"All Bets Are Off

"Losers, Liars, and Recovery from Gambling Addiction

Arnie Wexler's life as a gambler began on the streets of Brooklyn, New York, flipping cards, shooting marbles, and playing pinball machines. At age fourteen he found the racetrack, a bookie, and started playing the stock market. His obsession with gambling accelerated until a fateful day in 1968 when it all came crashing down.

 Wexler placed his last bet on 4/10/68  when the METS played the S F  GIANTS on opening day.

Wexler's gripping narrative leads us through the dungeon of a compulsive gambler's world—chasing the big win and coming up with empty pockets—and how his addiction drove him and his wife, Sheila, to the edge of life. With help, they managed to escape, and together they have devoted themselves to helping others with the problem they know so well.

"Arnie is always available, responding not just emotionally, but physically, to gamblers still suffering. He is a good and loving man, but he is also a tough guy. He's a guy tough enough to have survived the gambling story you are about to read and tough enough to make twelve-step calls that have involved cancelling family plans, driving through blizzards, and facing the underbelly of gambling straight on. Arnie is tireless in his efforts to help others.

"He is alive with his desire to share the joyous freedom that his recovery has brought him, while still remembering well the horror of his late-stage gambling. When Arnie sees a person walk into a twelve-step program for the first time, he remembers how he felt that first day he came for help. You are about to read the story of a legendary recovering addict."