“What happens in Vegas” ends in Long Beach?

The LA Times has a great article about Ted Ngoy, the one-time Los Angeles “doughnut king” who, thanks in part to a severe gambling problem and some bad decisions, is now homeless. It’s thought-provoking reading, to say the least.

From the LA Times:


Ted Ngoy made a fortune in doughnuts. Over the years, he led thousands of his countrymen into the business. Through doughnuts, many Cambodians stepped out of isolation and into the American mainstream. And a new figure emerged on the California business landscape: the Cambodian doughnut-shop owner.

Today, at 62, the doughnut king is broke, homeless and dependent on the goodwill of his few remaining friends.

The Ngoys went to Las Vegas for the first time in 1977. They saw Elvis Presley perform, and Ted played a little blackjack.

Over the next few years, he went back every month or so, seeing Tom Jones, Diana Ross and Wayne Newton � and betting ever-larger sums.

Pit bosses, floor men and dealers at Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand and the Mirage got to know the Cambodian doughnut king. Casino operators gave Ngoy free rooms, food, airfare and front-row seats to prize fights.

In return, he played their tables and lost thousands of dollars.

“Las Vegas was the new thing,” he said, “besides making money and making doughnuts,”

Ngoy’s wife hated his gambling. She would discover big losses, and they would argue, sending their children running to their rooms. She would forgive him when he promised to stop, and he would � for a while. “I believed him a thousand times,” she said.

Then Ngoy would fly to Las Vegas without telling her, sometimes staying as long as a week. She would drive there with her youngest son and go from hotel to hotel looking for him.

Ngoy forged her signature on checks. He borrowed money from relatives who had leased his doughnut shops. When he lost big, he would sign the stores over to them.

“When you get to the table, you’re so emotional, evil in your body,” he said. “You cannot resist against it.”

Word spread. Refugees who had sought his advice now avoided him, fearing he would ask for a loan.

Ngoy tried Gamblers Anonymous. “I cry. Everybody cry,” he said. “After cry, go back gambling.”

He began placing bets with Cambodian bookies on football and basketball games. He had $50,000 riding on many Sundays.

From Sweet Success to Bitter Tears

I would definitely read the entire article–those are just a few excerpts.

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