European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 21, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse A it i nil 11 full 111 ii ii a amps Sharon Kilda born to lose by Chuck Roberts staff writer Aster sgt. David Clark can to understand Why he never wins. He a lost $15,000 in four years playing military Slot machines and feels that everyone wins a except him. It confounds him. He a a Lucky pinochle player All his friends know that. Why is lady Luck never around when he plays the Slot machines a the machines Here Are against me a Clark says glancing around the air Force club he frequents. Quot its frustrating to me to see others win so much. People Are winning and i m a Pardon me miss a he asks an employee passing by. Quot have you Ever seen me win Quot Quot i be never seen anyone win Quot she replies quickly not breaking stride. Although he is reluctant to admit it Clark shows Many of the classic signs of a compulsive Gambler. Quot the Only Way you can win is to Stop playing or leave the country Quot he says. Quot i will be extremely Happy to leave Germany and go to a conus base where gambling machines Don t exist. I done to want sympathy just my plane he has tried to quit but the urge to recoup his losses always lures him Back. Clark thinks he could quit if Only once he could hit the the $250 Jackpot. He came close once when he won $150, but even that frustrated him because he would have won the $250 payoff if Only he had put a few More quarters into the machine. Quot i have friends who can relate to what in a saying and we sometimes laugh about it to keep from one period of abstinence ended when he became convinced his Luck had to change so he bought a $100 in quarters. After losing All of it he spent three hours sitting inside his car in the club parking lot unable to face his family. He had no answer when his wife asked when the gambling would Stop. He says she cries when she tells him that she knows he is still a Good person even though he has a gambling problem. Quot i agree with my wife and others that no one is forcing me to play a Clark says. Quot however i be been faithfully feeding those machines because i refuse to believe i can t win one time. They Are supposedly there for our amusement but when you see others win and you done to it Isnit fun Quot i feel like More of a frustrated Gambler than a compulsive Gambler because i see More and More people win frequently while i continue to gambling in the military profits i w problems Day 1, the problem Day 2, the Money a Day 3, the illness lose Quot Clark said. Quot the winners Are normally housewives retirees or German when he lost the $100 in quarters Clark sought help briefly from a doctor in Wiesbaden Germany. The doctor introduced him to a staff sergeant who told Clark a Story about How gambling almost Cost him his life. The sergeant and his wife won $14,000 one night at a Casino in Las vegas. Too excited to sleep the couple returned to the Casino to win More. They lost everything however and were so distract that they considered suicide according to Clark. He says his past May explain his present obsession. He never had much Money growing up and he and his friends dreamed of wealth. His Early experiences with gambling were unpleasant. He says that one night while leaving his dorm at Shaw University in Raleigh n.c., he was forced at gunpoint to play poker with a group of people who cheated him out of $350. He also recalls a card game not Long after he enlisted in the air Force. He was about to win a $700 pot with a hand of four sevens when a woman shocked him with a straight flush. Perhaps he still is trying to recover those losses. He says maybe that s Why he takes the Money set aside for family activities and gambles with it in the Hope of doubling it. Although his gambling problem is his to resolve he says that gambling machines in a military environment Are a severe problem. He suggests a Nickel limit. Quot there Are lots of people losing Money Over Here. The club system would be better for All assigned personnel if the gambling devices were wednesday november 21, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a
