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28-05-2012, 07:02 AM
A case of "More Money, More Problems"? Being rich suddenly can give you more worries and show you how true friends are!
The Straits Times
May 28, 2012
JACKPOT AUNTIE: CHOO HONG ENG
'Now I know who my real friends are'
THE 'Jackpot Aunty' who became cash-rich from taking on the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) casino to claim her winnings now feels poorer for the whole experience.
Madam Choo Hong Eng, a 58-year-old hawker, got the $416,742.16 she won at a slot machine at its casino last November.
But she has also lost friends, some of whom go back 30 years.
She told The Straits Times that she still gets calls every other day from these 'friends', who have come out of the woodwork to ask for help in paying their credit card bills and loans or to restart failed businesses.
The Mandarin-speaking woman, who runs a vegetarian stall in Geylang East, said: 'When I turn them down, they get angry with me and scold me for being heartless. But what can I do? I can't help so many people!'
The devout Buddhist has donated the bulk of her winnings - $280,000 - to 26 charities, with each getting between $5,000 and $20,000.
The charities that did not make it to her list of 26 are another source of stress for her. They have needed placating too.
She said: 'They make me feel so bad. Winning the money has given me more problems.'
Dealing with the pressure of sharing her new-found wealth has whittled 3kg off her frame.
The mother of two adopted girls had won the money at the MBS casino last October, only to be told by a manager that the jackpot machine had a glitch.
She was told she would get $50,000 and a car worth $258,962 instead.
She was adamant about getting what she had won, and complained to the Casino Regulatory Authority. A month later, she was handed her winnings in full.
With the bulk of the money given away to charities, she spent another $60,000 on volunteer work such as cooking up meals for 3,500 residents in welfare homes.
She also bought 10-course restaurant dinners for the residents of an old folk's home and made a donation to the victims of the Bangkok floods.
Not a single cent was spent on herself or her daughters, she said.
She still lives in her five-room HDB flat in Pipit Road and drives her trusty year-old Volkswagen delivery van; her new Samsung smartphone was a gift from her telco for being a loyal customer.
She said that she is an inveterate bargain-bin shopper, and that she was wearing a $1 pair of slippers when she hit the jackpot.
The one thing that has changed: She has sworn off going to casinos.
'The big win was just pure luck and I don't think it will happen again. So why bother wasting my money and, in the end, ruining my own life?'
Saying she is thankful for the few friends who have stuck by her, neither resentful of her fortune nor pestering her for handouts, she added: 'At least, now I know who my real friends are. But I really wish things will go back to normal.'
The Straits Times
May 28, 2012
JACKPOT AUNTIE: CHOO HONG ENG
'Now I know who my real friends are'
THE 'Jackpot Aunty' who became cash-rich from taking on the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) casino to claim her winnings now feels poorer for the whole experience.
Madam Choo Hong Eng, a 58-year-old hawker, got the $416,742.16 she won at a slot machine at its casino last November.
But she has also lost friends, some of whom go back 30 years.
She told The Straits Times that she still gets calls every other day from these 'friends', who have come out of the woodwork to ask for help in paying their credit card bills and loans or to restart failed businesses.
The Mandarin-speaking woman, who runs a vegetarian stall in Geylang East, said: 'When I turn them down, they get angry with me and scold me for being heartless. But what can I do? I can't help so many people!'
The devout Buddhist has donated the bulk of her winnings - $280,000 - to 26 charities, with each getting between $5,000 and $20,000.
The charities that did not make it to her list of 26 are another source of stress for her. They have needed placating too.
She said: 'They make me feel so bad. Winning the money has given me more problems.'
Dealing with the pressure of sharing her new-found wealth has whittled 3kg off her frame.
The mother of two adopted girls had won the money at the MBS casino last October, only to be told by a manager that the jackpot machine had a glitch.
She was told she would get $50,000 and a car worth $258,962 instead.
She was adamant about getting what she had won, and complained to the Casino Regulatory Authority. A month later, she was handed her winnings in full.
With the bulk of the money given away to charities, she spent another $60,000 on volunteer work such as cooking up meals for 3,500 residents in welfare homes.
She also bought 10-course restaurant dinners for the residents of an old folk's home and made a donation to the victims of the Bangkok floods.
Not a single cent was spent on herself or her daughters, she said.
She still lives in her five-room HDB flat in Pipit Road and drives her trusty year-old Volkswagen delivery van; her new Samsung smartphone was a gift from her telco for being a loyal customer.
She said that she is an inveterate bargain-bin shopper, and that she was wearing a $1 pair of slippers when she hit the jackpot.
The one thing that has changed: She has sworn off going to casinos.
'The big win was just pure luck and I don't think it will happen again. So why bother wasting my money and, in the end, ruining my own life?'
Saying she is thankful for the few friends who have stuck by her, neither resentful of her fortune nor pestering her for handouts, she added: 'At least, now I know who my real friends are. But I really wish things will go back to normal.'
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