(Editor’s note: Some individuals in this story are identified only by first name and last initial at their request to allow them to speak openly about their addiction without fear of reprisal for actions taken when gambling.)
At his worst, Jimmy M. was a rough-and-tumble bar fighter. But he can also be a major mama’s boy. He’s got an easy, warm Little Italy charm that lent itself well to manipulating people just long enough to finance his gambling. Like most gamblers, he grapples with an ego that can make him feel invincible. He’s a softy, a quick crier, a man of big emotions.
And now, though only 45, he’s considered one of the tough-love “elders” in Chicago’s Gamblers Anonymous rooms, an image he says he’s tried to reform with a gentler tone in recent years…