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Following the brutal slaying of five family members last week in their San Francisco home, New America Media’s Aruna Lee, Andrew Lam and Summer Chiang examined the gambling epidemic among Asians.
One of those killed was said to have amassed huge gambling debts. The motive for the killing may be gambling debts. All five victims and the suspect are Asian.
Binh Thai Luc, 35, is accused of the grisly killings of three women and two men early Friday morning at 16 Howth St. in the city's Ingleside neighborhood.
“We’re not discussing any potential motive for these killings,” stated Omid Talai, spokesman for San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, who said he couldn’t comment further because the investigation is ongoing. Asked whether gambling might be involved, he replied, “We’ll be exploring everything.”
Although gambling addiction affects every group, researchers have found unusually high levels among Asians, according to the New America Media report.
Why Asians?
From the New America Media:
Tony Nguyen, a counselor and business analyst at the Southeast Asian Community Center in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, said a lot of immigrants gamble because they are exposed to it at a young age. It is culturally accepted in Asian culture, and gambling is often part of holidays and celebrations.
According to the RGC website, “The issue is more severe in the Asian American community, with pockets of the population experiencing trends of acute problem gambling — especially in areas with high concentrations of casinos, such as California and Connecticut.”
Nguyen, the business analyst with the Southeast Asian Community Center, observed that problem gambling affects Vietnamese men of all ages. He also said he sees many women gamblers, who are trying to make “quick money.”
Recently, Nguyen said, he’s seen a disturbing trend: Homeowners who resort to gambling to come up with large sums of money to save their homes from foreclosure.
Kent Woo, the director of the Bay Area’s NICOS health coalition, says Asians may be attracted to gambling because of their immigration experience. People who are willing to start a new life in another country are generally greater risk-takers, and more likely to gravitate toward the risk-taking nature of gambling, he said.
“Gambling is a huge problem in the Chinese community,” said Woo. “It’s actually somewhat common for our clients to report that they have gone to loan sharks for money.”
The New America Media report noted that, in June 2010, California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Gaming Control bureau arrested five lenders, who allegedly charged exorbitant interest rates–5 to 10 percent every week–and threatened borrowers and their family members to collect debts.
One lender, a member of a violent international gang in China, used his ties to pressure borrowers by threatening their family members back home.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
