My story is perhaps typical, perhaps not. From the little I've read of other gamblers' stories it seems that many of them don't really have a life, have never had a life. I was a bit over forty before I really came to gambling, so I had opportunities to do other thing before it became an all consuming obsession. As I was walking home today I was thinking of all the things I have done. Things most other gamblers might envy. I've travelled overseas repeatedly and far and wide, from Asia to Europe and up and down the east coast of Australia. Become a competent skier and skied in four different countries. Begun to raise a child. Had a professional career, been well educated. Rooted gawd knows how many females. But like all gamblers I've had my problems and they never get better. Those machines are animals with endless and insatiable appetite. Fierce and predatory animals with no conscience. Once they've been set free in the wild as they are in Sydney, who knows how they will evolve? One thing is for sure, once you're in their maw they will take everything. All your cash and everything you have available on credit. It wouldn't be such a problem if you never won. If that happened you would never play pokies. But they let you have a win occasionally, give you the sweetest winning streaks that convince you that you can just keep winning and then they make their move, taking back all your winnings plus the same again in interest until you can't chase your losses any more.