One local woman fought her addiction to video lottery terminals and won, only to find that she had a much bigger and more important battle ahead of her.
Gisele Jubinville made her first million dollars by selling her patented invention for better fitting bed sheet corners. That was 1993.
By 2009, she had gambled away $400,000 of it to VLTs and slot machines. Her addiction had consumed her life and most of her bank account with it. She nearly lost her marriage. This is an all-too-common story that rarely ends well.
She readily admits that she fell into a psychological trap but somehow she was able to pull herself out of it. She’s still married and still has her life on track, but she always had that nagging question in the back of her head: how did it all happen?
By exploring the issue, she came upon a few realizations. The most startling one was that the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission changed its reporting standards in 1999. Before that, the government-run body clearly stated in its annual financial documents how much money went into the machines and how much money was paid out.
Now, things aren’t so clear and Jubinville didn’t get any easy answers. Dismissed tells the tale of how she went from rock bottom to crusader in just a few years and it seems like her momentum is building. All she wants is to get at the truth and to get people to wake up to that truth.
“What I hope the most is that readers become aware. Nobody knows anything about these machines. We’re never told anything.”
It’s a fairly decent book that should serve its purpose as a huge red flag that something has to change before more lives are ruined by this disease. Her story, while tragic, is not uncommon. It does feel like she needs to keep writing updates every few years or new editions to her life story to give the reading public an idea of how she still fights her addiction or at least to further delve into her political battles.
She mentioned the book also serves to provide a light at the end of the tunnel for those still fighting to beat VLTs and their families.
Jubinville likened the government’s hype and promotion of these gambling machines to tobacco manufacturers’ claims that cigarettes were healthy 40 or 50 years ago.
In doing all of this, she has found some strong allies in MLAs Hugh MacDonald and Ken Allred, the latter even going so far as to propel the matter further. At the end of November, he took the issue to the legislature, questioning whether the AGLC is open and accountable to the accuracy of its statistics and reporting about VLTs.
Both MLAs will be in attendance at the book launch and will also say a few words about Jubinville and her dedication to this important social issue.
The launch takes place on Sunday, Feb. 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the St. Albert United Church, 20 Green Grove Drive.
Review
Dismissed: How One Woman's Intuition Ended Her Addiction and Exposed a Government Cover-Up<br />By Gisele Jubinville, with Dana da Ponte<br />ADIGI Books: www.adigibooks.com<br />222 pages<br />$19.95
