At the age of 12, Pat Sheedy placed his first 10p bet and concocted his first scam. This marked the beginning of his descent into a compulsive gambling addiction that would lead to close to one hundred criminal convictions, over a million euro squandered on bets and time served in some of Ireland’s most unforgiving prisons. Now, almost four decades later, Pat Sheedy has, against all odds, got his life back on track and taken control of his addiction.

This is the unvarnished account of the author’s relentless pursuit of the elusive ‘big win’, a pursuit that left a trail of devastation in its wake. Pat’s story chronicles his protracted battle with addiction and the extreme lengths he went to in order to fund it. It is also a beacon of hope, demonstrating that recovery is possible, even from the depths of addiction.