Deadly Stakes

Kaiwen Leong

Description

The gamblers interviewed for this book all had one thing in common - they didn't know what hit them. They thought they were in Casino Heaven and they, the Gods of Gambling. They thought they were invincible and would always win it all back. They thought wrong. They didn't just lose; they got wiped out and destroyed. But they managed to claw themselves out in the most unbelievable ways - adopting sugar mummies, selling their kidneys, even resorting to black magic. But all this only led one way - to hell. For some, it led to untimely death.

Sujets

• Droit et juridique

Informations

• Publié par: Marshall Cavendish International
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789814484510
• Langue: English

Extrait

A truly deadly read on gambling addictions . You won t be that lucky.
Walter Teo
Programme Manager, Micro Credit Business Scheme
The book also clearly depicts the dangers of being addicted to gambling and how an addict does not only affect his or her self, but those around them. I also feel that you don t have to be an addict or know someone who is an addict to be able to read or relate to this book. Anyone can read it and sympathise with the characters.
Ryhan Mohd Yazid
Oak3 Film Reporter
Gambling is a deadly addiction. This book shows you the unimaginable horrors that await you if you choose to step into the world of gambling.
Tan Wenyou
SPRING Seeds Investment Manager
The opinions expressed above are solely those of the individuals and not of the organisations with which they are associated .

2013 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited
Photographs and cover image courtesy of Chiu Whye Leong Cover art by Cover Kitchen Co. Ltd. / Design by Benson Tan
Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196
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National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication data Leong, Kaiwen, 1981-
Deadly stakes : shocking stories of gambling addiction in Singapore / Kaiwen Leong with Elaine Leong and Chiu Whye Leong. - Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, cc2013. p. cm. eISBN : 978 981 4484 51 0
1. Compulsive gamblers - Singapore. 2. Compulsive gambling - Social aspects. 3. Compulsive gambling - Psychological aspects I. Leong, Elaine II. Chiu, Whye Leong. III. Title. IV. Title: Shocking stories of gambling addiction in Singapore
RC569.5.G35
362.25 -- dc23 OCN826061776
Printed in Singapore by Markono Print Media Pte Ltd
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Contents
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
PART ONE: A GAMBLER S PERSONAL CONFESSION
The Lucky Ex-Gambler
A Costly Love Affair
God of Gambling
PART TWO: GAMBLERS, GAMBLERS, EVERYWHERE
Diary of a Stockbroker: No Stock, Just Broke
Gambling with Spirits
Beat the Dealer
PART THREE: GAMBLING ACROSS THE BORDER
Sugar Mummy
Paying in Kidneys
Portable Casino
CONCLUSION
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Foreword
Hot on the heels of his bestseller autobiography Singapore s Lost Son , Dr Kaiwen Leong has come up with another absorbing book.
Whereas he described with passion his personal experiences in overcoming the challenges of life in Singapore s Lost Son where he also shared his philosophy for succeeding in life, in Deadly Stakes: Shocking Stories of Gambling Addiction in Singapore , Dr Leong has taken on the challenge of warning against the dangers of gambling addiction through the retelling of several horrific real-life accounts of people whose lives have been consumed by it. What is particularly sad is how the lives of others around them have also been traumatically impacted.
Together with his childhood friend Chiu Whye Leong, who himself had to grapple with a gambling addiction, and his writer friend Elaine Leong, the authors have assembled a collection of confessions, all of which started off rather ordinarily but quickly degenerated into surrealistic nightmares.
At the end of it all, Dr Leong has achieved what he set out to do, which is to highlight the consuming nature of gambling on one s life. His passion in wanting to get this warning message across is to a great extent driven by his work with ex-offenders and youths at risk. He spends a large part of his spare time teaching them business skills and mentoring them as they work at turning over a new leaf in life.
In the short time I have known Dr Leong, I am amazed by his energy level and his sincerity in wanting to help ex-offenders and youths at risk get a second chance in life. This book is part of that effort.
Chan Ying Lock
Chief Operating Officer
SE Hub Ltd
January 2013
Introduction
The gamblers interviewed for this book all have one thing in common - they didn t know what hit them. They thought they were in Casino Heaven and they the Gods of Gambling. They thought that whatever they touched would turn to gold. They thought they were invincible and would always win it all back, even if they lost.
They thought wrong.
They didn t just lose. They got buried alive six feet under. They got wiped out and utterly destroyed.
But they managed to claw themselves out in the most unbelievable ways possible, by adopting sugar mummies , selling their organs and even resorting to black magic. But all this only led one way - to hell.
The interviews began as a rehabilitation process for one of my friends, who was a compulsive gambler addicted to the core. But as more dark secrets were spilled and more hidden doors opened, the interviews evolved into a full-blown investigative venture with shocking revelations that even the gamblers loved ones never knew.
These are the truths that no gambler would ever tell you. These are the stories that they wish no one would ever know. These are the dark secrets that have been kept hidden under a boulder of shame.
These are their personal confessions. They are shocking. They are incredible. And before you ask - yes, they are all real.
Most of what you will read in this book is based on interviews with gamblers and, where possible, the various individuals involved in their lives - family members, friends and even colleagues - so as to gain a more holistic picture.
This book is designed to give you, as far as is possible, a genuine feel of the gambler s life. Hence, each story is divided into sections, each presenting the viewpoints of the different people who feature prominently in their lives. Occasionally, the narrative is inevitably jarred due to the self-censorship exercised by the individuals concerned. We request your understanding for areas that are possibly clouded or vague. In such instances, we have deliberately intended to show the reality of the journalistic process.
Kaiwen Leong
April 2013
Disclaimer
This book is based on interviews with real-life gamblers and the people who knew them. The material presented is unvarnished and uncensored. While the stories are real, all names and details have been changed in order to protect the identities of those interviewed .

The casino does not exist to dish out money. It sells the hope of fast money. But I never stood a chance. I was doomed from the very second I placed my first bet.
The Lucky Ex-Gambler
My name is Tan Hock Chye, but most of my friends call me Chye. My father migrated from Fukien Province in southern China to Hong Kong and then to Singapore, where he met my mother and settled down. Back in Hong Kong, he helped his father sell chicken rice at a hawker stall. In Singapore, the only job he knew was selling chicken rice at a hawker stall. While in primary school, I had already begun to follow in the footsteps of my father and grandfather - yes, you ve guessed it, also selling chicken rice.
I hated it. At the age of nine, all I wanted to do was to have fun with my friends after school. But the only thing I was allowed to do was to help my parents at their stall in a hawker centre. I started out by helping them deliver plates of chicken rice to hungry patrons, trying to balance up to six plates at a time on a tray. Then I moved on to helping my mother scoop hot, cooked rice onto plates. I would be drenched with sweat from leaning over the huge steaming tub of rice, reaching in with only a small plastic bowl as a scoop.
When I was 15, my father taught me how to chop up the chicken into pieces. I can still remember how oily and sticky the meat felt on my fingers and how heavy the meat cleaver was. My arms ached each time I lifted the cleaver to chop up the chicken. And each time the cleaver landed on the wooden chopping block, oil and fatty matter splattered onto my clothes, my skin, and even my hair. I used to go home stinking of chicken. The worst part was trying to get bits of chicken meat out from underneath my fingernails. They would remain there no matter how much I scrubbed myself in the shower or how many times I washed my hands. I had to use a toothpick to dig them out. And even then, the unmistakable smell of chicken still clung on.
As a teenager, it was the ultima