Tales of growing up in a gambling culture abounded among the dozen individuals who had gathered in an Oakland meeting room discussing their suicide attempts, bankruptcies, thievery from spouses, estrangement from children and mountains of deceit.

"The worst thing about compulsive gambling is it doesn't only make you a compulsive gambler, it makes you a compulsive liar," said Bernie F., who, like other Gamblers Anonymous attendees, did not wish to be fully identified.

The dozen are among about 200 people who attend any of the 20 weekly Gamblers Anonymous meetings sponsored around southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia by the national group's local chapter. Called either compulsive or addicted or problem gamblers, they are among 1 to 3 percent of adults who share an inability to control themselves when they bet. The "action" of the wagering consumes them.

As is the case with alcohol addiction, it's difficult for any compulsive gambler to indulge for moderate pleasure. They usually must stop cold, and they often return to old habits if they discontinue regular doses of the group therapy in which they admit their problem and support one another's efforts.

Taking turns one recent Tuesday evening, with three of the attendees' spouses or fiancees present, some of the 11 men and one woman recalled households where gambling was a natural pastime.

Bernie F. remembered visiting back-room betting parlors with his father. John A. had an older brother with football pool slips to take him under his wing. Lou M. started as an adolescent by pitching pennies and flipping baseball cards.

For each, what seemed fun and intriguing at first burst out of control in adulthood, in ways that would surprise other gamblers and non-gamblers alike.

Molly found herself spending $70 a day on the lottery, seldom winning, but dreaming of a big win that would enable her to buy gifts for relatives and feel like "a big shot."

College graduate John D., whose gambling started on sports and casinos, turned to day trading on the stock market, where he found the exhilaration and pressure even more intense than with traditional wagering. He gained and lost thousands of dollars of his and his mother's money by the hour.

"Maybe it's [viewed as] a more legitimate form of white-collar gambling ... but it was the most horrible form of gambling I'd ever done," the North Hills man said of the stock trading.

He and some of the others stopped gambling only in the past few months, while others gave it up years ago but still attend meetings. The more recent gamblers, including John D., typically acknowledged multiple attempts to stop.

Barry, who like Molly didn't even want his real first name used, believes it's a worse addiction than drugs or alcohol, which also have consumed him in the past. Video poker, slot machines and sports bets were his downfall.

"It's an emotional disease more than physical," said the man in his 40s, who received in-patient psychiatric care after losses compelled him to try to kill himself by overdose. "It emotionally wipes you out, and you don't care about anyone, including yourself."

Molly, 47, said she spent most of her life ignoring the lottery, and didn't realize how easily she could become hooked on it.

"Maybe I felt safe, that I didn't even think it was gambling because it was legal," she said.

Norm B., the area chapter's spokesman and hotline coordinator, said the number of attendees addicted to video poker exceeds "everything else put together." An increasing number also developed problems by gambling on the Internet. Fewer than before come in with sports betting problems like he had, before stopping on Jan. 9, 1983.

The group avoids politics and lobbying, but Norm B. is concerned about the impact of legalizing slot machines. He figures his volunteer duties would become a lot busier.

"In areas where new forms of gambling are legalized or expanded, our membership grows, sometimes dramatically," he said. "We may have to give up sitting around a table and go to theater-style seating."

The group's activities will continue, regardless of the slots legislation. For help or information, call 412-281-7484.