23-10-2010, 06:52 AM
Oct 23, 2010
the TERMINALLY ILL
Jackpot machines and gambling tables provide diversion
MR S.C. Goh has fourth-stage cancer and, in his last days, the jackpot machine has become a source of solace for him.
The 75-year-old has an annual levy pass and visits Marina Bay Sands casino about four times a week. Usually, his wife drives him there but occasionally he takes a taxi.
He spends hours feeding $50 and $100 bills into the slot machines, hitting buttons that spin the reels and watching them scroll on the screen like a looping video.
When he tires of one machine, he shuffles to another with his walking stick and repeats the motions.
The grandfather of two says: 'When you have cancer, it causes you a lot of agony. Playing the slot machines takes my mind off things.'
He speaks with a mask covering half his face because he 'cannot afford to catch a bug'.
He prefers the machines because the table games can get rowdy. Plus, the thrill of playing the slot machines lies 'in the free spins when there is the chance of getting something back', he says.
But he does not count his wins or losses; Money is no object for this former high-ranking executive in the oil industry who used to manage 'billions of dollars of investments'. He earned enough to retire at 45.
When The Straits Times meets him, he is sharply dressed in a striped polo shirt, a branded knit sweater, black pinstripe trousers with suspenders, and soft leather moccasins.
He is one of several frail elderly people spotted at the casino.
On a weekday afternoon at the Resorts World Sentosa casino, two elderly women seated in wheelchairs are spotted playing at the roulette and baccarat tables. They are both so weak that they need companions - one a domestic helper, the other her daughter - to help them place bets.
Dr Thomas Lim, consultant psychiatrist with the National Addictions Management Service and acting chief of the addiction medicine department at the Institute of Mental Health, says research has shown that elderly gamblers tend to play more often than younger gamblers.
This is often because their loss of traditional social roles such as employment - especially if due to sickness - results in social isolation, emotional disturbances such as depression, and boredom. 'Gambling can provide them with a form of escape and emotional relief,' he says.
Dr Lim warns that, unfortunately, elderly people with cognitive decline are also less able to 'make sound judgments, weigh risks, and appreciate or remember past losses'. This makes it more difficult for them to register and recover from gambling losses as they are likely to be unemployed and have exhausted their savings.
Mr Goh recalls a visit where he lost $4,000 in six hours playing two-cent bets on slot machines. The memory makes him 'angry' because the odds of winning are so low.
But he is not about to kick the habit. He does not think it is necessary.
He says: 'It is not as if I do not take care of my family. My two children each have a roof over their heads, there is money in the bank for emergencies and I spend time with my family. We are very close.'
He adds: 'At the start of the year, the doctor gave me a year to live. Now, I think I might have another year.
'But my days are numbered. I play only to pass time.'
HUANG LIJIE
the TERMINALLY ILL
Jackpot machines and gambling tables provide diversion
MR S.C. Goh has fourth-stage cancer and, in his last days, the jackpot machine has become a source of solace for him.
The 75-year-old has an annual levy pass and visits Marina Bay Sands casino about four times a week. Usually, his wife drives him there but occasionally he takes a taxi.
He spends hours feeding $50 and $100 bills into the slot machines, hitting buttons that spin the reels and watching them scroll on the screen like a looping video.
When he tires of one machine, he shuffles to another with his walking stick and repeats the motions.
The grandfather of two says: 'When you have cancer, it causes you a lot of agony. Playing the slot machines takes my mind off things.'
He speaks with a mask covering half his face because he 'cannot afford to catch a bug'.
He prefers the machines because the table games can get rowdy. Plus, the thrill of playing the slot machines lies 'in the free spins when there is the chance of getting something back', he says.
But he does not count his wins or losses; Money is no object for this former high-ranking executive in the oil industry who used to manage 'billions of dollars of investments'. He earned enough to retire at 45.
When The Straits Times meets him, he is sharply dressed in a striped polo shirt, a branded knit sweater, black pinstripe trousers with suspenders, and soft leather moccasins.
He is one of several frail elderly people spotted at the casino.
On a weekday afternoon at the Resorts World Sentosa casino, two elderly women seated in wheelchairs are spotted playing at the roulette and baccarat tables. They are both so weak that they need companions - one a domestic helper, the other her daughter - to help them place bets.
Dr Thomas Lim, consultant psychiatrist with the National Addictions Management Service and acting chief of the addiction medicine department at the Institute of Mental Health, says research has shown that elderly gamblers tend to play more often than younger gamblers.
This is often because their loss of traditional social roles such as employment - especially if due to sickness - results in social isolation, emotional disturbances such as depression, and boredom. 'Gambling can provide them with a form of escape and emotional relief,' he says.
Dr Lim warns that, unfortunately, elderly people with cognitive decline are also less able to 'make sound judgments, weigh risks, and appreciate or remember past losses'. This makes it more difficult for them to register and recover from gambling losses as they are likely to be unemployed and have exhausted their savings.
Mr Goh recalls a visit where he lost $4,000 in six hours playing two-cent bets on slot machines. The memory makes him 'angry' because the odds of winning are so low.
But he is not about to kick the habit. He does not think it is necessary.
He says: 'It is not as if I do not take care of my family. My two children each have a roof over their heads, there is money in the bank for emergencies and I spend time with my family. We are very close.'
He adds: 'At the start of the year, the doctor gave me a year to live. Now, I think I might have another year.
'But my days are numbered. I play only to pass time.'
HUANG LIJIE