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!