Red carpet
Mark Lee just recently discussed his betting dependency from around 20 years earlier and the individual who made him choose to give up.
The 57-year-old regional star was a visitor on the current episode of Jeanette Aw’s talk program JA Unscripted launched on Sunday (Oct 4).
Sharing the difficulties he dealt with throughout his life which assisted him in depicting characters on screen, he discussed the time when he was addicted to football wagering and purchasing 4D lotto.
“I could spend more than $4,000 a month on 4D lottery tickets,” Mark stated.
He shared that he owned organizations at the time and was earning money from it.
Mark included: “Gambling is a strange thing — it always lets you win at first, then eventually, it gives you a black eye.
“As soon as you have a black eye, you frantically look for medication to put on it. It will not recover. I kept searching for cash [then] and eventually, I owed money.”
People around him had also encouraged him to stop gambling with some even scolding him, but he paid no heed.
He added it took him about a year from the time he got into debt until he quit gambling.
In 2019, Mark revealed his gambling addiction in a video by the National Council on Problem Gambling.
He also told Shin Min Daily News then that it happened when he was filming the 1996 local variety show Comedy Nite, and his co-star, local director Jack Neo, had tried different approaches to dissuade him from gambling without success.
He had spent up to $5,000 a month on 4D and about $300 to $500 per month on football matches. Mark had also won more than $100,000 at the lottery before.
In the talk show, Mark told Jeanette throughout his ordeal, the only person who didn’t say anything was his mum, and it was also because of her that he decided to quit.
He recounted: “That day, I was being in the living-room and I observed she was likewise sitting there without stating a word.
“I think she knew [I was troubled], because my face and my body were oily but I didn’t even feel like taking a shower. She was reading the newspaper and she didn’t flip the pages at all. I didn’t know what expression she had behind it.
“I believed to myself then, ‘No, this can’t go on.’ That was when I understood the lady sitting throughout from me, my mum, she had not stated a word to me. I discovered it extremely unusual … Because I had an older sibling who passed away young, when I was 15. When I took a look at my mum (then), I believed I should not continue like this since the rest of her life would actually depend upon me looking after her.”
He told Shin Min Daily News in 2019 his mum had once told him plainly that because he was stlll young, he had to take care of himself in the future.
Mark told Jeanette he decided to quit gambling from that day onwards, but the process was very tough as he had to stop himself from checking the lottery and football results.
“Even when I saw those aunties who offered papers by the roadside, I would not attempt to take a look at the lottery game results released in the documents,” he shared, adding it took him about six months to kick the habit completely.
He also negotiated with his debtors to pay off his debts consistently in small amounts over time.
Mark recounted: “Whatever had colour once again when I lastly settled the financial obligations. It’s extremely odd. When I owed money and didn’t attempt to go home due to the fact that I hesitated they would come trying to find me, it was as if a layer of fog remained in front of me although whatever I saw remained in colour. It was tough to see things plainly.
“Once I paid everything off, I suddenly realised the colours became so much brighter. I also felt more motivated and energetic.”
It was among his most difficult times in life as he needed to accept whatever tasks were provided to him.
Reviewing his experience, Mark believed it was most likely a test that the paradises had actually set for him.
“I had it too easy, I made a lot of money and then I started gambling. [They might have thought] it was time to give me some training. It was my experiences that shaped so much of who I am. I’ve learned to take things easier,” he stated.
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