A heavily indebted gambler was cured of his gambling addiction with the help of Hearthstone .
Free from addiction thanks to Hearthstone?
There are always curious reports about video games. But that Blizzard’s card game with addictive potential is said to have cured someone of their gambling addiction is not something you read every day. In a rather long post on Reddit, user Lanztar explained how Hearthstone healed him of his gambling addiction. The colleagues at pcgamer conducted an interview with 27-year-old Lanztar from Louisiana and recapped his entire story.
His journey as a gambling addict began harmlessly and yet so clichéd, as one can only imagine. As a student, at 21 years old, he didn’t have much money, but he regularly went to the casino with his friends. Back then, there were clear limits, and he didn’t spend more than $40 – as a student, he rarely had more available. Gradually, that amount kept increasing, first to $100, then to $200, and the types of games he played slowly changed as well.
At first, Lanztar played slot machines, later he switched to blackjack and roulette. And that’s where the devilish moment happened: He won for two hours straight without losing. During that time, he won $2,500 and enjoyed the high feeling, the cheers of the other guests, and the euphoria he felt.
“I felt invincible. And that is exactly the worst mindset when you play gambling games.”
The hunger for success remained
As it had to happen: The winnings were gambled away within a few days, but the feeling of hunger for the once-won money remained. Lanztar fell into debt, could no longer pay his rent, and lost his apartment after the landlord had granted him a long grace period. By now, he was $27,000 in debt to various casinos and feared “the mafia or worse would get me.” But he was lucky once more: His parents helped him pay off his debts, although they wanted every cent back.
And then came Hearthstone. Lanztar made a bet with his friends that he would not spend a cent on this game – and he has held to that until today. The successes helped him with that. Above all, however, it was about filling his free time – because the urge to go back to the casino and “cash in big” was strong. So how did Hearthstone manage this?
“RNG in Hearthstone is like the magical entity that gives me what I want, without having to go to a casino. As I wrote on Reddit, it satisfies my craving for action in a way I can hardly describe.”
In addition, there was the desire to always get new cards, but without spending money – that alone was enough to keep him at the computer for many hours and keep him away from the casino.
More important than Hearthstone was the will not to disappoint others again
However, as Lanztar knows, Hearthstone is certainly not a universal secret recipe. There are also many factors of addiction in the game, and if one ever finds themselves in a frustrating situation, they are quickly tempted to buy a few cards or arena rounds for hard-earned cash. No, what ultimately helped Lanztar was the will not to disappoint others in his environment again. However, Hearthstone was excellent for filling free time, making the trip to the next casino not seem so tempting anymore.
You can find the complete interview in English in our sources.
