By Elliott West
“Gambling is a real illness. It is so addictive and destructive in its effects…and has an appalling effect on family and friends. The lying and the breaking of trust are too high a price to pay for these short moments of ecstasy”.
Willie Thorne
Introduction
Gambling is an addiction that is definitely a form of mental illness. It sucks in its victims giving them false hope of astronomical financial gains and spits them out when the chips are down and the losing betting slips are left torn up and discarded on the bookmakers’ floor. This is an addiction that can leave the gambler penniless, in vast amounts of debt, break up marriages, family units and in the most extreme circumstances, suicidal attempts or tragically suicide. A buzz that causes ultimate highs and lows as hard-earned cash turns into frivolous Monopoly money.
Seeing Pound Signs
There are countless examples of individuals in sport who have succumbed to the lure of gambling but for this piece, I wish to concentrate on the one that I know and love best, snooker. It is no secret that my friend, the late Willie Thorne had a gambling addiction. An addiction that was instrumental in ending his marriage to Jill Thorne and a suicide attempt in 2014 when he took a knife to his hotel room but was saved from demise when his wife rushed into the room. WT as we knew him was on desperation street, he had racked up over a million pounds in gambling debts. So extreme has been the pressure, Willie had written letters to his family, explaining his decision and one that was emotionally recalled in an interview with his then-wife Jill on the programme This Morning in 2015.
The Root Cause
So where did this gambling addiction come from? I knew Willie towards the end of his life and he never asked me for any money but I knew when he was terminally ill with Leukaemia that many doors were closed because people couldn’t forgive him for borrowing money. He was a lovely person but had a vice and in the end, it was a cyclone that he couldn’t escape. It all started when he was 15 years old and he discovered ‘the buzz’ as he called it, standing in a betting shop or race course, cheering on the horse that could make you a large sum of money. Decked out in a lined Crombie coat, WT was living the life and earning £300,000 a year in snooker. A sum that he was hellbent on matching on the racecourse.
However, this pipe dream was never going to come to fruition and Thorne took the frivolous route of betting on credit. A move that gave him false reassurance that the money wasn’t actually coming out of his wallet. This was a spiralling descent that caused him from being banned from racecourses, have to juggle his accounts and having to face the disgrace of bankruptcy. A situation that almost repeated itself when he owed the Inland Revenue £160,000, which had racked up in penalty charges due to Thorne ignoring the reminder letters.
This was an addiction that had Willie Thorne shackled to its purpose. His hidden lifestyle overpowered him and at one stage he woke up in hospital after downing 30 sleeping tablets. When he won he left invincible but when he lost, he felt fated to lose. This gambling craving crept into his professional snooker career and did ultimately damage it. The gambling took over making him tired and unable to fully concentrate when he was playing the longer matches. His mind was forever wandering, thinking about whether his horse at Chepstow or at York was going to cross the winning line.
Willie got sucked in so deeply that he started to bet on himself winning matches. In the much written about 1985 Coral UK Championship final, he laid a heavy bet on himself beating Steve Davis. He nearly did but missed a blue to the middle pocket to lead 14-8 and that is where it began and ended. Davis wiped the floor with him and despite Thorne clawing back another two frames, his fate was sealed on that blue and he lost the final 16-14. A blue that was mentioned repeatedly throughout the rest of his life.
Thorne lost because his negative demons took over. Unlike his amateur career where he lost the odd match due to inexperience, now it was due to negativity taking hold when he missed the odd shot. His focus would drift and his concentration would crumble. Yet he still believed he could win a match without practicing. His practice routine was putting the blue on a spot and potting it. He lost to people like the former baker Murdo McCleod 5-4 despite making three centuries and a 90 break. He also lost to Drew Henry in their match at the 1993 UK Championship. He was so convinced that he was going to win at 7-1 that he booked a celebratory dinner in a restaurant. He lost the match 9-8 and his friends ate without him.
Afterthoughts
I loved and admired Willie Thorne as a fan and later as a friend. I wrote this piece not to attack Willie but to highlight what can happen to someone when they are taken over by a gambling addiction. Thorne was a gentle soul and could light up a room when he walked in. He was a great snooker player and commentator but unfortunately, he was flawed. Despite numerous attempts by friends and family, he couldn’t escape that betting buzz and he lost friends and respect as a result of it.
My advice to anyone who has a gambling addiction is to seek professional counselling. Like alcoholism and drug taking, gambling is one of the most destructive pastimes out there when the brake is off and it is allowed to spiral out of control. Betting has long been associated with snooker and Mark King will tell you how it nearly cost him his marriage and career. However, he sought help and still does and thankfully came out the other side. It’s not easy but gambling can be controlled if you don’t seek help, it can have disastrous consequences.
Fast forward to the present day and sports coverage is awash with betting advertising and sponsorship. They try to entice you into gambling with free bets, hoping you will bet your winnings on further events. Betting can be harmless with the odd flutter on a match, greyhound or horse but for those that have an addictive nature, this can potentially be a step too far. Yes, there are warnings on gambling sites but when you are addicted, these warnings pass you by. The moment takes over and the thrill of the chase becomes too attractive.
