Disclaimer: In Real Life is a platform for everyday people to share their experiences and voices. All articles are personal stories and do not necessarily echo In Real Life’s sentiments.
Recently, a viral post has been circulating on Facebook regarding a Malaysian who won RM5 million from the casino at Genting. In the post, the user stated that he lucked out winning 27 Baccarat hands in a row, piling his winnings up to the generous sum.
While that may have been a very fortunate scenario for this man, the casino’s schtick is nothing but a game of chance. We all know that the house never loses. And I’m sure that everyone can agree with me when I say that the chances of this happening to just anyone are slim to none.
IRL reached out to a fellow Malaysian who has had quite a fair share of experience with gambling to share with us how much money they have actually won or burnt in Uncle Lim’s luxurious dungeon.
“I ‘contribute’ about RM100k a year to the Genting casinos”
Before the whole Covid thing swung by and grabbed us by our throats, I used to be a regular at the tables. I found myself up in the mountains almost every weekend and would spend 3, 4, sometimes even more nights there in a week – depending on how lucky I was feeling.
I’m a 49-year-old bachelor. My commitments are two: my work and my elderly parents. I don’t have a family to feed nor do I have to worry about picking my kids up from school. I run a pretty successful business behind a big team and I live my life comfortably. So yeah, I have a lot of free time. It’s great!
A single night at the casino would bring my buy-in to about RM20-30k, playing hands by the thousands. And because of the stakes that I was playing, of course I was invited to play at their Private Platinum room. This was where you’d find most people bringing in the same amount of cash I would, sometimes more.
“I tell myself that I was spending it for the private luxury, they treated me like a king!”
Not only that, I became so much of a regular with how much I was playing with, Genting extended this service to me for free: they would send drivers down to wherever I was to give me a personal ride up and then back down when I was done.
To no surprise, I have also been given many many free nights of stay in their hotel rooms, accompanied by complimentary meals, drinks, and other hotel luxuries. Gee, it’s almost as if they want me to stay and gamble that badly!
So my routine whenever I was up there was: sort out whatever business I had to do in the morning after my free hotel breakfast, relax in the afternoon with the benefits the hotel offered, then grind in the casino rooms for the next 5 – 6 hours with free food and liquor.
“I spent more money at Genting than most people make in a year!”
If I had to sum up a net of my total gambling money, it is very safe to say that I lose about an average of RM100k a year to those b**tards playing blackjack and whatever else nonsense. Of course, there are nights where I’d win – and win big. But that’s how they get you, right? You’d go and play many many hours to win RM20k, only to lose RM30k in the next.
But the cycle never ended for me, I’d chase and chase, make some, lose more, go home, come back next weekend and do it all over again.
“When I first saw the RM5 million post, I couldn’t believe it”
Being a skeptic, I obviously had my doubts. I thought to myself, “there is no way that’s real”. RM5 million is a lot of f**king money, and if that really were the case, why was he flashing it on social media? I even thought it was some sort of sketchy marketing promo by Genting itself.
I saw the pictures and there it was: the chips, the screen run out for the game, and even the lump of cash. I’m not saying that it’s impossible and no one had ever done it, but that was the first time I had ever seen such evidence. Then again, it is social media, you never know anyway.
Giving the gambler the benefit of the doubt, I can only assume that if he could win that large sum of cash over a game, there’s no doubt that there was a point where he has lost the same… if not more.
Stay the f**k away from gambling kids, it’s just as addictive and dangerous as nicotine and drugs. I personally am fortunate enough to make a comfortable living which gives me the privilege to burn some money under a toxic roof that gives out free champagne.
* Writer’s note: The interviewee in this story is not the user in the said post, but a fellow Malaysian gambler.
For more stories like this, read: “I Lost More Than RM50,000 From Online Gambling” – My Story About Addiction
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