate reality.
I ended up receiving a little over a million US dollars after taxes. I figured my life would change entirely for the better, but instead, it quickly spiralled out of control.
I quit my frustrating but dependable job within days of receiving the winnings and the very first thing I bought was my dream car – a Ferrari.
I wasted tons of money on brand name clothing and as my outward appearance and profile improved, I garnered a lot of attention from women.
To that point, I had always been faithful to my wife. Yes, I had moments where I was very tempted to see other women but I always fought the urge.
But with my new-found wealth, I was overwhelmed with interest, from women from all walks of life. I didn’t know how to handle it.
I eventually started cheating on my wife with a young blonde who was 15 years her junior and half her size. I felt so guilty, but I could not stop.
I was hooked. And the more obsessed I became with her, the more she drained my pockets. She eventually convinced me to leave my wife and children to be with her.
Utterly devastated by my actions, they moved to a different state.
The younger woman I was seeing had a nasty heroin addiction and got me hooked as well. And within a year of seeing her, I was totally broke and suffering severely mentally and physically.
I became extremely depressed, contracted hepatitis and began having numerous health problems due to my irresponsible and excessive drug use.
And to put the icing on the cake, I ended up living on the street. The young woman I was seeing started prostituting herself to get more drugs and also cut me off completely.
Fortunately for me, I was provided a lifeline by a family member who agreed to have me live in his basement, provided I enrolled in a drug rehab treatment center.
I still have almost zero contact with my wife and children but I have managed to abstain from drugs for almost 6 months now.
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