Winning or losing didn’t matter
Michael Burke’s story offers a unique perspective on gambling addiction. Born into a family of prominent attorneys, Mike had long practiced law before entering a hospital inpatient program in the late 1970s for alcohol addiction, where he was warned by a doctor on the dangers of trading one addiction for another. After successfully completing the alcohol treatment program, Michael went on to start up his own law practice dealing mainly with clients who also suffered from alcohol addictions.
Shortly thereafter, Michael began taking vacation trips to Las Vegas with his wife, where he was considered a “high roller” by one casino and so his gambling junkets were “comped” by the casino. Then, when a new casino opened less than one hour away from the Burkes, Michael was able to go a couple of times a week, without anyone knowing, and eventually found himself borrowing $75,000 from one of his clients. It had come to the point where he was “chasing” money he had lost and secretly borrowing money from other clients. Referring to gambling as his “medication”, Michael acknowledged that, “winning or losing didn’t matter. If I happened to win a large amount of money, it merely translated into more time that I could stay in the casino.”
As is the case for many gambling addicts, Michael found himself contemplating suicide as the means to ending this cycle. He eventually reported his actions to the State Bar and Michigan Attorney General and was soon after sentenced to prison for three to ten years, but not before undergoing triple bypass surgery due to the level of pressure and distress he had faced. Fortunately, Michael’s story has a happy ending, though far too many others do not. Today, he is rebuilding his relationship with his family and works now as a public speaker on behalf of his cross addiction with gambling and alcoholism.