The 52-year-old successful business management consultant - who didn't want her last name published - ultimately realized she had a problem, was confronted by her husband about it and, after several failed attempts to refrain from venturing to a casino for hours on end, sought professional help from a Burlington-based regional addiction counseling service.

It was a different story in the beginning, though, with her well-paying job and go-go-go personality helping to feed her addiction.

"Work was my first addiction. I worked a lot of hours and it was a lot of stress. In a way it was a pretty addictive environment at my work. I was usually managing multi-million dollar projects...when you are well-paid they expect a lot and I was a perfectionist. The casino was my escape. I worked in an office that was 20 minutes from Woodbine," said Susan of the horseracing track with hundreds of slot machines located near Pearson airport.

"I would sneak away from work for Woodbine," often losing hundreds or thousands of dollars per visit. "There were times I didn't think I could hit the (slot machine's) button fast enough," she recalled.

While admitting to blowing thousands of dollars on slot machines at casinos across southern Ontario, the Halton resident had the means to eventually wipe out that self-imposed debt.

Unlike some people who morph into emotionally broken-down and financially-broke gambling addicts, Susan did not lose her life savings, house, car or marriage because of her habit. But she acknowledges her actions did put a lot of stress on the relationship with her husband.

"Everything we had was joint," she said of bank accounts and credit cards with her husband. "I didn't care." Her husband eventually figured out something was amiss, based on irregularities in their bank statements.

In order to avoid detection of her activities, Susan took out credit cards in her own name and ran them up to the limit. She did that with two cards, she said, and could have kept losing thousands of dollars without her husband knowing.

"Could I have hidden it? Probably, but it weighs you down. You come out (of a casino) with no money and wondering why you are there. I came out crying many times. You hate yourself, you become something else, you become a liar, you cheat, steal. I took from us."

She said, at her worst, she thought about hurting herself. "You've got this huge secret that no one understands and I did think of running my car into a bridge (support). If I wasn't dreaming about the casino, I was scheming."

Married for 10 years, Susan's husband said he initially saw no indication his wife had a problem.

"I've been in casinos lots of times. To me, it's a bit of entertainment. Susan and I used to go for a few hours. I never saw any (warning) signs, although I could see she was much more into it than I was."

He eventually began to notice odd entries in their bank statements but initially believed they were either mistakes or the result of fraud.

"One day I'd see three $200 withdrawals... At first I thought it was fraudulent use." Susan convinced him for a while that everything was okay.

"When it continued, I said there is a problem here," but he admits he didn't realize the extent of his wife's addiction. "I think the guilt caught up to her. We would have discussions. Enough was enough. We needed to turn it around. Obviously, some professional help was required. There was no threat of me saying, 'Go (get help) next week or I'm gone.'"

A mother of two children in their early 20s from a previous marriage, Susan enlisted the aid of Burlington-based Alcohol and Drug Addiction Prevention and Treatment (ADAPT), a regional service that offers free individual and group counseling. Celebrating its 10th year in Halton in 2008, ADAPT also has a gambling counseling component.

"I started with ADAPT about 2 1/2 years ago. I was with them for seven months and then off them for seven to eight months. I thought I was cured. About 18 months ago, I went back to ADAPT and still slipped (back into gambling) about a year ago."

Susan said she has not been in a casino since then. "It's a difficult thing to get out of your head. You're always recovering, a day at a time. I quit smoking about three months ago. If I can quit gambling, I can quit anything. (Quitting) smoking compared to gambling was easy," said the former half-a-pack-a-day smoker.

As far as gambling goes, she said ADAPT's one-on-one and group talks are useful. She attends meetings once or twice a month with her husband usually driving her there.

"The counseling helps you understand your baggage. The support group is the common thread. You talk the same language and you support and encourage each other. It gives you that courage for one more day. I think ADAPT is amazing."

Realizing she was addicted in general to stress and getting that adrenaline rush, Susan has decided to take an extended break from work to slow down, re-energize and re-evaluate her life.

"I'm in a good spot now. Even if someone drove me up to Mohawk (Raceway), I don't think I would go in. It's taken me a long, long time to get to that space. I don't know if I could have said that one year ago. About two-and-a-half years ago, I would have sold my soul, lied, in order to go as much as I could and not get caught."

At home, she says she is bothered by the multitude of TV ads paid for by the Ontario government that promote gambling and lotteries. "The government is too busy shoving happiness down your throat. It flabbergasts me. They refuse to be (held) accountable. I'm not suggesting they ought to fix me (but) when they make $200 million (from gambling) and spend (very little) on helping gamblers and just say, 'Do it responsibly,' what does an 18 or 19 year old get out of that?"

Susan sat down with her two young adult children and admitted her problem.

"I made sure they understood where I was and where I had been. They needed to know because I think people can have addictive personalities and I don't want to pass it on."

Like Susan, Allan (not his real name) is a recovering problem gambler who is also among the more fortunate ones.

After losing many thousands of dollars at area casinos, the middle-aged Burlington resident also ultimately realized he had a problem. Unfortunately, it took two personal bankruptcies for him to comprehend the magnitude, and ramifications, of his self-made predicament.

However, instead of seeking counseling from ADAPT or another social service organization, Allan said he put the challenge upon himself and quit his constant gambling virtually cold turkey, like he did with cigarettes about three years ago.

"Quitting smoking was a lot tougher for me than quitting gambling," said the former two-packs-a-day puffer.

He considered calling the Ontario government's problem gambling hotline but never did. "You have to want to do it yourself," he said of controlling his gambling. "I didn't seek any help. I just woke up one day and realized after claiming bankruptcy a second time, it was because of gambling."

At his lowest point, Allan had maxed out or run up a personal line of credit and credit cards to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. Despite being in bankruptcy, he was able to use personal connections to obtain credit cards, which he promptly used to finance his gambling.

Unlike Susan, who said she rarely hit any big payouts, Allan had a three-year run of great luck that saw him win many jackpots, mostly on the slots. His long string of good fortune only fed his desire for more.

"What draws you into it, is when you win something you think you can win it again and again. From 2001-2003 I did my best."

Allan figures he won about 40 jackpots on the slots, from $400-$5,000 - he still has all the special payout slips - plus a granddaddy win of nearly $40,000 playing progressive quarter slots at an area casino, about four years ago. "It was really good then. You could at least go into a casino and win occasionally."

He's convinced that the government-sanctioned gambling parlours have made adjustments to the games in recent years so that they pay out less and less often.

"Everyone tells me you used to be able to win a jackpot occasionally, and now you can't win jacksquat."

Whatever the reason, Allan's lucky streak ran out. The night after his big win he went back to the same casino and lost $4,000 playing cards.

While he did use $25,000 from his windfall to pay off gambling debts, he racked up even more on credit not long afterward.

"Within three to four months, it was all put back in the casinos plus more. I ran up all the Visa cards to the max. In the bad times, I was going three or four times a week all over - Brantford, Niagara, Flamboro - wherever I felt like driving to, usually on my own."

He became so frustrated one night that he swore at a slot machine and punched it, startling an elderly lady seated next to him. His actions got him banned from the casino for six months.

Longtime divorced, Allan said he doesn't believe his constant gambling cost him any of his subsequent relationships with women.

"When I broke up with a woman, it was not because of my gambling."

Allan pinpoints the start of his gambling problem during a trip to Sin City. "I blame Las Vegas for all of this."

He said his first trip to one of the world's gambling meccas in the early 1990s hooked him.

"I was taken aback by all the lights and sounds and people moving around. The first machine I played was a $1 slot and I won a $10 commemorative coin. It was the first thing I had ever won, but the rest of the week I lost a lot of money - $2,000 or $3,000."

While he still has a small amount of gambling debt, Allan goes to a casino occasionally but said he's able to control his wagering.

"Once you are addicted to gambling, I don't believe you cannot not go, but if you can control yourself, you can have a good time.

"Now I go once every couple of months but never by myself," he continued. "If I go, I go with my aunt and she makes me give her my wallet. If I lose the $100 I came with that's it, that's my fun.

"It is a fun place, but don't take bank or credit cards. I have to have self-control.

"It's either that or die a slow death."