The San Diego mayor who gambled $1 billion at casinos

&quot;I never meant to hurt the city that I love.&quot; â€” San Diego Mayor Maureen O&#039;Connor

(Image credit: Screen shot)

last updated 8 January 2015

If you've ever woken up after a night of poker regretting that awful decision to buy back in for another $20, then you may have a microscopic notion of what Maureen O'Connor is going through. The former mayor of San Diego gambled a staggering $1 billion in casinos across the country over the course of a decade, a betting marathon that came to light when she was charged with laundering $2 million from a charity founded by her late husband. O'Connor made an appearance in court this week, where she admitted to having an out-of-control gambling addiction. According to The New York Times:

She walked unsteadily into court, leaning on a cane and appearing wobbly and distraught. She teared up as she told reporters, "Those of you who know me here would know that I never meant to hurt the city that I love."

All things considered, O'Connor didn't do too badly at video poker (her poison of choice), suffering a net loss of $13 million between 2000 and 2009. However, to keep fueling her gambling, she was forced to get rid of up to $50 million in assets — savings, belongings, and real estate — much of which had been bequeathed to her by her husband, Robert O. Peterson, who founded the popular Jack-in-the-Box burger chain. She partly blames a brain tumor, which she eventually had excised, for her bad decisions. "There are two Maureens — Maureen number one and Maureen number two," she said. "Maureen number two is the Maureen who did not know she had a tumor growing in her brain."