How to help a problem gambler away from the table?

[PokerDork]

I know this has been discussed, but yesterday while waiting for a seat at my local cardroom, a woman who I had seen before, but never played with tells me that she lost $1,000 in a $1-$5 stud game, today. I immediately felt pretty bad as it was obviously bugging her, she then went on to tell me about how she had blown $7500 when she was supposed to use it to get a car, and how she took a couple hundred from her husband that day to come to the casino. And there was many more stories like these. She's also 7 months pregnant. After listening fully to her, I told her as gently as I could that it sound like she may have a gambling problem. Thankfully she agreed, but she kept telling me that she didn't think she could keep losing, or if she could only win a little back she'd quit. She was playing poker, and didn't even know what the ranks of hands were. Eventually, I fetched a card with a problem gambling hotline # on one side (not sure if it was GA or something else) and info on the other side about setting up a voluntary ban from the casino. She agreed with me, left, and actually took the card with her. She has three kids at home, one more on the way, and is behind on her bills. I really hope she doesn't come back. On one hand, I felt kind of weird like I was offering a stranger unsolicited advice, on the other, I seemed like no one had suggested she had a serious problem to her, and that I had a responsibility to try to help her, since her actions also seemed like a cry for help (i.e. venting for an hour to a complete stranger.) For those of you that have experienced this before, what is the best way to handle this? I felt terrible for this woman, but I also know that she can only get help if she's willing to admit she has a problem. Comments?

[jordanx]

Her problem is not your responsibility! More importantly, you blew a perfect opportunity to get in a great +EV situation. You should have said "No, you don't have a problem, just bad luck. Then told a story of a friend who was on his very last borrowed dime and came back to win millions". Then sat next to her at the Stud table.

You can't be a winner if you don't stomp every other human being into the ground on your way to the top.

[BigSkiRace]

I've been in this situation my self before when I first started out playing poker I blew alot of money, had major bankroll managment problems, blew all my graduation money, borrowed money, rolled the dice at the craps table to get a roll togeather quick. It took me almost 2 years and a 8 month break from the casino to get to be able to have a healthy relationship with gambling or more poker the only thing I do at a casino now. I listen to people all the time just like it sounds like you did, hell people probably listened to me as well with my sob story a couple years back. The only difference was I was a 16, 17 year old kid that had parents that had money and paid for everything the only thing I had to spend money on was beer, women, and gambling. Now I hear these stories and I can relate, I don't think giving some one a card with GA's number is going to help any one. Most of the time when people tell me this SOB story they tell me about all there bad luck and how there losing and then they attempt to bum 100 bucks off me so they can go play some 5/10 or something....The main point I am trying to make in this is that people cant be helped while in the middle of there habit, when you really think about it.

[PairTheBoard]

Well done. After venting to you for an hour she was no longer a stranger. You did what you could. The rest is up to her.

PairTheBoard