Gambling Addict Spends $1M On Lottery Tickets

#1 Adam Osmond

49-year-old Adam Osmond, from Farmington, Connecticut, built up his own convenience store business after studying for a business degree but lost everything when his gambling addiction saw him buying thousands of dollars worth of lottery tickets every week.

#2 Opened Two Stores

He moved to the US in 1986 and studied hard to get his degree. He continued to work as an accountant while opening a pair of two Connecticut convenience stores in 1997. It was while running the stores that he got hooked on state lottery tickets out of boredom when no customers were in the stores.

#3 Bought Tickets In His Own Store

He would win small amounts but kept playing. He won $50,000 on a ticket in 2007 and immediately spent the entire sum back into buying more tickets. He was spending all of his working days gambling in his own shops. He explained, "When I had my own store it was like having your own casino, it was me and the machine all the time." He says he started purchasing the tickets in small quantities at first.

#4 Began Spending Thousands Weekly

For years, Osmond's lottery jones was satisfied by playing a few dollars' worth per day, never going overboard. But gradually, his habit escalated to the point where he was spending thousands of dollars each week and reinvesting any winnings, along with his regular income from accounting, into even more lottery tickets. His personal life began to diminish.

#5 Tried To Play Bigger Games

Osmond was playing various games every day and could not stop buying tickets. When he thought he could get bigger winnings on the quick pick games, he changed to those instead of the scratch off tickets. He loved the scratcher's but got a thrill on the big money mega lottery. He would win a little and then put it all back into the games, quickly losing his entire winnings and any profits made at the store cash register.

#6 State Lottery Let Him Continue

Despite the fact that Mr. Osmond was spending an enormous amount of money at his own stores and through his own lottery terminals, the state of Connecticut never questioned his gaming or the fact that he was behind on paying for his ticket sales. "As long as I was paying them every week, they didn't really care," he said. However, he began to fall way behind on paying them and after five months they began asking for their money.

#7 His Life Unravels

Having to pay back the state, keep his stores open, and keep his household operating, Osmond began to unravel. He went through a mental breakdown. His wife left him and took the children with her after he stopped paying the bills and could not afford groceries for the family. He went into a deep depression and did the last thing he needed to do. He bought more tickets.

#8 Printed 54,000 Tickets For 3 Weeks

In 2008 he sat in his store and printed off 54,000 tickets. A total of over $250,000 worth, and he never checked them for winnings or cashed them back in. He did this for three straight weeks before the Connecticut Lottery officials stepped in and took out his ticket machines and revoked his lottery license. He had spent over $1.4 million dollars in total on lottery tickets over the course of his addiction.

#9 He Never Cashed In His Tickets

He was then ordered to pay the sum of the tickets printed, despite never cashing any of them in. He saved all of the tickets and said that he just bought them all because he was depressed and addicted to gambling. He said it would have been unrealistic to try and scan all the tickets for winnings so he just boxed them up. "The money could have been spent on my family and savings. Also, I could have paid in full for my house by now," he said.

#10 Getting Help With His Addiction

The state offers a gambling addiction clinic, which Osmond was enrolled in and he started paying back his debt to the state while recovering from his severe addiction. He now lives alone in a one-room apartment and works part-time accounting. He said, "My lowest point was when I closed my business and my family found out about my addiction. I regret letting down my family and friends."

#11 Judge Says He Doesn't Have To Pay The State Back

Osmond made good faith efforts to repay the Lottery until the courts intervened, saying that since the tickets were never cashed, the repayment was unnecessary and Osmond was off the hook. He has stopped gambling and now puts all of his energy into running. He runs every day and has competed in several marathons and competitions, though he swears he will not bet on the results.

He said, "My life is lot better compared to my gambling days. My family are doing great but financially I'm still recovering from my addiction."