Service members are more likely than the general public to become problem gamblers, but screening – and help – is lacking
Dave Yeager didn’t join the US army to become a pathological gambler. But after re-enlisting as a food inspection specialist in the wake of 9/11, Yeager arrived at his base hotel in Seoul, Korea, feeling overwhelmed and restless. “I’m walking around and find a casino-style slot machine room,” says the 57-year-old former sergeant. “As soon as I sat down, the first thing I noticed was that my shoulders started to relax. Then I won, and it was like a dopamine hit. In that moment, all of the fear and anger and stress that I was feeling just went away.”
Suddenly and without warning, a night of gambling here and there became a seven-day-a-week addiction – one that had him phoning home for more money, pawning personal effects and stealing from his unit. When a demotion in rank failed to curb Yeager’s reckless behavior, his bosses threw up their hands.
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