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TC

People walking up to temple, people praying, placing wreaths, statue, painting

Inside this small shrine is a mystery millions believe could make them instantly rich.  It's the statue of a dead singer.

01.00.00

Legend has it Pum Puang Duangjan died cursing bookmakers for destroying her gambling mothers life.  In revenge she vowed to destroy them by giving out winning lottery numbers from the beyond.

Pan of shrine, people praying, shaking sticks

Now the much loved singing idol has become chief saint in a cult of instant wealth.

01.32

After appropriate prayers Pum is meant to doll out the lucky numbers on carefully shaken magic sticks.

Interview with young man

Man:  I could get lucky from what we are doing here and if you have good luck, you could get a lucky number.  If people don't have any luck then they won't get the lucky number.  But I believe in superstition.  I believe it's real.

01.49

Audience watching, television with soccer playing,

No running street battles here - in Thailand the World Cup is taken very seriously and for good reason.  Amazingly in the capital that sent Asia broke - Thais are betting more than one billion dollars on the Cup.  It's more than ever before and it's all illegal.

02.02

men in room - one on telephone, men milling around

It's now become even too much for Thailand's notoriously corrupt police.  They're cracking down - busting ninety-nine bookies in the Cup's first five days.  And that crackdown is continuing.

02.33

After arresting this bookie undercover cops record incoming bets as evidence.

Woman:  Hello hello ... I want to bet for Belgium with odds of 5 to 4 ...

Man:  Wait a second, wait a second ...  Who do you bet for?

Woman: I want to bet for Belgium with odds of 5 to 4, 16,000 Baht.

Monk, with people, money being put in silver container,

But if you though Thais could escape gambling madness in the sanctuary of the local temple at the temple - forget it.

03.13

Buckets of water, people milling around

Despite strict Buddhist rules and a recent government warning against encouraging gambling, many temples are in on it too - and in a big way.  At this one, people search for lucky numbers in the wax, monks insisting suspended candles make it automatic divination. 

Gold statues, monks working with numbers

Even partial success means big donations. 

03.46

Other drop all pretence all together, as long as scribbling lucky numbers brings in donations. So how do monks justify promoting such blatant worldly pursuits.

Interview with monk

Monk:  Buying a lottery ticket is not as bad as people think.  It's just reporters who make it look unusual by doing stories like what you're doing now.  You just want a news story.  But in reality people come here because they want to find peace and learn the Buddha essence.

04.03

Prayer flags above group of people at shrine, people rubbing trees

It seems nothing can escape being turned into a source of good luck for a good bet.

04.32

By throwing power on it, Thais search for numbers even on this ancient tree.

Woman looking, lottery tickets, woman selling tickets, man playing instrument, people walking along, making food, statue, shrine

No wonder they're looking - there's a lot at stake here too.  Thais spend another billion dollars a year on the State Lottery.  They can spend three times that amount on an illegal underground lottery that's run off the same numbers.

04.48

Music

And if you think Asia's crash means less gambling, think again.  With months or even years of recession ahead, Thais are betting bigger than ever in the hope of a quick way out of tight times.

And that means Pum's posthumous popularity can only grow - as many more Thais seek the spirit-world's help to balance the books.

Ends

05.41