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NEWS RELEASE
CLINIC OFFERS TREATMENT, AND HOPE, FOR COMPULSIVE GAMBLERS
“For the first time in my life, my gambling addiction is under control.”
― Paul Del Vacchio, former financial controller of Pechanga Resort and Casino who allegedly embezzled $480,000 to cover his gambling debts
MURRIETA, Calif., March 21, 2006 ― Paul Del Vacchio finally realized his life was out of control when he was arrested last year on suspicion of embezzling nearly half a million dollars from Pechanga Resort & Casino.
A compulsive gambler since he was a teenager, Del Vacchio, 40, was a skilled accountant who gradually worked his way up the career ladder to become Pechanga Resort & Casino’s financial controller.
Ultimately, however, Del Vacchio’s six-figure income wasn’t enough to
cover his gambling debts, which he hid from his wife and two kids as well as his employer. “My life,” he said, “was totally unmanageable.”
But while Del Vacchio’s future may seem bleak, given the prospect of his upcoming April 21st sentencing hearing and a potential jail sentence, Del Vacchio actually sees brighter days ahead.
After being arrested last year, he realized he needed professional help, so he enrolled himself in an intensive gambling treatment program offered by A Better Tomorrow, a Murrieta-based company that provides a variety of drug, alcohol and gambling treatment programs. Del Vacchio completed the program last year, but continues to attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings in an effort to control his addictive behavior.
“For the first time in my life, my gambling addiction is under control,” Del Vacchio said, adding that he wants to speak about his problems with gambling in an effort to encourage others to get themselves into treatment before it’s too late.
A Better Tomorrow’s gambling treatment program is headed by Marc Lefkowitz, a California-certified gambling counselor and trainer. Treatment for compulsive gamblers is the latest service offered by A Better Tomorrow, which has helped more than 260 Southern California residents conquer their drug, alcohol and gambling addictions the past two years.
Jerrod Menz, A Better Tomorrow’s president, said private gambling treatment services are needed to help the growing numbers of gamblers in Riverside and San Diego counties, whose addictions have spiraled out of control, either as a result of the growth of the region’s Indian gaming business or through the increasing availability of online gambling websites.
While no one can argue with the devastation that occurs to families as a result of drug and alcohol abuse, the financial ramifications of gambling can be far more devastating and can affect families for years to come, said Lefkowitz, who serves as director of A Better Tomorrow’s gambling treatment program.
“You can’t go through $100,000 in alcohol in a week. But you can go through that in a day at a casino,” Lefkowitz said, adding that gambling has the highest suicide rate of any addiction because of the financial and family problems it creates.
”People often create their own financial problems due to their gambling. And then they try to rely on gambling to get out of the hole. But it doesn’t work,” he said.
While some states, such as Oregon, have state-funded gambling treatment programs, California does not. This leaves gamblers with two options: They can either seek help through Gamblers Anonymous, a non-profit group similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, or they can seek help through a private treatment center, such as A Better Tomorrow.
“People can go to Gamblers Anonymous, but for some people, GA is not enough and they need treatment, too,” Lefkowitz said. “Here at A Better Tomorrow, we do individual counseling and we give our clients a psychiatric evaluation. We help them learn effective strategies to control their addictive behavior. We help them deal with their financial issues. We help them set budgets and sensible payback plans. And we help them deal with their family.”
Lefkowitz also said the success rate is often much higher when patients combine therapy with GA sessions.
Del Vacchio identifies with this advice.
He first sought treatment for his gambling addiction from Gamblers Anonymous when he was in college, but he was too scared to attend one of their meetings after a Gamblers Anonymous member who contacted him about his gambling problem. “I got a call from a guy like Tony Soprano. He they told me, ‘You can never bet again or you’ll end up in jail, become insane or end up dead.’”
Del Vacchio thought this response was extreme, so he didn’t get involved with Gamblers Anonymous at that time. “I thought I could just be strong, use my willpower and I would be fine. I didn’t need a support group. I didn’t need a psychologist,” he said.
But the man from Gamblers Anonymous was right about what would happen to Del Vacchio. His life is, in fact, a history of compulsive gambling.
“I made my first bet at a racetrack when I was 12 years old,” he said.
By the time he was 16, he was heavily involved in sports betting, in which one bets on the outcome of football, baseball or basketball games.
By the time he was 18, he had racked up more than $13,000 in debts to a bookie. His parents intervened and sent him to a psychologist. His father eventually spoke to the bookie and managed to persuade him to forgive his son’s gambling debts.
Del Vacchio stayed away from gambling until his senior year of college, when he took a trip to Atlantic City with college buddies. “The worst thing that could have happened happened,” he said. “I won $2,000, and it rekindled something inside of me that said, ‘You can handle this.’”
Over the next five years, Del Vacchio got involved with sports betting again. Between the ages of 23 and 28, he racked up $100,000 in debt, even though he was only making $35,000 a year at the time as an accountant for a major public accounting firm.
He later got married and wound up taking a trip a trip to Las Vegas, where he gambled big and won again. “I fell in love with it,” he said. He and his wife later relocated to Las Vegas in 1994, where Del Vacchio got a job working in accounting positions for major casinos. But he soon became bored with his job and started to occupy his time placing bets over the Internet.
He eventually landed a job with Pechanga Resort & Casino, where he was hired as assistant controller. He was subsequently promoted to financial controller. Over time, however, he allegedly racked up nearly half a million in debt. He used his access to Pechanga’s funds to cover his gaming debts, but the scam fell apart when Wells Fargo Bank notified authorities of suspicious transactions involving his account.
While he worked for many years in casinos, Del Vacchio said he found Internet gaming particularly appealing because it enabled him to gamble without anyone realizing what he was doing. “I found that I could be totally anonymous,” he said. “No one would ever know whether I won or lost. I always thought I could win my way out.”
With help from A Better Tomorrow, however, Del Vacchio learned that his gambling addiction was driven in part by the unhappiness he felt as small child over his parents’ divorce. He learned that gambling helped distract him from the sadness and alleviate the pain that continued to plaque him even as an adult.
Del Vacchio completed his session with A Better Tomorrow in September of last year, but he continues to attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings for maintenance purposes. “The best thing I’ve ever done is committing to Gamblers Anonymous and attending A Better Tomorrow’s treatment facility,” he said. “I no longer have to keep secrets from my wife or my children. I feel like I’ve finally gotten my life back.”
He said he was amazed by the compassion given to him by other people attending A Better Tomorrow’s gambling addiction program. “They didn’t look at me in disapproval,” he said, “they looked at me with sympathy. I realized, ‘I’m not alone in this thing.’”
For more information about A Better Tomorrow, contact Jerrod Menz at (800) 517-4849 or visit the company’s website at www.treatment4gambling.com.
Editors Note: Paul Del Vacchio is available for media interviews by
appointment prior to his sentencing on April 21st. To schedule an interview, contact Jerrod Menz at (800) 517-4849.
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