Super Bowl weekend includes problem gambling conference

Gamblers will crowd the MGM Grand casino and sports book Saturday -- the day before the Super Bowl.

Elsewhere Saturday in the giant hotel, a group of mental health counselors, therapists and social workers will attend a conference.

The topic: Problem gambling and how gambling addictions can wreck families. They'll hear from experts including Mitzi Schlichter, ex-wife of Art Schlichter. He's the former NFL quarterback now imprisoned for crimes related to his gambling addiction. Prosecutors estimate he stole some $800,000 because of his disorder.

The location at the largest gaming resort in Las Vegas is no coincidence -- MGM Grand donated space for the problem gambling conference as a public service. This is not surprising, as the gaming industry in the past few years has owned up to its responsibility to address the problem of gambling addictions.

Sponsors differ on whether the conference was scheduled to coincide with the Super Bowl, an event that attracted a record $77.2 million in wagers at Nevada sports books last year.

"It's not like we wanted to bring people in to gamble on the Super Bowl," said Alicia Smalley, president of the Nevada chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, a sponsor of the workshop.

But there's a lot of symbolism in the conference being held during Super Bowl weekend, said Carol O'Hare, executive director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, another sponsor of the event. The council receives funding from the gambling industry.

"The Super Bowl gets an incredible amount of attention from the media and the public. That event may not be positive for everyone," O'Hare said.

She said that for big losing bettors, "Immediately following the Super Bowl, more than at any other point of their gambling, they're feeling the greatest consequences."

"It may be a time when the family makes an ultimatum: 'This has to stop. I don't want to go through this again, I don't want to go through another football season.' "

In such cases families are in financial and emotional crisis and may need professional help.

But O'Hare said there's not enough affordable, competent problem gaming counseling in Nevada -- despite its status as the nation's No. 1 state in casino gaming revenue.

"There's not enough of them (counselors) and probably they're not adequately trained," O'Hare said. "We're still struggling to bring that into all the other training counselors get."

Nevada, prompted by fears of federal regulation and taxation of the gambling industry, is just now gearing up to study how many problem gamblers there are in the state. The state does not fund treatment for gambling addicts.

Once the problem gambling prevalence study defines the problem, the mental health community and the state will be better prepared to address it, O'Hare said.

In the meantime, treatment for gambling addictions is either not covered or inadequately covered by employer-sponsored health insurance plans.

Some employee assistance programs -- particularly at casino companies -- cover gambling addictions just like they cover alcohol and drug addictions. But that coverage is limited and does not include extensive and expensive therapy or inpatient treatment, O'Hare said.

Saturday's conference is a rare opportunity for Nevada counselors and other mental health professionals to receive training in dealing with patients and families affected by gambling addictions. The same conference is planned for March in Reno.

Smalley said there are 1,700 licensed social workers in Nevada who are trained in the basic theory of intervening in family crisis situations, including situations related to addictions generally.

But education has been lacking in the specific area of gambling addictions, she said.

"Social workers and others in the profession are faced with problems that are impacted by gambling. It's real timely that we start looking at treatment and assessment tools so we can more effectively work with our patients affected by this," she said. "It's always been a problem in Nevada. There have always been people with gambling addictions that cause problems."

"I would like to see us have some sort of ongoing training in the future," Smalley said.

Finding affordable treatment for gambling addicts is shaping up to be a big issue in Nevada and nationwide as the issue gains more notoriety.

"How do you define 'affordable' for a compulsive gambler?" O'Hare asked. "By the time they're seeking help, the very nature of their problem is they're probably broke."

Other sponsors of Saturday's conference are Trimeridian Inc. and Harmony Healthcare. Both offer treatment for gambling addictions.

Mitzi Schlichter has a community services job with Trimeridian and was instrumental in initiating the company after discovering the lack of treatment services for people with gambling disorders.

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