Daily Lessons in Life 13 July 2010 - Teacher in $130,000 debt over World Cup bets

"Tue, Jul 13, 2010 The New Paper - Teacher in $130,000 debt over World Cup bets

HE was thrilled when Germany beat Australia 4-0 in the Group Stage match at the World Cup last month.

In just under two hours, the first-time bettor made $6,000 - the equivalent of two months' salary for the secondary school teacher.

But by the time Brazil suffered a quarter-final defeat by Holland, John's thrill had turned into shock and fear.

He had chalked up nearly $130,000 losses in bets with three different illegal bookmakers.

The only way for him to pay off his debts was to sell his car."

It is a shocking irrational behaviour by supposedly the 'architect of the soul of our future generation' - teacher. His or her case may be unique and rare. Hopefully. If not, it is something of concerned.

Lessons for me are:

1. trying to bet your worth on luck, or good guess work, is not natural! Nature dictates, normally, that you plow what you sowed. Betting and winning is not always reliable!;

2. it does not matter what profession you are in once you started betting on luck to make a living! A teacher definitely has the same chance to make such mistake than any other vocations;

3. football is a beautiful game for us to enjoy. And if you want to add a bit more excitement, a small bet of less than S$100-200 is good enough. There is no need to bet the car, or worst, the house!!

May this be a lesson for those who had not come these far.