First Person with Wayne Shepherd

First Person: Rob Walgate

Starting as a teenager, Rob Walgate fell prey to a gambling addiction that threatened to destroy his life. Once he met Jesus Christ, his life has seen a dramatic turnaround. Rob now works with The American Policy Roundtable to halt the expansion of gambling. Send your support for FIRST PERSON to the Far East Broadcasting Company: FEBC National Processing Center Far East Broadcasting Company P.O. Box 6020 Albert Lea, MN 56007 Please mention FIRST PERSON when you give. Thank you!

Duration:: 23m
Broadcast on:: 22 Oct 2010
Audio Format:: other

Send your support for FIRST PERSON to the Far East Broadcasting Company:
FEBC National Processing Center
Far East Broadcasting Company
P.O. Box 6020
Albert Lea, MN 56007

Please mention FIRST PERSON when you give. Thank you!

I have been game world in over 10 years and every day it's a struggle and I'm thankful that God keeps it real in my life Because I think of for one minute. I thought yeah, I could play poker here I could go to the track and I could handle it this time. I would be in that same mess Welcome to first person. I'm Wayne Shepard very glad you could join us for this conversation as we talk with our guest today Rob Walgate first person is designed to give us a chance to hear people's stories for the purpose of seeing how God works in our lives Just before we get to today's conversation though Let me point you to our website which has additional links and information as well as an archive of our complete program and web extras You'll find us online at first person interview calm There, you'll also be able to view the calendar of past and future guests and topics again first person interview Dot-com and by the way, you can also reach us with the email address which you'll find there on the website Our guest today is a young man who loves the Lord I first met Rob about four years ago while working with a radio program the public square He now has a beautiful wife and child But just a few short years ago life wasn't all that positive as a teenager Rob became addicted to gambling serious gambling Well, he appeared to be a sharp young man who had it all together He was really dying on the inside staggering under a load of debt that kept getting worse and worse You'll hear Rob tell his own story of how God finally got ahold of his life and turned things around today Rob is vice president of the American policy roundtable and a part of that assignment means that he fights the expansion of gambling in this country Both on a professional and a personal level Rob is passionate about helping others escape the trap He himself was once caught in Recently Rob and I sat down in the APR Cleveland, Ohio studios and I asked him to tell me when the gambling started in his life Well for me it began at a young age. I was probably 12 or 13 years old and What we would do is we would play games in a neighborhood What was deemed as harmless entertainment nickel dime quarter poker, you know, we would flip quarters We would play the popular game in the neighborhood at the time and my garage or another buddy Garage was AC deucey and that was a match the pot game. We'd use all our change and You know, it was something that our parents knew What we were doing and what we were? Was going on even as we got to be a little bit older and I think if you had asked my mom about it She would probably tell you that It was her kids in the neighborhood kids and she knew what was going on It was better that we were in her basement or her garage doing something rather than being out drinking and smoking and doing drugs And she knew where we were and what we were doing. So it seemed harmless. It seemed very harmless and you know what Wayne for? Almost all the kids that were involved in playing it was harmless, but for one it wasn't When did you know that hey, there's something here that I really like? I like the rush I get her. What are the feeling this? I've always been a competitive person I've always been involved in athletics. I've loved to Study the games whether it be basketball baseball or football Golf I always love that angle and always loved Thinking that you could have that maybe mental or psychological edge over someone and When I gambled one of the first times when I wagered on Horses I saw that come out in me maybe a little bit more than what I had imagined I saw you know the analyzing of the racing form and looking around and trying to outsmart Everybody else that was in the paddock area that day or that was in the grandstand I mean, that's what I did and how old were you and that happened? I was I was young I was 18 I was 18 when I made my first trip to the racetrack and the racetrack that I grew up close to It was 17 minutes from my house I knew I knew how long it was gonna take me to get from driveway to the bedding window if I caught all the lights and didn't have to stop that many times it stopped signs it was close to home and I spent I spent a lot of time there and the one thing about that is the legal side of gambling Basically introduced me to the illegal side of gambling. Where'd you get the money a lot of different places being a compulsive gambler I? Lied I stole I cheated I did whatever I could to find a way to finance that I can remember One time saving up and buying a leather jacket when I was probably 19 or 20 years old And I remember I had to turn around and sell that jacket to a buddy about a month and a half later To get money so that I could go gamble because that's what I wanted to do so I always some cash Yeah, I always had an angle a way to do it at one point I was working for a bookie and made a lot of money answering phones in a trailer on Friday Saturdays and Sundays during football season and Thursday evenings Monday nights things like that So and I always had a story. I always had a lie. I always told my parents I would be one place I was somewhere different because at this point I was still living at home with them You were living a lot when did you cross the line from as you say legal to illegal? Well, you know Looking back on it. I crossed the line early. I guess I gambled an accelerated pace You know, I went away to college to play basketball my freshman year and I quit the team before even really started practice or tryout And I had all these excuses and reasons why I went on to fail out of that school I moved back home and I failed out of two more colleges and you know I was never one that got bad grades or got in trouble in high school So that was kind of a shock for most and what was going on? I mean, what why were you failing gambling just totally consumed my life if I wasn't In the sports page trying to study angles and what was going on. I was at the race track I was looking for a card game I was doing whatever I could and that was consuming my life I was it helped me escape reality in reality was I was entering college I was having to work hard and I had a future ahead of me and I Just refused to face those things so I turned to other avenues and outlets and gambling was the major avenue and outlet that I turned to Living a life of deception like that. Is that unusual? Do you see other young people who are susceptible to what you went through? Unfortunately, I do the reason why gambling is such a painful and hard addiction to to really Wrap yourself around and understand one of the reasons is it's limitless Limitless I mean that financially limitless when someone has to hit rock bottom for a gambling addiction Usually they've exhausted every avenue possible of obtaining money. That's through cash advance and credit cards. That's for them using Equity lines of credit maybe against their home or other forms of assets that they have so so it really can cause you to live That line because no one sees you high. No one sees you drunk You're kind of buried all the emotion on the inside. How deep and dead did you get? Oh, well, we I tried to calculate it one day Between I would say over a hundred thousand dollars that I wager to wait a minute. How old are you at this point? Well, I I gambled from the time You know, I was a teenager it got really bad from the time I was 18 to the time I was 23 and when I say that amount of money I'm calculating in I was taking out student loans at one point to go to college and I'm paying on student loans to this day From times that I from schools that I failed out of I'm still paying for decisions I made years and years ago. How did you keep it hidden or did you keep it hidden? Well, there were a lot of ways Um, I kept it hidden a lot of people would tell me when they would see me at the track I was a frequent visitor at the track and a lot of people would see me there and they would say, you know, I see you're all the time and Being a gambler. I was the king of manipulation I was a great liar and and you know had a lot of deceit in my system and I would look at them square in the face And I would say every time you see me here you are here so do I have the problem or do you have the problem because for you to see me here you have to be here so you and I would always have a way of turning it around on other people and making it their problem, their the reason You know, I lied to my parents a lot about where I was and where I would be and they trusted me And I was in my early 20s. So they I had freedom. It's not like, you know, they had a GPS system tracking me so I had a lot of freedom to do whatever I wanted and I Just ran with it. Did family ever confront you? Oh one time in Let's see. It would have been 98 or 99. I share the same name as my father and I bounced a check for roughly two thousand dollars in his name and part of that money was used to pay back a gambling debt but also to finance a purchase of a racehorse side that I had made and We laugh about it now, but it's the time it was anything but funny and That was in 98 or 99 in my parents wanted me then to go get counseling So I agreed to go get counseling. I grew up in a small town where everybody knows everything that happens, you know people the motto is What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas the motto is in my town. What happens in my town? Everybody knows about in five minutes So I didn't go see a counselor that was in town. I went and saw one about 35 minutes away and I would go see that counselor and he was not trained in the area of Gambling addiction he was trained in addiction, but he didn't really understand No one has a grasp of what gamblers think how they act their behavior patterns So my parents went with me the first couple times then after that I would go by myself and I would just snowball that guy I mean I would tell him whatever he wanted to hear whenever he wanted to hear it I would lie to him to his face and what was interesting is on I would go during the day My parents work during the day and I would go during the day and then on my way home I would set it up so that I could stop at the racetrack when they had afternoon post times So that I could hit all the horse races and I would leave the track in just enough time to beat mom and dad home from work And they would get home from work And I was supposed to be doing school work and all this other stuff and they would say you know How was the counseling session today and if I had a good day at the track I had a great day at counseling and if I had a bad day at the track I had a bad day at counseling so They can front of me and wanted me to do it, but for someone that's never had the problem the gambling problem they they really Don't understand even in the counseling world unless they've experienced people who have That type of problem. It's it's really a tough one to get ahold of We'll hear more from Rob Walgate including how he found freedom coming up on today's edition of first person Lookin ahead to next week We'll talk with a man who has made dozens of trips to Cuba and loves helping the church there I just sense that the the next greatest awakening was gonna happen in Cuba And I sense God calling me there to come alongside the National Church and bless what God was blessing That was something I couldn't not do and that's why I continue to do that and fulfill that calling today Darryl Wright talks about helping the church in communist Cuba next week on first person I'm Wayne Shepherd. Thanks for tuning in to first person today My guest is Rob Walgate a one-time gambling addict even as a teenager Let's pick up the conversation when I asked Rob if gambling is as innocent and victimless as some say it is Well, it's not victimless, you know, I was there's many times that I spent hours and casinos and I Knew that people were making decisions in those casinos that were gonna affect many people and many times the people they were affecting were young People whether it be their children or other dependents they needed to take care of I can remember walking into a casino One time and seeing kids locked in a car at that point in my life I thought nothing of it at the height of your gambling addiction you're in your early 20s early 20s any thought of God or Jesus in your life or faith of any kind of I Grew up in a family the one the church doors were open. We were inside the church The church that I grew up in from the time I was my parents still go to the same church to this day is the church they went to the day I was born and When I was a young kid up to the age of 12 or 13 It was about a block away from the house that we lived in so we were I was there all the time and I Knew what it meant, and I knew the right words to say and I knew the way to act I remember I was the good kid. I did not drink smoke do drugs any of that and so on the surface everything And but remember gambling then open the door to alcohol and drugs and all those other things because gambling helped me escape Reality and then alcohol and drugs helped me escape gambling But my mom was constantly preaching to me and it absolutely drove me I would say insane at times and I was just a rebellious and bitter and you know I wanted to put God in a box on the shelf and say hey when I need you Will you come spend a little time with me? And I don't need you most of the time when I'm having fun So stay inside that box when did the spiritual breakthrough come or or did it come once or did it comes have to come several Times before it really connected with you at the end of March in 2000 I had lost roughly $23,000 in a five-day period. It was a very rough time. I was depressed. I had just failed out of my third college that I had attended and I Decided that I was going to check myself into a rehab facility And I found one on the internet in Baltimore, Maryland So I was checking myself in and what had hit me Wayne is the fact that that it was how I was going to die I didn't know if I was going to die the following week the following year or 50 years from then But I knew I was going to die a gambler I knew I was gonna die alone because I'd isolated myself from everyone and broke And very miserable because I was not a happy person you were at the end. I was I mean I was at the bottom. I was at the bottom and my mom had harped on me many times To read the Bible and ask God for help and my dad had done the same But you know it kind of as young men in our lives our moms have that way of moms do have that way Yeah, they do so she would always get on me about reading the Bible and getting right with the Lord and asking God for help and You know, I just shut it out. So One day I told her I said mom I don't read the Bible or anything it was written a long time ago It was originally written in Greek and you know, I don't understand the words and blah blah blah blah and she left my room and left me alone I was like, wow, that's kind of interesting. I should thought of that sooner So the next day she showed up with a Bible with every verse broken down, you know It talks about it. It's original context that she said try this so that's so fast And that was a few months before I'd made the decision to go To rehab and when I had made that decision to go to rehab I Was packing my clothes. It was gonna be roughly four and a half five hour drive from where I lived and that Bible was still on my TV And it had dust on it because I had never cracked it since she'd given it to me and I was packing and I thought, you know, this sure can't hurt So I grabbed it. I put it I put it in my back and I went to the rehab facility in Baltimore, Maryland And when I got there it was a residential place. I was Three other patients I made the fourth one I got there I was packed and all these people were there and my mom if you would ask her she would tell you her prayer was That God would send people to talk to me and people to put in my life and what was interesting was After I was there one week two of the people that were there left another with all three of them really left And the majority of counselors at the facility all came down and got sick So there I was on the east side of Baltimore all alone away from home in a facility. So during that time When everyone was sick and I had no one to talk to Is when I got out the Bible and I started reading it and I started asking God for help And I didn't tell anyone about that but again, I was like, you know, it sure can't hurt The following week I had decided that I was done with the rehab facility process I'd had enough I was fine. I needed to go home and I wanted to go home. You proclaimed yourself healed I did I did and everyone there said you're not ready to go home They told me not to go and I said I don't care what you say. I can run my own life. I had friends. I wanted to see I had A girl or two maybe that I wanted to go home and see and I said I'm going home so I left and I went home and That would have been in the middle of April of 2000 and for a few weeks. I'd lived my life and Ran around I didn't gamble again but I Did some of the same things that I was doing before and I wasn't living my life the way I should have been living my life I was under very heavy conviction. Were you frightened by that? I was frightened by a lot of things. I was frightened by the fact that maybe I couldn't do this on my own I was frightened that maybe I did need some help You know, I'd been an independent person my whole life and I got myself into this mess and I figured I've got myself into this mess Let me get myself out of this mess. I can do it alone. I Went to church on Sunday April 30th 2000 and I went to church mainly as always because I lived under my parents roof And the rule was when I lived there I go to church on Sunday morning I didn't like the rule and my dad told me that's fine. There's an easy way to fix the rule move out of my house And I went to church and a young man was there named Cameron Mills he was a former basketball player at the University of Kentucky and He gave his testimony and shared that morning and preached he has a ministry and the first thing I did when I saw Cameron Mills Was I looked at his hands because I wanted to see the rings I knew he was on two national championship teams at the University of Kentucky. I gambled on the games for crying out loud I knew what was going on He didn't have any rings on that day and I thought wow, that's kind of weird and then a sermon that morning He talked about the rings and he said, you know a lot of places. I go people ask me Where are your rings? And he said I think I know what drew there into my house But as the Lord tells us those are material possessions that connect collect dust And they will not get me through the gates of heaven the only thing that will get me through the gates of heaven Are the blood of Jesus Christ and confessing my sin stone and saying that he is Lord and at that moment I Knew what I had to do and it couldn't be a game anymore. It had to be I Had to give my life and all of it. I couldn't put God in a box on the shelf I Couldn't ask for help when Rob needed help. I had to live my life and it's still a struggle to this day To live it the way I should every day But I knew that's what I had to do and when I went forward that Sunday morning I'd think about My parents and all the people in that church that had prayed for me for so Because It was something that I don't think anyone expected If you would ask anyone in that town for the time I was 16 17 years old no one would have ever dreamed That I would have found the trouble that I've found or lived the nightmare of the life that I lived um But I thank God Did I did live that way? Because had I not experienced those hardships had I not lived that difficult lifestyle? I may have coached them by and thought I could do it all on my own and I would never have needed him And I think that's what scares me more than anything Rob as you look back now and all that pain and that That rescue on the part of God of your life Are you grateful for what you went through? I thank God for it You know Some people ask about it all the time. They they I haven't gambled since In in over ten years and people ask all the time is in a struggle every day. It's a struggle Do I live my life perfectly now? No, I don't live my life perfectly I fall short just like everybody else falls short and I try not to make those same mistakes again But I'm thankful I went through those hardships and I'm thankful that God keeps it real in my life Because I think of for one minute. I thought yeah, I could play poker here I could go to the track and I could handle it this time. I would be in that same mess. I'm blessed with an amazing family a wife a child that I hold dearly and that love me unconditionally a Brother and you know my parents there's so many people and friends that have been involved that you're not about to put that at risk No, no, I'm not for your own soul or my own soul. You know God has He's blessed me in so many ways and again. I know I fall short I know I do things that I'm not supposed to but you know when it comes to that I Just want to make sure Whenever I get tempted and think about it. I do a lot of praying I do do a lot of praying Regarding that but when I get tempted and think about it. I think about some of the lowest lows You know I think I mean I skipped family members funerals. I skipped the holidays There's so many things that I missed out on Because an addiction controlled my life and whenever I get tempted I think of those things because I never want to have that feeling on the inside again Rob Walgate our guest today here on First-person even I didn't know everything we heard from Rob today and how grateful I am to have friends Like Rob who are not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of salvation to all who believe stories like Rob's or why We have this radio program If you'd like to know more about Rob his testimony and his work at the American policy round table Please visit our website first-person interview calm One thing which you'll find there online is another part of the conversation with Rob which we didn't have time to include on today's broadcast You can listen to it though at first person interview calm once again That's first person interview calm First person is a weekly conversation, but you can visit us online anytime or follow us via Facebook or Twitter Those links are also found on our web page first-person interview calm And if you have a suggestion for a guest to join us on first person, please contact us online at first person interview calm Next week, we'll talk with a Canadian friend of mine Darryl right who has guided me and others around Cuba a couple of times Darryl is committed to growing the church in communist Cuba It's an exciting story one. We don't know much about and he'll tell it next week. I hope you'll join us then With thanks to my friend and producer Joe Carlson, I'm Wayne Shepard join us next time for first person You You (upbeat music)