Organizations: Gamblers Anonymous

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Fertile Ground. Founded in 1957 by Los Angeles Plungers Jim and Sam, who discovered that they could stop their gambling by talking about their past experiences, G.A. has only one requirement for membership: a desire to stop gambling. The society defines the compulsive gambler as one who would affirmatively answer 7 of 20 basic questions. Examples: "Does gambling make you careless of the welfare of your family?" "Do you ever gamble to get money to pay debts?" "After a win, do you have a strong urge to return and win more?" "Does gambling cause you to have difficulty sleeping?"

The most active G.A. chapters are in areas where gambling is legal and race tracks abound; Los Angeles has six G.A. chapters. New York four. Most fertile city for prospective G.A. members is Las Vegas. The casino managers are unconcerned about the inroads the organization might make; none has ever been known to refer a steady loser to the local G.A. chapter. "G.A.'s a stupid organization," says one Vegasite. "Imagine being against gambling in this town." But Onetime Big

Loser Fred is against it with a will. Urged to leave Las Vegas because of the readily available temptations, Fred has refused, instead founded the local chapter of G.A., and last week marked his 21st consecutive month without placing a bet.