“It’s as bad as alcohol or heroin….they can’t stop themselves. In some ways, it’s even worse. People drink and do drugs to escape despair. Gambling has that element, too, but it also offers you the friendly hand of hope. You always got hope when you gamble. You always believe that you’re just one bet away from turning it all around. It’s a catch-twenty-two. If you got hope, you keep on gambling.”

Coben, Harlan. Fade Away: (Myron Bolitar Book 3) (p. 224). Kindle Edition.