Gambling Recovery: Taking Back Your Life

In this episode, Adnan Alisic shares the choices, consequences, and turning points that shaped his life. We talk about how gambling addiction slowly changed the way he thought, the warning signs he missed, and how it ultimately led him to commit one of the most infamous casino bank robberies in Arizona history. We also discuss the impact it had on his family, what life was really like spending more than 15 years in federal prison, and what recovery looks like today.
This conversation goes far beyond the headlines. It’s an honest discussion about shame, denial, accountability, second chances, and finding purpose after hitting rock bottom.
If you’ve ever wondered how gambling addiction can completely change a person’s life,or if you’re searching for hope that recovery is possible, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

This week, I’m joined by Daniel Bullen, host of The Addicted Recovery Show, a podcast reaching people across the globe with honest conversations about gambling addiction, recovery, relapse, and rebuilding life after gambling.
Daniel’s story is one of strength and perseverance. Along with overcoming gambling addiction, he survived a devastating car accident that could have easily claimed his life. Those experiences have fueled his passion for helping others and sharing the message that recovery is possible.
Daniel and I have had the opportunity to appear on each other’s podcasts, and I’m grateful to continue that conversation here. In this episode, we discuss recovery, purpose, resilience, and why sharing our stories can inspire hope in someone who may still be struggling.
Daniel is genuine, thoughtful, and clearly committed to making a difference in the gambling recovery community.

What happens when a man spends years chasing the next high, the next bet, the next escape, only to realize he’s really been running from himself?
Today’s guest, Tom Jenkins, knows that story all too well. His journey has taken him from gambling and alcohol addiction to a relentless search for meaning, purpose, and recovery. Originally from the UK and now living in Colombia, Tom has spent years asking the hard questions: What drives addiction? Why do we keep self-destructing? And what does true recovery actually look like?
 
He’s also the author of a book that explores many of these themes, which we’ll dive into later in the episode.
Let’s get started.

Today’s guest is someone who has become one of the leading voices in gambling addiction awareness and prevention, especially when it comes to young adults and sports betting culture.
Saul Malek grew up in Houston, Texas, in a loving family. What started as a fun way to connect with friends eventually evolved into sports betting after being introduced to a local bookmaker during college.
And like so many stories we hear in this space, the escalation happened fast.
In less than two years, Saul lost sleep, money, relationships, peace of mind, and nearly his life. But today, more than five years removed from gambling, he’s turned his pain into purpose ,using his lived experience to educate others and expose the realities of modern gambling addiction.
You may have seen him featured on Dr. Phil, PBS, or USA Today, but beyond the headlines, Saul is someone making a real impact through honesty, advocacy, and education.
I’m honored to welcome Saul Malek to Gambling Recovery: Taking Back Your Life.

For a long time, gambling felt harmless to Mickie.
It was exciting. Social. Fun. A way to escape reality for a little while. It started with casinos, scratch off tickets, laughter with friends, and moments that felt alive. But over time, the excitement slowly turned into secrecy, obsession, isolation, and emotional exhaustion.
In this deeply vulnerable episode, Mickie shares how gambling gradually took control of her life, from hiding losses and lying to loved ones, to sitting alone in her car surrounded by scratch off tickets realizing she no longer recognized herself.
But this conversation is about far more than gambling. It’s about grief, trauma, family addiction, shame, survival, and ultimately… recovery.
Mickie opens up about growing up around alcoholism and addiction, losing family members, caring for a husband with MS, and the emotional weight she carried for years before gambling became her escape. She also shares the moment she finally asked for help and walked into her first Gamblers Anonymous meeting terrified, broken, and unsure if she belonged.What followed became the beginning of rebuilding her life one day at a time.This episode is raw, honest, emotional, and incredibly important. Whether you struggle with gambling yourself or love someone who does, Mickie’s story is a reminder that addiction can happen to anyone , and that recovery is possible.

Some addictions are easy for the world to recognize. Others hide behind success, routines, and a smile.
From the outside, Mary D. looked like she had built a beautiful life, a thriving career, a family, stability, and everything many people spend years chasing. But behind closed doors, she was fighting a private war with gambling addiction that nearly took everything from her.
Mary’s story did not begin in a casino. It began in childhood, growing up with an alcoholic father and leaving home at just nine years old. Like so many people, the pain started long before the addiction ever showed itself. Gambling would later become an escape, a place to numb, avoid, and survive wounds that had never fully healed.
For years, Mary lived a double life. By day, she was a respected executive leading teams and meeting deadlines. By night, she was trapped in the grip of slot machines, secrecy, emotional exhaustion, and despair. Her addiction strained her marriage, impacted her relationship with her daughter, and pushed her to a place where hope felt far away.
But this is not just a story about addiction.
It is a story about survival. About the moment pain became greater than denial. About walking into a Gamblers Anonymous meeting on July 1, 2011, and beginning a new life one day at a time.
This is an honest conversation about trauma, resilience, healing, and what it means to truly come back to life.
Please welcome Mary D.

Some people are remembered for what they had. Others are remembered for what they achieved. My mom is remembered for how she made people feel, loved, welcomed, laughed with, and never forgotten.
In this episode, I share the story of Carmella, a woman raised in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood who became the kind of person people never forgot. She was strong, funny, stubborn, deeply caring, and the person who showed up when others needed her most. She carried loss, hardship, and pain with a strength that shaped everyone around her.

I also speak openly about our relationship, the strain my gambling addiction caused, and the healing we were able to find before she passed. Some of the most meaningful moments of my life came in those final years.

This episode is not about perfection. It’s about impact. It’s about the kind of woman who made people feel seen, made them laugh when they needed it most, and loved in a way that stayed with you. Her life reminded me that the greatest legacy we can leave is how we treat people while we’re here. It’s about showing up. 
This is for my mom.

Renée Siegel has spent over 40 years helping people heal, grow, and better understand themselves. As a mental health counselor and Enneagram coach, she also works closely with individuals and families impacted by gambling addiction.
In this episode, Renée shares how the Enneagram became a powerful tool in her practice, while also opening up about her personal experience with a gambling addict in her life. She speaks to the often-overlooked role of family in recovery, and how support, involvement, and understanding from loved ones can make all the difference.
This is a powerful conversation about awareness, connection, and what it really takes to begin the journey of healing.

In this episode, I sit down with Reeve L., whose story didn’t start with gambling, but with growing up in it.
He watched it tear his family apart and swore he would never become that person.
But years later, during a battle with cancer, gambling became his escape… and slowly turned into the very thing he once feared.
What followed was years of silence, isolation, and losing himself completely, until September 15, 2024, when after losing everything, he finally surrendered.
This is a conversation about what gambling really takes… and what it means to finally let go.

Every person who develops a gambling addiction has a beginning.
For many of us, it doesn’t start in a casino.
It doesn’t start with massive losses or life falling apart.
It often starts with something that looks harmless…
a card game with friends, a March Madness bracket, a trip to the race track, or watching poker on television and imagining what it would feel like to sit at that table.
At first, it feels exciting.
It feels social.
It feels like entertainment.
But for some people, something deeper is happening beneath the surface.
What begins as fun slowly becomes something harder to control.
The thrill grows stronger.
The stakes grow higher.
And the line between recreation and addiction becomes harder and harder to see.
Today’s story is about how something that once felt innocent and exhilarating slowly turned into something overwhelming and destructive.
It’s a story about chasing the feeling…
about the lies addiction convinces us to tell…
about the moment someone realizes they are no longer in control.
And ultimately, it’s a story about what happens when someone finally walks through the doors of recovery.
This is Xavier’s story.