Stakes too high for family man
For Noble Lo, gambling was like an inherited disease. Almost every- body in his family - in particular, his father and uncle - loved to bet, so it was almost inevitable that the 39-year-old civil servant would follow suit.
By 13, he was staking his pocket money on games such as mahjong and poker at New Year. 'I grew up thinking it was normal to gamble,' he says.
Then in his early 20s, at about the time his daughter was born, what had begun as a hobby turned into daily gambling.
'I bet on everything: investments, foreign exchange, Macau casinos, horses, mahjong. I would go to the cash point in the morning before work and withdraw up to $30,000, with the intention of gambling it that day.
'At the time, I had access to large sums of money through property and marketing, so I could afford it. I used to borrow from loan sharks, too, but I always paid them back.'
Lo's wife was aware he gambled, but had no idea how much he spent.
But in his late 20s, Lo became less well-off. And the continual gambling was bringing on debt.
'As I hit 30, my finances got so bad that my family started having to go without things,' he says. 'By this time my wife had realised how serious it was and tried to intervene, but I didn't listen.
'It was all because of greed and envy. I wanted to live in the same style as people who had more than me, and I thought gambling would make me rich. I never thought about all the money I had lost - only the money I had won.'
Eventually, Lo was forced to sell his house to pay his debts, and his family had to move into work accommodation. His daughter was growing up and their relationship hit an all-time low.
'She completely lost respect for me because she saw me as an irresponsible playboy,' he says. 'Eventually she stopped speaking to me.'
But still Lo gambled - until one night three years ago when his wake-up call came.
'The police phoned to say my daughter, who was then 14, was in hospital. They picked her up in a shopping centre where she had been discovered bleeding after cutting her wrists.
'It shook me into asking myself what I was doing. I had plenty of money and a good family, and I was throwing it all away.'
Lo begged his wife for help, Being a devout Christian, she took him to church. He also began attending weekly meetings at the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Pathological Gambling Association with his family. He is now a programme co-ordinator and trained counsellor for the group.
He has no intention of reverting to his old ways, and his wife controls the finances. 'She pays me a daily allowance which covers my food and travel, but no more!' he says.
