Want to be treated like an Adult? First be a responsible person!
Just a few minutes of madness caused Gabriel Lim, 28, to lose S$100,000 – his entire life savings – on an online gaming website. What possessed him to take such a risk?
Currently unemployed, the former store supervisor first got hooked to online baccarat last November after friends introduced him to the game.
The lure of ”easy money” induced Lim to set up an account with the online gaming website. Initially, Lim started with small S$5 bets but blessed with ”beginner’s luck”, his winnings soon came up to an average of S$2,000 a day in the first few months.
“I was playing it almost three hours each day at home and sometimes in the office too,” he told Yahoo! Singapore.
“I remember winning S$15,000 within a day, it really felt good,” said the diploma holder, who quit his job to focus full-time on his new passion.
The adrenaline “rush” from winning big caused Lim to make bigger and bigger bets, all in the hope of making a huge windfall. Then came the crash in March earlier this year — in just a matter of minutes.
Revealing how he lost $100,000 in the blink of an eye, he said, “The simple rule [in online gambling] is to use the ‘doubling up’ method, where you double your bet amount each time you lose. But remember, once you lose ten games in a row, log off and accept defeat,” Lim said.
“But I lost discipline and control and went against the ‘rule’. I continued with the 11th game thinking I would be able to win back my losses but lost everything instead.”
“I was stunned for a few minutes and when I realised all my money was gone, the only thing I wanted to do was smash things up to vent my anger and frustration,” he said.
Afraid his parents would find out, he turned to his elder brother after seeing his personal savings wiped out.
“[My brother] lost S$50,000 at the casino so he understands what I am going through,” Lim said.
So how is he dealing with the loss?
Lim nonchalantly said no one is to blame except himself. When Yahoo! Singapore spoke to him, the single man didn’t appear too affected by losing such a huge sum of money.
He even remains adamant that he is not a compulsive gambler. He says he is now looking for a new job so he can start saving from scratch in order to build up another pool of capital.
“I will continue to gamble once I save enough cash and I believe this time round, I will follow the rules and win back my money,” he said confidently.
“I don’t consider myself a compulsive gambler because to me, it’s more of a tactical thing where I strategise to win money. The key is discipline.”
Gambling is a VICE.
Just a few minutes of madness caused Gabriel Lim, 28, to lose S$100,000 – his entire life savings – on an online gaming website. What possessed him to take such a risk?
Currently unemployed, the former store supervisor first got hooked to online baccarat last November after friends introduced him to the game.
The lure of ”easy money” induced Lim to set up an account with the online gaming website. Initially, Lim started with small S$5 bets but blessed with ”beginner’s luck”, his winnings soon came up to an average of S$2,000 a day in the first few months.
“I was playing it almost three hours each day at home and sometimes in the office too,” he told Yahoo! Singapore.
“I remember winning S$15,000 within a day, it really felt good,” said the diploma holder, who quit his job to focus full-time on his new passion.
The adrenaline “rush” from winning big caused Lim to make bigger and bigger bets, all in the hope of making a huge windfall. Then came the crash in March earlier this year — in just a matter of minutes.
Revealing how he lost $100,000 in the blink of an eye, he said, “The simple rule [in online gambling] is to use the ‘doubling up’ method, where you double your bet amount each time you lose. But remember, once you lose ten games in a row, log off and accept defeat,” Lim said.
“But I lost discipline and control and went against the ‘rule’. I continued with the 11th game thinking I would be able to win back my losses but lost everything instead.”
“I was stunned for a few minutes and when I realised all my money was gone, the only thing I wanted to do was smash things up to vent my anger and frustration,” he said.
Afraid his parents would find out, he turned to his elder brother after seeing his personal savings wiped out.
“[My brother] lost S$50,000 at the casino so he understands what I am going through,” Lim said.
So how is he dealing with the loss?
Lim nonchalantly said no one is to blame except himself. When Yahoo! Singapore spoke to him, the single man didn’t appear too affected by losing such a huge sum of money.
He even remains adamant that he is not a compulsive gambler. He says he is now looking for a new job so he can start saving from scratch in order to build up another pool of capital.
“I will continue to gamble once I save enough cash and I believe this time round, I will follow the rules and win back my money,” he said confidently.
“I don’t consider myself a compulsive gambler because to me, it’s more of a tactical thing where I strategise to win money. The key is discipline.”
Gambling is a VICE.
