This is a hard news story i wrote for RMIT about pokies. It was when the debate about pre-commitment technology and Andrew Wilkie’s requests for reforms were just beginning. Gabriela Byrne is 54, successful, happily married and has two gorgeous children. But 18 years ago she contemplated committing suicide, more than once. Ms Byrne had an addiction to pokies which cost her $40,000, her job, and nearly her life. “The first time I played was on a lunch break, after i’d just had a fight…