The ‘Kavach- Kaali Shaktiyon Se’ actor, while talking to a leading daily, revealed that he was a compulsive gambler and it took him three years to get his life back on track. He said that he got addicted to gambling when he was 19 years old.
“I got addicted to gambling in 2006, when I was barely 19 years old. I had started working part-time at a retail store while I was in the second year of college. One day, a friend took me to a casino, and call it the beginner’s luck or something else, I won money that day. I was thrilled, as it would have taken me a week to earn that amount. Soon, I started visiting the casino regularly after work. A few staff members, who I had befriended, suggested that I should get rid of the vice, but I didn’t pay heed. I became a compulsive gambler and there were times when I would bet my month’s salary. Once, I even offered my car keys to someone in return for some money for gambling,” Vivek told Times Of India.
The handsome actor also revealed how a cab driver helped him to quit gambling. He said that the conversation with the cabbie changed his life.
“One night, I had lost a lot of money and was left with just five pounds to catch a cab home. The cabbie, a Bangladeshi, asked me how the night was, referring to my visit to the casino. Since I wasn’t in the right frame of mind, I didn’t want to talk to anyone. And then, he narrated his story to me. He was an uneducated man, who relocated from Dhaka years ago. He saved up enough money to buy a cab and got married to an Indian girl. He was hard-working, and in a few years, became the owner of seven taxis. He also bought two houses in Cardiff. However, on one fateful evening, his friend took him to a casino and his life went downhill since then. He became addicted to gambling and lost everything. He became bankrupt and his wife left him along with his two kids. His story did what no advice could do; that was the last day I went to a casino,” Vivek told TOI.
On the professional front, Vivek is yet to announce his next project after ‘Qayamat Ki Raat’. He was recently seen performing with wife Divyanka Tripathi on the premiere episode of ‘Nach Baliye 9’. The couple was also supposed to host the first episode of the dance reality show but they had to skip it as Vivek was hospitalized due to intestinal infection.
Also READ: Divyanka Welcomes Hubby Vivek Home In The Most Romantic Way As He Gets Discharged From Hospital!
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