Jacob grew up in England, moved to Australia, and spent 15 years losing everything to sports betting. He tried GA meetings. They helped, but only so much. What actually saved him was therapy. Nearly 100 sessions later, all with the same therapist, and he's still going strong.

Now 7+ years removed from his last bet, Jacob sits down with Adam and talks about losing his mother to cancer when he was 10 years old and never dealing with it and how gambling became the escape that filled that void for the next two decades. He breaks down what it looked like to burn through an entire month's salary in a week, rely on payday loans just to survive, and slowly lose the respect of everyone who loved him.

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
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On this episode I share a life update - Moving back to Rhode Island and very excited about it. I also recap the latest conference in Illinois where I made my first keynote and heard some amazing things from others in attendance. A last minute Red Sox game in the rain brought me closer to my higher power, and a Modern Meeting original celebrates a recovery milestone.

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Abdullah Mahmood is back. The gambling coordinator at Maryhaven in Columbus, Ohio returns to The Modern Meeting for a conversation about what might be the most significant piece of gambling legislation in the country right now. The Save Ohio Sports Act — introduced by two Republican and two Democratic lawmakers — would effectively abolish mobile and online sports betting in the state, limit wagers to four brick and mortar casinos, ban credit card use, and eliminate parlays and prop bets. In a state where 98% of sports betting happens on a mobile device, that's a seismic shift.

Adam and Abdullah break down what's in the bill, why it started with a match-fixing scandal involving two Cleveland Guardians players, who's going to fight it, and why it probably won't pass in its current form — but probably should. They also get into the five stages of change, what Abdullah is seeing on his caseload right now, and why a man's first appointment is almost always about saving his family rather than saving himself.

Contact Abdullah:

https://maryhaven.com/gambling/

https://www.gamfin.org/

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
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I almost didn't record this one. Friday episodes are tough. I was ready to skip the episode entirely. And then the Monday meeting happened. The topic was: what did gambling give you — and who are you without it? What followed was one of the most powerful hours I've ever spent in a recovery room. Gail and Mandy's answers to "Without Gambling, Who Are You Becoming," sent me all the way back to Clinton, MA. Then I picked up my pen and wrote down a name I hadn't thought about in almost 20 years.

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Larry K went to his first Gamblers Anonymous meeting at 16 years old in 1973 — not because he was ready, but because his grandmother paid him $100 to go. What followed was 53 years of compulsive gambling, multiple relapses, four marriages, and a stint trading $30 million in stock market options while convincing himself it wasn't gambling. This is not a straight line recovery story. It's something far more honest than that. Larry breaks down the difference between abstinence and real recovery, why the obsession never truly goes away, and what finally brought him back to the GA meeting he started himself over 30 years ago — on a Friday the 13th at a Denny's in Mission Viejo.

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This week we're getting specific. After pleading my case on the importance of lived experience stories, I tell five stories from my gambling that I've either never mentioned on this podcast or have only glossed over. From the debt collection calls that started waking me up every morning, to the manic thoughts during a slot session, to the elaborate lie I told my parents during my final bailout. This is what twenty years of compulsive gambling actually looked like up close.

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Mandy S hadn't placed a bet in 917 days when she sat down for this conversation with Adam. She wasn't a sports bettor or a casino gambler. What kept her gambling for many years was scratch tickets. She hid her addiction in plain sight. She didn't need the casinos or to sneak away on her phone. All she needed was a convenience store, gas station, or grocery store.

What followed were years she couldn't have predicted. Gambling through IVF, a marriage that almost didn't survive, and three relapses, before she finally surrendered and dove into recovery.

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
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I was supposed to release this episode on Friday. Instead, I didn't start recording until Sunday night. Four years into recovery, the "f**k it phase" is still very much a part of my life. The procrastination, the putting things off, the feeling that nothing bad is actually going to happen...it didn't disappear when I stopped gambling. It just found new places to live. This week, my higher power sent a message in the form of a pickleball injury that I hope gets me back on the right track.

I also recap the Midwest trip, my complicated feelings about Episode 100's performance, why I'm done caring about likes and downloads, and why lived experience will always connect differently than a degree — no matter what anyone in the comment section thinks.

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
Email me anytime at modernmeetingpod@gmail.com

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