Thai man implants magnets into his fingers for 40 years to win at Hi-Lo

A Thai man implanted magnets into his own fingers for 40 years in order to cheat in the popular but illegal Hi-Lo dice game. He finally asked a doctor to remove them because he wanted to board a flight and was scared his magnetic fingers would sound the alarm at airport security.

The doctor, Wat Lun, posted photos of the magnets and the gambler’s sewn-up fingers on Facebook with the caption…

“You probably won’t believe it but a patient inserted magnets into the fingertips of is left-hand middle and ring fingers for 40 years. He put them there to play Hi-Lo.

“He came and asked to have them taken out because he wants to take a flight and is scared the magnets will set off an alarm at airport security. When I cut open his fingers, I found two very tightly embedded magnets.”

Netizens had mixed reactions, with some people scolding the man for cheating while others praised him for his extreme efforts to get rich. Most people expressed pure shock. More than 3000 people shared the post.

Hi-Lo, known as sic-bo in some Asian countries, is played with three dice. The player bets on whether the combination of the three dices will be a high or low score. If the dice add up to less than 11, the score is considered low. If the dice add up to a number between 11-18, the score is high.

DailyNews explained that the cheating device implants works by connecting to another hidden magnet in the dice. The magnet is strong enough to turn the dice over.

Hi-Lo is illegal but is a popular game at illegal casinos in Thailand. If the police raid a casino and find people playing the dice game, the penalty for participating is a fine of up to 5,000 baht and/or a jail term up to three years, according to the Gambling Act of 1935.

Opening a casino in Thailand became illegal after King Rama VI prohibited gambling in 1916. Thais who want to gamble in a casino legally often hop across the border to Cambodia, where boomtown casino towns like Poipet are built especially for Thai and other foreign customers, since gambling is illegal for Cambodian citizens but not foreigners.