One-Dollar Gambler

One-Dollar Gambler

I have one dollar to bet on number 13
One dollar for a loaf of bread
With a piece of ham, sandwiched between two slices of tomato.
One dollar for a hot milk tea
Before work time starts.
One dollar for some paper and ink
And some knowledge for a blind man.
One dollar each morning,
One dollar each night and for each brick I laid.
But, I bet one dollar. The counter closed
The next day number 13 appeared
In the middle of my drowsy eyes
On top of my nose
Or somewhere in between the hollowness
Of my empty hands.
I now have zero dollars to bet
Zero dollars for bread, tea, paper, ink and bricks!
Zero dollars, again, for number 13.

by Phan Thi Nam Mai


Recently, I came across this poem on gambing on the internet. This poem shows how gambling is so addictive such that the persona did not know how to prioritise. He could have used that one-dollar for many things that are beneficial to him such as buying a slice of sandwich to fill his stomach or a cup of warm milk. Instead, he decides to use the one-dollar to gamble, and hopefully, he can win and get a fortune. This further shows how addictive gambling is such that one addicted to it can forget all about the basic neccesities one needs and instead spend the money on gambling.

This led me to think if the setting up of the gambling den is such a good idea after all. The main purpose of setting up the gambling den in Singapore is to boost tourism in Singapore as well as to provide more jobs for those who have been retrenched during the economic downturn. However, despite all these advantages, there is a risk of our Singaporean to being addicted to gambling. This would cause many families to be destroyed as the gambler would be so addicted that he would gamble the family's savings away. More importantly, this would give rise to more people who have no money to turn to loan sharks. This would cause a rise of loan sharks which the government do not wat to happen.

However, looking from another point of view, all of these addiction can be prevented if everyone had some self-constrain. It is okay to gamble, but when one realises he has already crossed the line to the extent that he is harming his family, he should stop. It would be okay to gamble if one can prioritise. Basic neccessities should always come first before gambling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chbjc-XDKLw