![]() ![]() “They come here and they love the lion dance. “This is just a great time of year for us,” said Kelley O’Hara, marketing director of Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, which spent $100,000 to promote its new year celebration, which includes lion dances, Chinese acrobat shows and a lavish buffet. Some give active gamblers “lucky” money in red envelopes - red is seen as a lucky color, and giving money in red envelopes is a longtime tradition - add Asian dishes to menus and promote lavish new year programs to draw in crowds. The player wins when that choice is rolled.ĭuring the celebratory week, gambling isn’t relegated to the home. And instead of a spinning wheel, the dealer rolls three dice. The game has been around for so long that its origins are obscure.Īccording to legend, the game was invented in northern Vietnam by workers in rice paddies while they waited for the harvest season to start.The game is similar to roulette, but players put money on pictures of a gourd or animals - crab, deer, chicken, fish, shrimp - instead of numbers. They also make offerings at homemade shrines to pay respect to those who came before them.īut gambling is a big part of the celebration, and many put their hopes on Bau Cua, also known as gourd and crab, an ancient board game that is played only around the first week of the new year. The celebration also has a more somber note, with people attending temple to pray for ancestors. He said one of his family members has become less reprimanding and more accepting of the addiction.Thousands attend Garden Grove’s Tet Festival, with its traditional food, cultural exhibits and rides. Over the last several months, the family has learned how to approach Le's mother and allow her to be vulnerable about her addiction. Le said he and a few of his family members, along with his mom, are also receiving treatment through CalGETS. ![]() Maivia said about 16,000 people have received services through the program, about 11 percent of whom have identified as Asian. The family sought and continues to receive help from the California Gambling Education and Treatment Services (CalGETS) program, which offers free gambling addiction treatment. She also didn't know how to ask for help, he said. She tried to hide her addiction, and as a result, the family never knew how she was feeling. Le said he remembered his mom's addiction clouding communication within the family. In early months of the pandemic, after decades of living with gambling addiction, Le and his family sought help for his mother. (There is no state or national survey that examines gambling addiction by ethnicity, and problem gambling can affect anyone across various demographic factors, Cyndi Maivia, chief of the California Department of Public Health Office of Problem Gambling, said in an email.) But the problem is one that has been difficult to address because of a lack of culturally sensitive resources and treatment. ![]() While exact numbers of those affected by gambling addiction aren't known, it's an issue that community leaders say has divided families, causes stress and can lead to suicidal ideation and crime. The National Council on Problem Gambling estimated in 2015 that about 5 million Americans are addicted to gambling, but that only about 8 percent will seek treatment. It prompted him to move to Northern California for two years where he surrounded himself with friends who kept busy with other activities and eventually overcame his addiction. It was a pivotal moment for Wong, who realized that he wouldn't be able to get married and support a family if he continued to gamble his money away. ![]()
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