The Modern Meeting

Larry K went to his first Gamblers Anonymous meeting at 16 years old in 1973 — not because he was ready, but because his grandmother paid him $100 to go. What followed was 53 years of compulsive gambling, multiple relapses, four marriages, and a stint trading $30 million in stock market options while convincing himself it wasn't gambling. This is not a straight line recovery story. It's something far more honest than that. Larry breaks down the difference between abstinence and real recovery, why the obsession never truly goes away, and what finally brought him back to the GA meeting he started himself over 30 years ago — on a Friday the 13th at a Denny's in Mission Viejo.

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
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This week we're getting specific. After pleading my case on the importance of lived experience stories, I tell five stories from my gambling that I've either never mentioned on this podcast or have only glossed over. From the debt collection calls that started waking me up every morning, to the manic thoughts during a slot session, to the elaborate lie I told my parents during my final bailout.  This is what twenty years of compulsive gambling actually looked like up close. 

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
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Mandy S hadn't placed a bet in 917 days when she sat down for this conversation with Adam. She wasn't a sports bettor or a casino gambler. What kept her gambling for many years was scratch tickets. She hid her addiction in plain sight. She didn't need the casinos or to sneak away on her phone. All she needed was a convenience store, gas station, or grocery store.

What followed were years she couldn't have predicted. Gambling through IVF, a marriage that almost didn't survive, and three relapses, before she finally surrendered and dove into recovery.  

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
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I was supposed to release this episode on Friday. Instead, I didn't start recording until Sunday night. Four years into recovery, the "f**k it phase" is still very much a part of my life. The procrastination, the putting things off, the feeling that nothing bad is actually going to happen...it didn't disappear when I stopped gambling. It just found new places to live. This week, my higher power sent a message in the form of a pickleball injury that I hope gets me back on the right track. 

I also recap the Midwest trip, my complicated feelings about Episode 100's performance, why I'm done caring about likes and downloads, and why lived experience will always connect differently than a degree — no matter what anyone in the comment section thinks.

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
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If your child has a gambling problem, where do you even start?

That's the question Kim Freudenberg and Linda Uphoff couldn't answer when they needed it most. Kim's son Kurt started gambling at age 11 — on video game skins and offshore casino sites — and the family didn't find out for eight years. Linda's son developed a sports betting addiction after college, and by the time she recognized the signs, his savings were gone and he was dipping into his 401k. Both women searched desperately for help and found almost nothing.

So they built it themselves.

In this episode of The Modern Meeting, Kim and Linda join Adam to talk about Parents Standing Together — the nonprofit peer support organization they founded for families navigating youth and young adult gambling harm. They share their own stories, the mistakes they made, what they wish they'd known, and what they're building so no other parent has to figure this out alone at 2am.

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
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Episode 100 of The Modern Meeting.

This is a chronological look back at the first 99 episodes — clips that show how the conversations and perspectives have evolved over time. Different voices, different experiences, but all centered around addiction, recovery, and growth. If you’ve been listening, you’ll recognize some of these moments. If you’re new, this is a good snapshot of what this podcast is about. 

Grateful for everyone who’s been part of it so far.

We’ll see you on the other side.

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
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In Part 2, Louis Ruggiero picks up where he left off - sober from drugs and alcohol but deeper in his gambling addiction than ever. From betting $40,000 on UFC fights to losing $600,000 on a sports betting app in months, Louis reveals how compulsive gambling brought him to the brink of suicide while his fiancée was postpartum and his newborn son was in the next room. He shares the phone call on the corner of 48th and Madison that changed everything, how Gamblers Anonymous saved his life, and why after everything - the drugs, the alcohol, the arrests - it was gambling that truly took his soul. 

Content Warning:

This episode contains discussions of suicide and mental health, which may be distressing for some listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling, please consider seeking support. Help is available. In the U.S., you can contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 — available 24/7.

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
Email me anytime at [email protected]

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Louis Ruggiero grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Private school. Three sports. By most measures, he had every advantage. At 14 — he turned $200 into $9,000 at a blackjack table in the Bahamas and lost every penny before checkout. By 21 he had a bookie, three felonies, and was stealing checks from a friend to stay in action and fund his other addictions. 

This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Louis walks us through the early years — the entitlement, the structure that kept him together in high school and collapsed the moment he left for college, and the first real consequences that came when charm and a well-connected family couldn't bail him out anymore. 

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
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Oklahoma was the last place I ever gambled in a casino. WinStar. January 31st, 2022. This is my first time back.

We cover a lot of ground this week — bad flights, great food, a statewide conference on problem gambling, and a number that stopped me in my tracks: 143 casinos in a state of 4 million people. What does that landscape mean for people trying to get out? And is it ever a valid excuse?

We also celebrate Christina Cook — the person who changed the trajectory of my life — as she marks five years away from a bet.

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
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Adam sits down with Meagan Dunham, a licensed master social worker and Gambling Program Monitor for Louisiana's Metropolitan Human Services District (MHSD) serving the Greater New Orleans area. Meagan didn't come to this work through lived experience — she came through public health. What she found when she arrived at gambling was familiar: a population going unseen and underserved. In this conversation she breaks down what gambling harm actually looks like on the ground in New Orleans, how MHSD reaches people who would never walk into a clinic, and the one pattern she's seen consistently in people who make it: small, manageable goals.

Metropolitan Human Service District: https://www.mhsdla.org/

New 24/7 MHSD Crisis Line - 844-568-6473

If you’re struggling right now, you’re not alone.
Email me anytime at [email protected]

The Modern Meeting is supported by Evive!

Evive meets you exactly where you are. 

Download Evive today or visit www.getevive.com