Trios and tribulations

NIGHT WATCHMAN Kwan Kai-kwong is a remarkable man, a gambler who beat the odds to collect a total of $12.2 million in 1996. Most would consider themselves blessed to land just one big win in a lifetime, but the 62-year-old struck it lucky twice within a month by pulling off the holy grail of Hong Kong punters, the Triple Trio. And his good fortune is not restricted to the ponies - when Kwan visited Las Vegas in the same year, he won US$6,000 (HK$46,740) from a slot machine with his third spin.

But Kwan's is a classic tale of easy come, easy go. The $4,800-a-month night watchman burned the bulk of his booty in just a few months. 'My happiness of winning the money was very short-lived,' he says now, wearing sandals and dusty jeans.

Six years ago, he commanded the respect of his friends who called him 'Kwan Yeh' or Grandfather Kwan. He had $12.2 million in the bank, lived in a luxury Kwai Fong flat with his wife and three children, sported a Rolex watch and ate in restaurants every day. He tipped strangers $500 at a time, banknotes and gold credit cards bulged from his wallet.

But his dream lifestyle was over almost as quickly as it arrived. Now he's back where he started, scraping a living as a guard on a Tsuen Wan public housing estate. He says he has only $50 to his name.

He was back in the media spotlight recently when a judge ruled he had no right to the money his wife withdrew from their joint account and was entitled to only half of their Kwai Fong flat, which cannot be sold until all his children have turned 18.

Home is now a one-bedroom, $1,200-a-month cubicle in Shamshuipo. Divorced by his wife, Wong Ho-kit, 52, he shares a kitchen and toilet with three other families and has only a few pieces of furniture and a copy watch in place of the Rolex. But he has unshakeable faith in his good fortune and ability to recoup the lost millions.