I have an Uncle story

 I had an uncle.

He was the first millionaire in our family.

How did he get to become a millionaire?

Private 4D.

 

He strikes it once. And he didn’t take that winnings.

He betted all in those winnings again.

And he strikes it twice in a row.

 

The bookie didn’t run away. He called my uncle and told him that the money was ready and asked where to deliver his winnings.

Damn… now I know which side of the gambling table to bet on.

 

So, I am sure you have read many stories online and in newspapers. Sudden windfall drove their winners irrational and did stupid things with their winnings and making them square one, or even worse. My uncle was no exception.

 

What he did was he went to the hang flower thai pub.

Pay to hang flower (WTF? What does that do? What is that for?), sleeping with the ladies there, and drinking. He was already an alcoholic. I guess he just destroy the dam and let the alcohol flood his liver. He just doesn’t care.

 

And yea, the thai ladies and the pub owners there really know what to do.

 

With no control, with no self-discipline, the winnings were gone.

 

I am not even sure if he lent anyone some money, usually in this kind of scenario it is bound to have some people ask him to do business, investment, be a sleeping partner, and borrow money.

But I assume, he was a full hardcore Slaanesh worshipper. He did not care and did any of those ventures. (Warhammer 40k reference, there is a fictional god called Slaanesh that in that science fiction universe that represents pleasure, excess, and decadence)

 

My dad did try to talk some sense out of him. My uncle told him, “At least I used to be a millionaire.”

I guess that was his way of saying “I achieve what you can never achieve in your lifetime.”

 

As you guys can figure out… I am using past tense. Because he isn’t with us anymore.

He may indulge in his pleasure, excess, and decadence. The thai ladies and pub owners are making money, and doing business, they are not doctors or his mother. Eventually, his health problem becomes too serious he admits to a hospital.

And he doesn’t have any savings, not to mention his winnings. So, he was transferred to a hospice hospital. And pass away there. Alone.

My aunt did visit him, and make a video. He did apologise for the trouble he made.

 

He is succeeded by his son and his wife.

What did I learn from all these?

 

Be on the correct side of the gambling table

The bookie part does impress me. I didn’t expect that private gambling willing to honor the winnings, especially since the size of the winnings is almost $1 million. I guess for them, they aren’t worried that their customers win against them, but worried more about “what if there is no customer to gamble?”

However, it does tell me that there are certain industries, like brokerage firms, banking, and insurance companies. They do have some form of gambling and they call it probability.

Hence, I just need to know which side to ‘bet’/invest on to win in the long term.

 

“My partner Charlie says there are only three ways a smart person can go broke: Liquor, ladies and leverage.”  - Warren Buffett

Alcohol and women are a powerful money-spending combination. I learn to respect their power.
I believe that the atmosphere in the hang flower thai pub, clubbing filled with beautiful women, sometimes people give free drinks, etc. While the ladies will seduce men to spend more money on them or get more drinks. This will entice people to go into that route of ruin.

I don’t blame the pubs that most likely encouraged my uncle to keep buying liquors and hanging flowers on ladies.

They really trying to make money here. Usually, ladies don’t resort to this line unless they don’t have other good options, resulting in sacrificing their sleep and health just to make more money.

You can view this for more context on hang flower joints, aka siam diu here: https://youtu.be/up0YD5KVGGU?si=57UrTYa4CHT0QiFB

Yet…

I believe we should have fun and have an open mind when we progress in our lives.

Moderation should be the key. Set up some ‘limitations’ to prevent overspending, like just bringing cash. Just be aware that going to such places is ‘dangerous’ for wallet and credit cards.

 

Come to think of it, I could go down this route… if not for my gout. When I drink alcohol, my gout can flare up easily. You can say that my gout is my wake-up call and reason to avoid drinking.

 

Darkest Dungeon Intro

As my uncle passed away, there was no funeral, my dad and aunts decided to cremate my uncle’s body as soon as possible. I want to join them with the cremation, at least pay my last respects.

My dad strongly advises me not to go. His reason because my uncle’s wife is not mentally stable.

 

I guess my uncle’s addiction to whoring and booze not only ruin his wealth, his health, and his family.