CALDWELL, N.J. -- As legal sports gambling continues its rise in the U.S., student-athletes more than ever can benefit from the learned experience of someone who has gone through the highs and lows of a gambling addiction, to help put the current situation in perspective.

Enter New Jersey native Greg Weber, Lived Experience Consultant at EPIC Global Solutions, who on Monday delivered a 48-minute multimedia presentation to 400 Caldwell University student-athletes at the Caldwell University Student Center Auditorium, not just on the dangers of gambling addiction, but his personal story that brought him to the highs of a World Poker Tour second-place finish worth nearly half a million dollars, to maxing out his credit cards and exhausting every last dollar on bets, leaving him six figures in debt.

Weber was fortunate to get the help he needed, eventually, and emerge out the other side with a story to relate and a forum to tell it. the lifetime avid sports fan noted the stages he went through, from being a young teen making his first real bets to having the addiction, bit by bit, take over his life. 

In addition to discussing some telltale signs to watch for, the Rutgers graduate noted a few resources available via the NCAA and the 1-800-GAMBLER hotline, then concluded the session by fielding some questions from student-athletes about his experiences.