Stake Holders

“Gambling addiction is, in some sense, also especially vexing to treat. You can’t quit money cold turkey, and it looms especially large in recovery, with gobs of it needed to climb out of gambling debt and reclaim stability. These conditions threaten relapse, keeping alive the fantasy of a lucky roll in a high-stakes room. As one gambling-addiction specialist explained: ‘I’ve never had a late-stage alcoholic say, ‘If I get drunk just right, my liver will heal.'” From Harper’s, Jasper Craven on America’s new gambling epidemic. On Tilt. (I cover this topic a lot because it combines the incredibly addictive nature of smartphone tech and social media with the already extremely addictive nature of gambling.)