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Having battled their own demons, Osborne and Yegge know firsthand of gambling’s addictive power. Summoned by desperate families, they have traveled as far as California for “an intervention.”
“We go out with two plane tickets and book three to come back,” Osborne said. “There’s an immediate connection. I say, ’I’m not a doctor and I won’t pretend to be one. But I can tell you where you’ve been, where you’re at now and where you still have to go.’ That gets their attention.”
About 93 percent of those visited return to Harbour Pointe even though the eight-bed facility is not cheap: A five-week session costs $20,000.
A man who cured his gambling addiction at Gamblers Anonymous scoffed at the price.
“It’s a moneymaking deal,” said Chris, who would not give his last name. “If people really want help, they can come to GA for nothing.”
Harbour Pointe officials insist the individual treatment they offer is far more effective. Each patient receives one-on-one attention in meetings with the medical staff and former gamblers such as Osborne and Yegge.
“What we find is that gamblers are manipulators and liars,” Osborne said, “so if you put them in groups all day what you do is give them a path to not look at their own issues.”
Psychologist Thomas T. Truss, the clinical director at Harbour Pointe, said, “I value the role that Gamblers Anonymous plays as a self-help group, but there’s a world of difference in what we offer: an in-depth exploration of the subject’s life history.”
Vaeth said, “The key is the individual one-on-one treatment. My role is to look at the whole person. When someone comes here, our goal is not only to get him to quit gambling, but to have him emerge as the optimal person he can be.”
Yegge says he started gambling because his parents divorced at an early age and betting served as an escape.
“Typically, what we ultimately find is that gambling ends up being a smaller problem of a bigger problem,” Osborne said. “That’s where we’re different. Programs these days only treat the addiction and not the overall person. And it’s equally important for us at Harbour Point to find what we call the fuel to the fire. If we only treated the gambling, when these real issues came to the surface again an individual will relapse.”
Says Yegge: “Coming here is not a cure. It helps you realize what’s going on with yourself.”
Osborne says the abstinence rate after leaving Harbour Pointe is around 73 percent. He plans to open a new facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., next year.
Osborne hasn’t made a bet since 2003 but is still paying for his mistakes. He was told recently to appear before the real estate commission because he stole $28,819 and owes more than $126,000 in fines.
Osborne has no desire to make a bet to get the money back. Similarly, Yegge knows exactly what would happen if he ever succumbed to the urge to gamble again.
“If I went out today and played a dollar on my number, my luck is so bad that I’d probably win,” he said. “I’d have all that money in front of me. The very first bet I’d make could send me down that road again.”
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