Sam Favata was a professional baseball player with a promising career — until a devastating injury changed everything. What followed was a gambling addiction so severe it spiraled into a $32 million Ponzi scheme, more than $10 million in gambling debts, and 33 months in federal prison.

🔔 Real stories. Raw comebacks. Nothing's off the table.

I sit down with people who've faced it all: addiction, loss, redemption—and came out stronger. These are unfiltered conversations about resilience, recovery, and finding purpose again.

🎙️ Hosted by Louis Ruggiero


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🤝 Proudly Sponsored by Right Choice Recovery


If you or someone you love is struggling with gambling, drugs, alcohol, or addiction, please reach out. Louis personally recommends Right Choice Recovery, a team that genuinely cares and treats every client like family. They provide compassionate, individualized support and can help connect people with the resources they need to begin their recovery journey.

Learn More:

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☎️ Contact: (732) 808-2725

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Nothing's Off The Table is proud to partner with Lucy, makers of premium nicotine pouches. Use promo code LOUIS for 20% off your first order.

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About the Show

Hosted by Louis Ruggiero, a restaurateur, entrepreneur, and advocate for recovery, Nothing's Off The Table is where real people share their real stories. From battling addiction to overcoming life's toughest challenges, Louis and his guests uncover the moments that spark change and fuel unstoppable comebacks. Expect raw honesty, deep insights, and stories that hit home.

Meet Louis

Louis Ruggiero turned his life around after years of struggling with addiction, gambling, and substance abuse. Now, he's on a mission to amplify voices—from celebrities to everyday survivors—sharing their journeys of grit, growth, and healing.

#AddictionRecovery #WeDoRecover #NothingsOffTheTable #LouisRuggiero #RecoverOutLoud #ComebackStories #RecoveryIsPossible #MentalHealthAwareness #RecoveryCommunity #RightChoiceRecovery

Disclaimer: The stories and views shared on Nothing's Off The Table are personal experiences and not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult qualified professionals for guidance on personal matters.

Copyright: © Nothing's Off The Table with Louis Ruggiero. All rights reserved. Feel free to share or embed episodes with proper credit and a link to our official pages.

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At 30 years old, Adriana was in a coma with liver failure and cirrhosis. Doctors read her last rites and her family signed a DNR. She survived — then went back to drinking anyway.

🔔 Real stories. Raw comebacks. Nothing’s off the table.

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Cormac is an Irish-born fitness coach, model, and former Love Island USA cast member — and he's now nearly four years sober. In this raw, no-holds-barred episode of Nothing's Off, he sits down to share the full story behind the highlight reel.

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Adam Joseph spent over a decade as a compulsive gambler — losing $5,000 to $10,000 a week, blowing $20,000 in a single 15-minute blackjack session, and hiding it all from his wife for the first 10–12 years of their marriage. To everyone around him, Adam was the responsible one: a business owner, a baseball coach, active in his church, a devoted family man. Nobody suspected that "Adam's dirty little secret" was quietly gambling away a fortune.

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"He shot me up with heroin for the first time" — and that single moment sent Lauren G. into a years-long battle with addiction that nearly cost her an arm, a foot, and her life.

🔔 Real stories. Raw comebacks. Nothing’s off the table.

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He placed his first bet at 11 years old. By 21, he'd stolen wallets, done jail time, and burned through everything chasing the next bet on underage crypto casinos.

In this episode of Nothing's Off The Table, I sit down with Kurt F. — a former compulsive gambler now in recovery — to talk about the dark reality of youth gambling addiction in the age of sports betting apps, loot boxes, and 24/7 access casinos in your pocket. 

We get into: 

- How a kid gets hooked on gambling at 11 years old 

- Underage gambling through crypto casinos 

- Stealing to fund the addiction and the jail time that followed 

- Why losing can feel just as addictive as winning 

- The stigma of being a compulsive gambler vs. a drug addict or alcoholic 

- How loot boxes & video games are grooming the next generation of gamblers 

- What finally made him surrender — and how he got into recovery 

- His best advice for anyone still sick and suffering 

This is one of the most raw, honest conversations we've had about gambling addiction and recovery. If you or someone you love is struggling, this episode is for you. Kurt is now pursuing his master's to become a counselor and help other compulsive gamblers.

🔔 Real stories. Raw comebacks. Nothing’s off the table.

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For 16 years, Jessie thought she was the exception — that she was too smart to overdose, that the heroin, the chaos, and the dangerous people would never actually catch up to her. Then one overdose changed everything.

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Lamar Odom sits down for one of the most raw, honest conversations we've ever had on Nothing's Off The Table.

Two-time NBA champion. Sixth Man of the Year. Played alongside Kobe Bryant. Married into the most famous family on earth. And then — 12 strokes, 6 heart attacks, and a coma that nearly ended it all at the Bunny Ranch in 2015.

In this unforgettable episode, Lamar opens up about growing up around addiction, losing his mother and his infant son, the spotlight of the Lakers and the Kardashians, the truth about his marriage to Khloé, the night he overdosed, waking up unable to walk or talk, and the long road back to recovery. He shares why he's clean today, the plant medicine helping him heal, his thoughts on the gambling crisis in sports, and the message of hope he wants every struggling addict to hear.

This is a story about how far addiction can take you — and proof that it doesn't have to end there. Recovery is possible. Change is possible. If he made it out, so can you.

🔔 Real stories. Raw comebacks. Nothing’s off the table.

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A 0.47 blood alcohol content. Five rehabs. Three kids coming home from school to find their mother passed out. In this episode of Nothing's Off The Table, Anne— a mom from Michigan, now 7 years sober — shares the raw, unfiltered story of how alcoholism nearly killed her, and the single moment that finally broke through.

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Anthony Natoli was 12 years old when he placed his first bet. By his late 20s he was living a "perfect" six-figure tech sales life in San Francisco — while secretly drowning in over $100K of gambling debt, 60 pounds overweight, a credit score in the 400s, and standing at the edge of the Golden Gate Bridge.

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