John Schmidt flashed a slide during his PowerPoint presentation, showing a masked bank robber fleeing the scene of his crime.

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“This guy, right here, is a full-on knucklehead, just absolutely out of his mind,” Schmidt said. “This is somebody running through a bank after they just robbed it. That’s me, a little over 20 years ago.”

Schmidt was a gambling addict who spent 20 years in prison for robbing banks. Now he’s a prevention services coordinator for youth with the Delaware Council on Gambling Problems, and he was among the speakers Thursday at the National Council on Problem Gambling’s 2023 national conference.

The highly energetic Schmidt doesn’t hide from his past.