It's Official: Gambling is an Addiction
When 34-year-old Yulissa Troncoso pled guilty earlier this month to leaving her five kids—aged 10 months to 12 years—alone in a car while she gambled at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, her defense attorney called her a “good mom” who’d made a mistake.
Many others, however, were incredulous, wondering, “How does a woman leave a baby and four other kids in a car so she can go play the slots?”
While I can’t answer that question, I can relate to her actions.
My grandfather was a problem gambler. Though he died of a heart attack long before I was born, I grew up hearing so many stories about him that I feel as if I really knew him. For instance, the night before a family vacation, my grandfather announced that he was going out “for a pack of smokes.” He returned at 4 a.m. after gambling away all the money my grandmother had saved for the vacation. The family unpacked their suitcases the following morning without ever stepping foot out of the apartment.
