'I couldn't stop myself till it was all gone,' she said. One night she was up $50,000-enough to pay off that secret loan. 'I would get on the light rail, take the light rail to the Mall of America, take a bus from the Mall of America to the casino,' Miley said. Her husband pleaded with her to get help, even took her car away-forcing Miley to ride the bus to work, though she wouldn't stay there for long. At one point she even took out a secret loan for $50,000.Īll in all, she believes she lost a total of $156,000. Miley used cash from her kids' college fund to wager up to $4,000 a hand. Then she switched from slots to high stakes black jack. She'd stay there until late at night or into the next day, telling her family she was at the office working. The long bike rides gave way to more frequent car rides. 'I would be dressed for work, right? And I would find myself heading to the casino instead of going to work.' 'I can't explain it besides I just felt the compulsion that I have to go,' she said. Miley was like a moth, the casino a brilliant light. She'd been an occasional gambler in the past, but in the fall of 2014 something changed.
