Gambling influencer trades private jets for Grab driver job after running up $245,000 debt

A Malaysian influencer once famous for promoting gambling says he now drives for Grab about 10 hours a day just to cover basic expenses after running up some RM1 million (US$245,000) in debt.

Aaron Lim, 48, known online as "Genting's little queen," said in an Instagram video on Sept. 21 that he has been driving for the ride-hailing platform for eight months in a car lent to him by a friend, Singapore news site Mothership reported.

He usually works from around 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. and earns at most RM200 ($49) a day. He said low fares in Malaysia leave him little after paying for food, fuel and medicine.

"It's only enough to survive," he said.

The long shifts have given him back pain. He has also relied on sleeping pills for insomnia for more than a year, which he said has only made the problem worse.

The earnings are a fraction of the RM100,000 a month he once made, Singapore news portal AsiaOne reported. He called his fall into debt the lowest point of his life.

From hand sanitizer to high-stakes baccarat

Lim sold hair products, then hand sanitizer during Malaysia's Covid-19 lockdown, before a friend introduced him to gambling, Malaysian Chinese-language daily China Press reported in June 2025. He won RM20,000 in his first week.

He went on to build a large following by sharing gambling tips online under the slogan "three to five thousand a day, a hundred thousand a month."

At his peak, he won up to RM300,000 in a single day playing high-stakes baccarat at Genting Highlands, which he called an "investment." His worst night cost him up to RM150,000.

The hill resort outside Kuala Lumpur, which gave Lim his nickname, is home to Malaysia's only licensed casino, according to Fortune.

His winnings paid for private jet trips and fine dining, where he thought nothing of spending RM100 to RM200 on a meal. Now he waits until after 8:30 p.m. to queue for half-price food, according to AsiaOne.

"When I won, I would continue [gambling]. When I lost, I just kept wanting to win back my losses," he said in a separate video on Sept. 19.

In June 2025, Lim publicly disowned the "gambling brings wealth" message he had promoted, calling it a lie. "Gambling has no winners, only victims. I have harmed many people," he told China Press.

"My wild days are in the past. I'm starting over again at 48 years old," he said.