It's about a factory owner in Malaysia who lost it all at the tables.

It's about how this millionaire had to sell everything and move to New York City to start over as a dishwasher.

It's about him.

Like many in Chinatown, Ho, 47, believes a casino at the Gallery is too close for comfort. Asians, he says, have a dangerous taste for gambling. He doesn't want his friends or employees to fall into the same trap he did.

"You think it's easy money," said Ho, a restaurant manager. "But it can kill you one day."

Foxwoods Casino wants to move its stalled casino project from the waterfront of South Philadelphia to the downtown retail and transit hub on Market Street. Mayor Nutter and Gov. Rendell support the idea.

But many in the Asian American community say a casino at the back door of Chinatown - a neighborhood of about 5,000 - will feed a gambling habit among Asians.

There is little national research on Asian gambling patterns in the United States. But in pockets of the country with proximity to gaming - Los Angeles, San Francisco, Connecticut - studies have uncovered problems.

"We are consistently seeing higher rates," said Nancy Petry, a psychologist and addiction specialist at the University of Connecticut. A survey she led of 96 Southeast Asian refugees in Connecticut, which has two casinos, found that 59 percent were pathological gamblers - gambling so much it harmed their lives.

"There is clearly something cultural about it," Petry said.

Maureen Garrity, a spokeswoman for Foxwoods, said the company would meet Chinatown representatives in the coming weeks to begin "listening to their concerns."

At the top of that list: the risk of gambling problems. "That will be like a bomb," said a 37-year-old immigrant from China who is battling a gambling addiction.

The man, who did not want his name used, said he started playing slots, poker and blackjack while in graduate school. He said he lost $150,000 over the years.

"To go to Atlantic City, you have to think about it a little bit," the man said. "But if it's in Chinatown, you can go every night."

Gambling carries no stigma for Asians. To the contrary, it's an activity woven into celebrations like weddings or holidays like New Years.

"It's not only acceptable behavior, it's expected in many ways," said Timothy Fong, a psychiatrist with the UCLA Gambling Studies Program.

Fong added that Asians are big believers in lucky numbers and translate that belief into gambling.

Casinos know this.

Across the country, operators are spending millions on marketing to Asians, including in Atlantic City. They are adding shows from Hong Kong and opening specialty Asian restaurants. Foxwoods has a Web site in Mandarin for its casino in Connecticut.