Pokies addict Elizabeth is one of a growing number of patients also treated for mental ill health. Elizabeth knew addiction had gripped her when exhilaration from the lights and sounds of poker machines gave way to feelings of physical illness. "At the start, I would get this excited feeling in my stomach right before I walked into the club, but towards the end I would be forcing myself to push past the feeling of sickness, telling myself it would all be OK when I sat down," she said. Elizabeth – not her real name – decided to seek help for gambling and alcohol addiction two years ago after a five-year struggle which began with a marriage breakdown. The Coogee mother-of-four remembers times when she would spend more than 12 hours on the pokies – panicking at the thought of closing time. "I had a lot of time on my […]