A Cautionary Tale About Sports Betting Ahead Of Super Bowl Sunday

PARAMUS, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- One Bronx native has a warning for football fans who may try to wipe out their gambling debt on Super Bowl Sunday.

Frank began betting as a 10-year-old boy.

Thirty years later with a wife, two kids and a house in the suburbs he was down $100,000 for the 1998 NFL season.

"The mindset becomes 'Wow, look I made $100,000. I'm a genius. I really know how to pick these games. I really know what I'm doing and then you escalate it," Frank said. "It's an addiction."

He wasn't paying his bills, he raided his kids' college fund and Super Bowl XXXII was Frank's salvation.

"The bet that day was I was going to make the big win and everything would be OK. My life would turn around," Frank said.

He picked the Packers, but they lost and his debt doubled.

Frank filed for bankruptcy and said he owed some "unsavory characters" a lot of money.

Frank eventually paid everybody back, and never went back to gambling.

So before you bet on how long P!nk will take to sing the national anthem or what color the liquid dumped on the winning coach will be, think of Frank.