One evening 20 years ago, Kiyomi Takahashi (not her real name) happened to stop at a coffee shop on her way home from work. She found a computer poker game machine in the corner of the shop, and started playing it just for fun. Little did she know this would be the beginning of a decade-long nightmare.

Takahashi was experiencing stressful domestic problems at that time, but the excitement of the game, which she had never played before, helped her forget her troubles. The next day she visited the coffee shop again, and continued to do so with increasing frequency.

The losses soon began accumulating. Takahashi spent 8 million yen within six months. Her husband noticed and tried to get her to stop, but she was obsessed with the delusion that she could win back her losses.