That was me exactly!!
Especially this quote:
"Sometimes I won of course, but most of the times ended up losing thousands".
Here is a bit of incentive for you.
I tried to quit for years. It even ruined my marriage and I still didn't quit.
I finally scaped together (increased my credit card limit
) enough go visit my family in Europe. The flight was Europe via Bangkok so I thought since I have never been overseas before, I may as well stop over for a week in Thailand on my way back and see a different culture. I found Pattaya on the net and have never looked back. In the past 2.5 years I have had 4 trips to Thailand, paid off $23,000 worth of personal debt, and have $21,000 in my savings account. As well as Pattaya, my trips have included Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin and Bangkok. Also Phnom Phen and Siam Reap (Angkor Wat) in Cambodia, i'm not a very spiritual person but I recommend putting Angkor on your bucket list. My next trip is already booked, Thailand as usual with a side trip to the Philippines.
Apart from cheap pussy, the best thing for gamblers about Thailand is that gambling is illegal. Sure there are mafia run gambling dens but i'm not sure what would happen if as a foreigner you actually won, so i'm not tempted to go there.
That was the weird thing I noticed as the gambling got worse over the years. Early on, if I won $200-300, id go home. That ended up blowing out to I wouldn't go home until I won a grand. Unfortunately i'd lose 2-3k trying to get that 1k. You always seem to walk in, win a couple of hundred $ but its never enough. Then you lose it all.
One more tip that a counsellor told me that has helped a lot.
Don't stop gambling and try to save every cent you earn, you'll get pissed off and relapse in a big way.
Do stuff!! Instead of wasting $1000 gambling, go for a punt, buy a surfboard, buy a guitar, take your mum to dinner, go on a holiday every 6 months!!
All these things are cheaper than losing a couple of grand every fortnight. So you get experiences and memories that are much more enjoyable for a fraction of the cost, and you get more incentive not to gamble.
Sorry for the rant but this topic struck a chord with me