Wan Yeung Ming Opens Up on His Past Gambling Addiction

Sixty-six years old Wan Yeung Ming (尹揚明) made a comeback to TVB in Darkside of the Moon <黑色月光> to the surprise of the audience. The veteran actor was once a familiar face in the station, but the pressure of working in the entertainment industry also led him to a gambling addiction.

At the age of 10 years old, Wan Yeung Ming immigrated to Hong Kong from Macau. Life was not easy and the actor worked in many odd jobs to make a living. While working at a night club show, Wang Yeung Ming was introduced to many people in the entertainment industry.

Wan Yeung Ming career picked up when he received a call from the TVB former assistant director Chen Guanming (陳灌明) and soon Wan Yeung Ming was filming movies and drama day and night. Wan Yeung Ming’s career was taxing and he would be filming for six consecutive days without sleeping.

Gambling Addiction

Wan Yeung Ming revealed that when he was filming Happy Harmony (餐餐有宋家), it took seven months to film more than 170 episodes and he did not get any sleep for three months. As the stress was unbearable, Wan Yeung Ming turned to gambling and almost lost his life.

The actor shared, “At first I was wary of losing a month’s salary at most, but I didn’t expect to be losing 200,000 yuan after two games. I could not accept losing and I didn’t believe in bad luck. I felt that I could win it back by betting more times. I took more chip, I kept losing and, it turned into a gambling debt.”

At first, Wan Yeung Ming was able to cope with his debt but he was competitive and wanted to win back his losses. Wan Yeung Ming even went gambling on a boat and ultimately ended up losing more than seven months of his salary. Wan Yeung Ming confessed, “It was miserable. In fact, I already felt that there was something wrong with me at the time and later I told myself to not do this again.”

During the most difficult time, Wan Yeung Ming had thought about harming himself. He looked at the streets and thought about jumping. Fortunately, Wan Yeung Ming found the courage to live on, “I felt like I still had a chance. Every night at 8, I saw myself on TV. If I jump, there would be nothing. As long as you are willing to face it, you will cross the bridge when you get there. Besides, I was still marketable back then.”

Worked Hard to Pay Off Debt

In order to pay off his debt, Wan Yeung Ming left Happy Harmony and worked hard for five years. Wan Yeung Ming shared, “I endured and filmed everything during the five years as long as there was money. [Happy Harmony] was only enough for one months of salary and I was not earning enough. When I was filming elsewhere, I would earn a month’s salary in a few days. I also filmed bad movies too. “

Wan Yeung Ming continued, “I thought that I was rescuing myself with the money I earned. I made the wrong move in the past, but I had no regrets. Regrets are self-inflicted. If you can withstand it, you can let it go. There is no life without experience.”

Life after Leaving TVB

In 2000, Wan Yeung Ming felt that he was no longer useful to TVB after leaving Happy Harmony, and he decided to leave the station after his contract ended, “Maybe I reached a point and thought I should give up on TVB. I was very tired while filming with TVB. I worked really hard and gave everything I had. Actually, everyone at TVB was very nice to me.”

After TVB, Wan Yeung Ming turned his focus to film development and was involved in the behind the scene work. In 2000, Wan Yeung Ming directed and starred in the movie, The Warning Time <鐵男本色>. Although the result was lackluster, Wan Yeung Man was not bothered as he did not suffer financially and he learned a lot from the experience. Currently, Wan Yeung Ming is contemplating the filming of an autobiographical project.

Wan Yeung Ming also opened a restaurant in Macau with his friends in 1994. While there are rumors that he also opened a funeral business, he confessed that the business is not his and that he is only one of the managers and a very small shareholder.

Source: [1]

This article is written by Sammi for JayneStars.com.