(coins clanging)
(bells ringing)
My mother, Shari is out of control
with her gambling addiction.
Shari's gambling problem is destroying her life.
My mom is the queen of making up excuses,
as to why she cannot quit gambling.
My mom's favorite game, she likes to play,
are the penny machines, the slots in particular.
We can always tell that she has money
because she acts very happy and giddy.
It's like a immediate high, similar to a drug addict.
I need the release, so I'm going.
(bells ringing)
My mom always thinks that she's going to win big.
And she walks out with nothing every time.
We've sent her to gambling anonymous, that didn't work.
We've had family interventions.
Well at one point, my Mom did win $20,000
but I don't know what she bought with it.
My mother has filed for bankruptcy multiple times.
She has blown through almost $200,000.
My mother recently took out a loan on her 401k
and she has completely wiped it out.
I feel like I'm the adult for my mother, Shari.
I'm always worried about
if she doesn't have any money this week,
how's she gonna to eat?
(change clanging)
When Shari goes to the casino right after she gets paid,
we won't see her for at least 24 hours.
I'm here, and I'm getting ready to go in.
She won't return our phone calls or text messages.
It's almost four o'clock in the morning,
and I'm finally back home.
Came home broke.
When she comes back home, she'll hide in her room
because she knows that we all know that she lost her money.
I never imagined that my mother Shari
would be living with us as long as she has.
Shari has the whole living room decorated
how she likes it to be.
Shari sometimes will snap at the kids.
She takes advantage of Walker and Emma, a hundred percent.
I don't believe she's hit her rock bottom yet
because she's too comfortable with Walker and Emma,
and my grandmother and giving her money.
She needs to wake up and realize
if she doesn't get help,
that she's gonna be living with us forever,
and she's gonna die and I'm gonna be stuck with her debt.
(startling music)
Hello guys, how you doin'?
Hi, doin' good.
Well, it's good to see you.
I'm sorry for the circumstances.
You got a problem on your hands.
So what do you think about this?
Is this a sickness?
Is it a hobby, a habit, a way of havin' fun?
How far has this gone?
I think now that it's a sickness.
Yeah, I think it started as a hobby.
It started, to get away from her toxic relationship,
and then slowly it turned into a hobby.
And now it's a full-blown sickness.
And you say she's possibly facing jail time
because she owes money to the IRS?
I do not know.
I know in June, the IRS was coming after her
for back taxes, and she managed to gather up some money
from Walker and Emma, and my grandmother.
She also pawned things to get enough money,
I guess, to get her by.
I really don't know the circumstance
or the outcome of that yet.
So Walker you say,
you feel like the adult in this situation,
like, you got a child here, is that right?
Yes sir, but it's difficult because she's my mother.
It's pretty hard to tell her what to do.
She's almost like a teenage kid.
Emma, she moved in with you guys,
were you okay with that at the time?
Yeah, I was a hundred percent fine with it.
Well, you know movin' your mother-in-law in
is a gamble, right?
(Guests laughing)
Yes I do.
So you were definitely gambling
when you did that.
And she was gonna stay a few months
and it's turned into a few years.
It started with six months, maybe a year.
And now, it's three years.
Yeah, so what what was your motive guys,
as a young couple to move her in with you?
To help her get back on her feet
after a toxic relationship.
Has she taken advantage of you,
or has she used it to get herself back on her feet?
She's taken advantage of us.
She's not on her feet right now.
Where does your mother work?
She works for casino.
She works for a casino.
Yes sir. Okay.
Does that make sense to you?
Absolutely not.
I mean, if she was an alcoholic,
would you get her a job as a bartender?
No.
Our family is at our wits end.
I mean, just this year alone, it has gotten so bad.