Blog-a-thon-a-rama-palooza

Blog-a-thon-a-rama-palooza!

So, to increase participation on the blog…we’re going to up the ante (pardon the expression) by offering incentives: after the third time you log in and post a comment, resource, etc. you’ll receive either a $5 Starbucks gift card, or a $5 coupon to another store of your choice (as long as it’s a statewide chain so we can get the coupons).

Need help loggin in?
Logging in to blogging in -- it's just like logging in to your email account and sending a message to a friend!

Need some help? Go up to the very, very top right hand corner of your screen (in the grey area that says, "Sign In."

Click "Sign In", and then hit the "New Blogger" button.
Your username is your FULL email address that you gave us when you signed up for blogging (e.g., amy.awesome@awesomeagency.org).

Once you're in, click "New post." Then go for it! Just like typing an email. Once you're done, click "Publish." Just like hitting send on your email! Voila.

YOU are an official gambling prevention blogger. Go for it!

Are you visual, or just need a little more help? Click here or send us an email!

KGW News story -- "Counselor: gambling ‘worst kind' of addiction"

KGW News, Portland March 27, 2007
By DREW MIKKELSEN kgw.com
"Counselor: gambling ‘worst kind' of addiction"

Article snippets:

“Problem gamblers are usually smart people with full-time jobs,” said Marcia Mattoso, an Addiction Counselor for Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare....

Portland Pastor Rex Loy said he took $30,000 in chuch funds to support his addiction. Loy told his congregation he is seeking counseling.
'That’s the best thing he could do,' said Mattoso, who claimed treatment is effective for 80 percent of gamblers who seek help. "

Full article: http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_032707_news_gambling_addiction.7e4a956.html

Oregonian Article: "Loans up the ante for gambling addicts"

Loans up the ante for gambling addicts
For people with a problem, the lure of quick

Saturday, March 17, 2007 BILL GRAVES
The Oregonian

Article snippets:

"Counselors say problem gamblers commonly turn to payday lenders, often after they've exhausted other sources of money.

Payday lenders offer gamblers ready cash with no questions. And they're convenient. With about 360 payday stores in Oregon, more than the number of McDonald's restaurants or Starbucks coffee shops, most gamblers don't have to go far to find money.

If payday lenders didn't exist, problem gamblers 'would hit bottom more quickly,' said Marcia Mattoso, a gambling counselor and outreach coordinator for Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, a Portland nonprofit that operates the state's largest gambling counseling service. Payday loans 'make gamblers' finances even worse than they were in the first place.'

Video lottery, the game of choice for most problem gamblers, sends broke players to payday lenders who in turn give gamblers more money to burn on video lottery.

During the past seven years, the number of payday loans in Oregon nearly tripled, to 841,000 a year; annual video lottery revenue increased by 82 percent, to $733 million; and the number of gamblers turning to counselors for help doubled, to 1,714..."

Full article: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/117411092498820.xml&coll=7

Seattle Times covers Oregon DHS news release

"Ore. study shows teen gambling tied to other risky behaviors"
Seattle Times
Printed Sunday, March 19, 2007 Associated Press

Click here to view the article.

OPGAW: Regional Problem Gambling News & Websites

News Stories:

Central Oregon's KZTV covers Awareness Week:

3/5/07: "Lottery ads target problem video gamblers"
http://www.ktvz.com/story.cfm?nav=news&storyID=18699
3/7/07: "Teen gamblers likely taking other risks" http://www.ktvz.com/story.cfm?nav=oregon&storyID=18726

Newport News-Times, 3/7/07: "Problem gambling awareness week observed"
http://newportnewstimes.com:80/articles/2007/03/07/news/news14.txt


Ontario's Argus Observer, 3/7/07: "Gambling awareness week kicks off"

http://www.argusobserver.com/articles/2007/03/07/news/news07.txt
Below: "Andrea Lockner (front) talks about the impact of gambling addiction while Nan Moss (behind Lockner) looks on. Lockner and Moss were on hand at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce session Monday to give a presentation regarding gambling addiction in Oregon. "(Photo source: Beckey Arnold , Argus Observer)


Regional PGS News Releases:
Lane County: "Local Transit Buses to Feature Youth-Created Posters That Raise Awareness of Problem Gambling"
http://www.lanecounty.org/News/News_2007/Release_29408.htm

Regional OPGAW Web Pages:
Yamhill County Prevention Council has a new blog and a post about the Oregon problem gambling help line.
http://yamhillcountypreventioncouncil.blogspot.com/2007/02/24-hour-problem-gambling-help-line-877.html

Lane County Problem Gambling Prevention Program offers a website on local OPGAW activities.
http://www.lanecounty.org/prevention/gambling/opgaw.htm

More news or updates? Let us know!

News release: New data show correlation between teen gambling, other risk behaviors

DHS news release
March 7, 2007

Contact: Ann Snyder, 503-945-5922
Program contact: Jeff Marotta, 503-945-9709

Source: http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/news/2007news/2007-0307.shtml

New correlations from the 2006 Oregon Healthy Teens Survey indicate eighth- and 11th-grade students who gamble also are more likely to be involved in other risky behaviors.

“The data are startling, showing students who gamble are more likely to have had sexual intercourse, consumed alcohol, carried a handgun, been in a fight or attacked someone with an intent to hurt them seriously,” said Jeff Marotta, problem gambling services manager in the Oregon Department of Human Services.

Marotta said the data bolster plans to produce a seven-minute video, expected to be available in April, that will be distributed free to schools, boys and girls clubs, faith organizations, and other sites to encourage youth discussions of problem gambling. The video will feature Oregon middle school students talking about gambling, and will be accompanied by activity and discussion guides.

“The video will focus discussion that will help teenagers understand how to avoid getting into trouble with gambling,” Marotta said.

These were among the correlations in the survey data:

• Sexual intercourse: Eighth-grade gamblers were nearly twice as likely to have had sex as non-gamblers. The difference for 11th-grade gamblers was approximately 25 percent.
• Handguns: Gamblers at both grade levels were three times as likely to have carried a handgun as non-gamblers.
• Physical fights: Eighth-grade gamblers were more than three times as likely to have been in a fight during the prior 12 months, while 11th-graders were more than twice as likely to have been in fights.
• Attacks: Gamblers at both grade levels were nearly three times as likely as non-gamblers to have attacked someone during the prior 12 months with an intent to seriously hurt the individual.
• Alcohol: Eighth-grader gamblers were nearly twice as likely to have consumed alcohol and 11th-graders about a third more likely than non-gamblers.
  

“This isn’t a cause-and-effect relationship,” Marotta said. “Gambling doesn’t cause these other behaviors. But gambling should be a signal to parents that they ought to be talking to teens about risky behaviors including gambling.

Parents and schools both warn about such things as tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, and too often gambling is viewed as a healthy alternative. That isn’t necessarily so.”

In focus groups conducted by Multnomah County and the private nonprofit Oregon Partnership, Marotta noted, a majority of participating teens said they gamble. In contrast, parents, when asked what their kids do for fun, didn’t even mention gambling until they were prompted. Teens said the winner of a weekend poker tournament could take home winnings of as much as $500.

The DHS problem gambling services program, which also offers free treatment, is financed by 1 percent of Oregon Lottery revenues and is among DHS services to prevent and treat addictions. People interested in more information about problem gambling treatment may call toll free 1-877-2-STOP-NOW (1-877-278-6766).

Oregon Problem Gambling Awareness Week is now!

From: Wendy HAUSOTTER [mailto:Wendy.Hausotter@state.or.us]
Sent: Mon 3/5/2007 2:54 PM
To: Oregon PGS Mailing List
Subject: OPGAW is upon us!

First, thanks for your efforts on Oregon PGAW....we hope your plans for this week will go smoothly! Coordinating awareness activities is really an ongoing effort, so we hope that the OPGAW information and resources will serve you throughout the year. As always, don't hesitate to ask if you need more help or support along the way!

By now you should have received the OPGAW '07 resource guide, both as a CD and hard copy. If you did not receive one, let me know and in the meantime you can go to our website and find it at:
http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/addiction/gambling.shtml#aware

The first of two press releases on problem gambling went out today; here is a link to the first one, which features the new moderation messages from the Lottery: http://egov.oregon.gov/DHS/news/2007news/2007-0305.shtml

The next press release will highlight the Oregon Healthy Teens data on gambling and we'll let you know as soon as that one goes out.

Thanks for all you do!!


Wendy Hausotter
Public Health and Prevention Coordinator
Addictions and Mental Health Division (AMH)
Problem Gambling Services

PGS Presentation: Problem Gambling Overview

Need a presentation that sums up the issue of problem gambling in Oregon?

Try Oregon Problem Gambling Services' new PowerPoint presentation. While there, if you have Windows you can "Save As..." to have your own spiffy presentation wherever you go.