Peek Behind the Curtain

Over the course of a 20+ year gambling addiction, I had many nights where I quit gambling. However, I always found a reason to start back up again. In this episode, I talk about the two major times that I quit gambling in my life and what led to that. The first time was back in 2013 and I ended up quitting for about 18-months. The second time I quit was in 2019 and it was the last time I have gambled in my life. Check out what I have to say regarding my emotions, feelings, how I came clean, how I found help, and what I have learned in the last three years since I have stopped gambling. Have any questions? Need any extra details? Need somebody just to listen to you about your gambling addiction? Drop me a message, I'll be glad to help.

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I've won $10,000+ and lost $10,000+ numerous times in my life gambling. Probably more times than I can count, or even really want to admit. This episode covers a couple of short examples of each, but also one of the highest of highs and lowest of lows in terms of winning & losing big. Listen for after the sponsor when I talk about a stretch of a few months where I lost $15k+ and how I had to struggle to get it back. Have any questions? Need any extra details? Need somebody just to listen to you about your gambling addiction? Drop me a message, I'll be glad to help. 

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I have been a gambling addict for as far back as I can remember. As of March 25th, 2020 I hit my one-year mark of being "sober" from gambling. In this multi-part podcast, I am taking you back to my early days of when I believe my gambling problem started kicking in, through the highs and lows of a life spent at the card table. Comedy has taken me to many casino shows over the years...and having disposable income with nothing to do 23-hours a day can lead to trouble. For years, I learned how to hold them and how to fold them...and I finally had to learn "when to walk away".  In Part 2 of this story - we are talking about me turning 21 and getting into a casino the first time. Learn how these early years formed my habits of "paying things off with gambling winnings" and "borrowing to play". You'll hear about how I went from "here's a fun game" to "here's a game I can beat". How does one even get immersed in Sports betting? Listen to how easy it was for me to win my first time and see what that kind of mind-trickery can do for somebody with an addictive personality. Finally, I discuss how I won my way into going to Vegas for the first time and how I got hooked on a feeling while I was out there.  It's all there for you and I'm holding nothing back. Have any questions? Need any extra details? Need somebody just to listen to you about your gambling addiction? Drop me a message, I'll be glad to help. 

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I have been a gambling addict for as far back as I can remember. As of March 25th, 2020 I hit my one-year mark of being "sober" from gambling. In this multi-part podcast, I am taking you back to my early days of when I believe my gambling problem started kicking in, through the highs and lows of a life spent at the card table. Comedy has taken me to many casino shows over the years...and having disposable income with nothing to do 23-hours a day can lead to trouble. For years, I learned how to hold them and how to fold them...and I finally had to learn "when to walk away". 

In this first part of many regarding my recovery from my gambling addiction, I walk you through my beginnings as I try to identify the root of how this addiction took shape. You'll hear all about my early influences in gambling from when I was 5-10 years old. Listen to me share the story of my first real gambling loss and how I broke down crying in front of one of my friends about it at 11-years old. Hear about how this addiction might even tie into the world of doing stand-up comedy. It's a detailed narrative of how a gambling addiction can start and it's only the beginning.

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From 2010-2012 I was working on my third album called “It Could Be Worse”. I had a label willing to put out this album after I recorded it, I had a solid hour of material ready to go for this album, but it never got recorded and it never got released. In this week’s episode, I talk about the creation of that material, what those topics entailed, I play a few of the clips of that material for you, and I explain to you why this album never ended up making it to the public.

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In March of 2019, I got picked to be a part of a comedy festival called “Gilda Radner’s LaughFest” and the segment that I was involved in was called “Best of the Midwest” - a comedy competition against 5 other comedians. In this episode, I share with you my disdain for contests, how I prepped for this contest, what we as the other comics discussed during this contest, and how a phone call on my way to the show helped me crush it on stage and walk away the “Best of the Midwest” winner for 2019. 

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Reena Calm comes on the podcast to chat about life on the road as a comedian and what goes on in our head behind the scenes. We discuss the recording of my fifth album Vincectomy as well as what we’ve learned from our years on the road. Reena tells us about doing comedy in 45-states, what it was like to start out in comedy 8-years ago, and she shares some advice for younger comics listening. This is a fun episode for two veteran comics catching up and sharing insights in this crazy business.

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Thursday, December 12th, 2019 - I recorded my fifth album “Vincectomy” at Zanies in Rosemont, IL. This was a special album for me as I learned how to write differently than I had on my previous albums. The maturation process really started to show on this recording. On this podcast, I walk through the backstory of how this album came to be, what went into the writing of it when I decided to record it, the details that go into a recording an album, and then of course, how the night went. Spoiler alert - it ends with my wife cutting my head off…. 

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Back in 2018, I got a phone call from the CEO of the Chicago Blackhawks that led to an amazing experience of me doing motivational speaking to the staff of the Chicago Blackhawks in September of that year. In this episode, I walk you through the backstory on how that opportunity came to be, how I made the most of it, and a couple of learnings I had along the way. Plus, get to listen to the voicemail I got from John McDonough.

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JD's Comedy Cafe was one of my favorite clubs to work at and they were the first club to give me a chance. This place opened the doors to me for many other places throughout my career. This podcast covers my audition at this club, the reason I almost skipped my first week of shows at this place, a clip of me on the radio for the first time, and how I ended up recording my second album "Thanks For The Clap" there. I also dive into the backstory of why this club was feared by comedians. 

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This week I have a special guest on the show, my good friend and fellow comedian, Ken Garr. Ken and I met around 2003 and have shared a lot of time together on the road over the years. This week we focus in on two of our favorite stories. Listen to this week's episode to hear Vince tell the story of why Ken is a c*cksucker and listen to Ken discuss why Vince is a rookie at comedy.  

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I started my comedy career intertwining guitar comedy with my stand-up comedy. Very early on in my career, I was judged for doing this and even called up live on the radio to take a bashing from two people in the Chicago comedy scene. Listen to this story and hear how playing guitar helped me in my career both when getting started and after I stopped. I even share a few clips of songs to truly give you a peek behind the curtain and embarrass myself.

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I tried for over 10-years to perform on the Las Vegas Strip and my dream finally came through the week of March 18-24, 2019. In this episode, I take you through my journey of performing all around the Las Vegas strip, the time I turned down an opportunity to perform on the strip, the e-mail I got sent in 2010 about not being able to perform out there, culminating in how I finally got to perform there. I share my experience of meeting Brad Garrett and tell you why he's one of the best guys in the business.  

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Back in 2012, I was initially diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, only to have that disease recalled and replaced with a different disease called Vasculitis. Listen to this week's episode to hear the craziness that happened from November of 2012 when I was first diagnosed to February of 2013 when they finally got it right. I discuss how this almost made me quit comedy, learn what ultimately kept me from quitting, and I play a never before released clip of me telling this story on stage. 

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Back on April 10th, 2004 I got heckled and I slammed the heckler with an awesome comeback. From there, the heckler wanted to fight and ruined the rest of my show. Listen to this week as I share the full story above as well as some other heckling experiences I've had, what makes a heckler, what is considered heckling, and even a quick side story from funny comedian Jim Flannigan. 

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This is an introduction episode to my podcast. I am providing you a little background on me as if any of you give a shit. But, with the off chance that I get famous one day and people want to go back and listen to everything I've done - this is a 3-minute narrative. That's a long way of saying "this episode was a practice run!"

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