PROVIDENCE — With tears in her eyes, Lina Dufour told a roomful of state legislators on Thursday what it felt like going “from being a millionaire to being homeless and stealing little old ladies’ pocketbooks” at the Twin River track and slot parlor in Lincoln.

“I became a criminal,” she said. “I stole my parents’ retirement money ... For two to three years, I had absolutely no control of my life. Absolutely none. The video machine is what controlled me, when I ate, when I slept, when I drank.”

She was arrested a half-dozen times by Lincoln police between 2005 and 2008 for larceny, with the most recent case ending in a no-contest plea and a five-year suspended sentence, according to state court records.

“And the sad part of all of this, I am not unique, I am not the only one. I got caught. Thank God, I got caught,” the 56-year-old Bridgewater, Mass., woman told a House committee considering legislation to require the state’s two video-slot parlors to institute “self-exclusion” programs and honor the wishes of patrons who want to be barred for life from reentering to place any bets.

The legislation sponsored by Rep. Peter Petrarca, D-Lincoln, was drafted by members of the Rhode Island Council on Problem Gambling. It would extend to Twin River and Newport Grand the same problem-gambling aversion requirements that state lawmakers adopted in 2004 for the proposed and ultimately voter-defeated Harrah’s-financed Narragansett Indian casino.

At its most basic, it would require the slot parlors to submit to the state Lottery a written plan which, at minimum, provides an opportunity for compulsive gamblers to voluntarily — and permanently — exile themselves from the premises, with the knowledge they will have to forfeit their winnings if they get caught sneaking back in.

The gambling houses would also be required to adopt procedures “to prevent employees from willfully permitting” self-excluded gamblers to return; deny them access to credit, check-cashing and other complimentary services; make sure they are not on mailing lists for promotions and “prevent serving alcohol to individuals who appear to be intoxicated.”

One of the points of contention yesterday was a provision allowing the Rhode Island Council on Problem Gambling to forge an agreement with the state Lottery on the framework for employee training on the “diagnostic signs … identification of vulnerable populations, including youth, women, low-income patrons, the elderly and persons who abuse drugs and alcohol,” and “the impact of problem gambling on finances, emotional, marital, interpersonal, occupation and legal problems.”

The slot-parlor employees would not be required to identify compulsive gamblers, “which is an activity that requires medical and clinical expertise,” but their employers would face $1,000 per-incident fines and license suspension if they “willfully” disregarded self-exclusion statements.

The only outspoken opposition came from lawyer-lobbyist Christopher Boyle, representing Newport Grand. He said the Newport slot parlor has, for at least a decade, had its own voluntary self-exclusion program, and does not believe this is something government needs to dictate. He also voiced concern about relegating the decision-making on employee training standards to a private group, such as the council on problem gaming.

Boyle also hand-delivered a Feb. 11 letter in which state Lottery chief Gerald Aubin asked Newport Grand to help pay — at the rate of $3.50 for each of its video-slots — for a study being launched by the Rhode Island Institute of Gambling Studies at Rhode Island College. The aim: to develop a problem-gambling awareness, prevention and employee training program at an estimated cost of $28,300 the first year.

Boyle said Newport Grand believes the Lottery already has the authority “to dictate to us what programs we should have,” and levy fines.

Twin River’s owners did not testify, but spokeswoman Patti Doyle said it also has a “self-exclusion policy.” Once signed, she said, the forms are “shared with our security and cashier departments who check to ensure this person is not on the list prior to any payout or check cashing. Individuals may sign themselves for periods of six months, one year or indefinitely.” No immediate action was taken on the bill by the House Health, Education & Welfare Committee, though the chairman — state Rep. Joseph McNamara, D-Warwick — acknowledged his personal concern about the “addictive” nature of video-slots, and his “shock” at what he saw on his one visit to Twin River for a charity event: “I walked in through the main entrance and saw people sitting in front of machines, smoking … and it struck me, the lack of human interaction. There was absolutely none.”

In recovery, Dufour told a cautionary tale. Even after trying to “self-exclude” herself from her favorite Connecticut casino, she said, she was still allowed to use a credit card to get cash advances. “Yet if I win, they won’t pay me … Why can’t they know when I am trying to do a cash advance? That should be flagged that I am excluded, and walk me out. But no, they let me do that cash transaction.”

kgregg@projo.com