Ever since the Resorts World at Sentosa – one of the two integrated casino resorts in Singapore – opened, the casino has been drawing in a steady stream of visitors. The games available at the casino include baccarat, blackjack, slots and electronic game machines.

Several non-gaming attractions at the Singapore casino complex, Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), were on Monday already operating at “capacity”, according to a notice on the property’s website. Visitors to these attractions are currently required to make an advanced reservation, as part of measures to prevent the spread locally of Covid-19. Comfy Casino with Nice Staff, visit at afternoon and try some game on table and jackpot machine. Minimum bet $5, perfect place to spend out some time while waiting dinner and sunset at Sentosa. No complicated dress code and free drink for everyone.

Have you been there yet?

As we all know by now, Singapore citizens and permanent residents are required to pay a S$100 fee to enter the casino for a day, or S$2,000 for a year pass. If you would like to save on the hefty levy, there are always cheaper alternatives online where you can play similar games, including poker and even bingo, from the comfort of your computer or mobile device.

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Even with the levy, people are still thronging the place to pay for the admission. Has the economy picked up? Or are people using the casino as a means to make a quick buck? Have you ever won big at a casino?

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Lining the casino’s entrance is a long row of gantries with scanners. We notice that a majority of these are reserved for Singaporeans and permanent residents, while only a handful are meant for foreigners.

So far, one gambler has reportedly won S$1.5million at Resorts World Sentosa! Before anyone goes running off to the casino, do read Mr. Larry Haverkamp’s explanation on why the house always wins.

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One of our readers, Alwyn, has shared his exciting casino experience with us. Here’s what he says:

Casino update! I finally managed to pop by last evening. Basically gotta pay the S$100 + your IC. To enter scan your IC and from that time of 1st entry, it’s valid for 24 hours. If you exceed the 24 hours during your last exit, they will escort you to pay additional S$100.

Surprisingly, people were betting like there’s no tomorrow. S$500 – 1000 bets per hand was common place.

I saw young guys betting 1K per hand at blackjack, one old man and his friend lost about 10K in 1 hand of baccarat, 1 auntie won 600 after doubling down on her 11 point initial blackjack hand.

There were long queues at the cashier for people wanting to change their chips. I suggest you go to the smoking section cashier which was very quiet. People probably didn’t know it existed.

Food is cheap. There is a good mix of local food, about $4 per plate. Taste… average. Those looking for a beer I suggest buying from the drinks stall rather than at the bar. Price is 50% cheaper minus the nice glass, you drink from the can. :) At S$5 a pop.

While the casino admission fee is meant to deter Singaporeans from gambling, avid gamblers will always find a way with or without the levy. The most important thing for players is to gamble responsibly.

“Go big or go home” says the gambler seated beside you at the blackjack table. Everyone knows the odds in a casino are against the player, so you’re both probably trying different tricks to win.

Some, like counting cards in your mind, are legal. However, most of the other ways you can think of are probably against the law.

The Casino Control Act (CCA) contains most of the casino-related offences you could get fined or jailed for. You may also be charged under other laws such as the Penal Code or the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSCA).

What People have Gotten Caught for

8 not-so-lucky ways gamblers have tried to win more at casinos but got themselves arrested, fined or jailed instead are:

1. Sneaking in bets after the dealer reveals the result (also known as past-posting)

In July 2015, a 23-year old man tried to bet $500 after the dealer revealed the winning result of a Sic-Bo game at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) Casino. He stood to win $25,000 if he was not caught.

However, the dealer caught the man and alerted the pit manager. The CCTV also recorded the past-posting.

He was sentenced to 4 weeks’ jail for cheating at play under the CCA.

2. Swapping cards

4 Turkish tourists won $6,075 while playing Three Card Poker in August 2015 by tricking the dealer at the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) Casino.

One tourist distracted the dealer and another blocked the other patrons’ view so the remaining 2 conspirators could exchange cards under the table.

The dealer did not discover what they were doing. However, the RWS surveillance team picked up on their tricks on CCTV. The tourists were sentenced to between 12 weeks’ and 6 months’ jail for cheating at play.

3. Taking advantage of a system error to obtain more free credits

3 MBS loyalty programme members took advantage of a system glitch to obtain free play credits, which they used to win about $875,133 from electronic roulette machines.

One of them was redeeming her loyalty Sands Bonus Dollars for free play credits when she discovered the glitch. Her redemptions were not recorded because of the glitch and she repeatedly used the glitch to obtain more free play credits.

Instead of informing MBS, she told the other 2 loyalty programme members how to do the same. Together, they obtained $1.029 million worth of free credits from the glitch. They either kept their winnings, transferred their winnings to others or converted them into gaming chips.

Their exploits were later discovered by MBS. They were charged under the CDSCA and sentenced to between 12 to 26 months’ jail. They also agreed to return the $875,133 to MBS.

4. Stealing a playing card machine to photograph the cards’ sequence

In May 2013, 13 Thai nationals stole a baccarat playing card machine from MBS. They crowded around the cabinet holding the card machines and brought it to their hotel room, where they laid out and photographed the cards in sequence. They then replaced the cards in sequence and put the playing card machine back in the cabinet.

The next day, they played baccarat at the same table as the stolen card machine and won about $1.372 million in 3 hours. Casino staff caught on their scheme after the Thai nationals’ actions were recorded on CCTV. They were sentenced to between 12.75 months and 17.25 months jail under the CCA.

5. Making under-the-table deals with the dealer to see the last card in the deck

A Singaporean befriended 3 RWS croupiers and colluded with them to cheat RWS of $12,915 between May and July 2015. While playing Three Card Poker, the dealers flashed the last card in the deck to the gambler in exchange for 20% of his winnings.

The scheme was exposed by CCTV footage which showed the 3 dealers showing the last card in the deck to the gambler.

The gambler was jailed for 12 months. 2 of the dealers were sentenced to 4 and 8 months’ jail. The last dealer is on the run.

6. Making under-the-table deals with the dealer to get paid extra chips

2 Chinese students were jailed for 8 and 15 weeks respectively under the CCA for making under-the-table deals with an MBS baccarat dealer between April and May 2016.

The dealer would either overpay their winning bets or not take in the losing bets. At times, the dealer even paid out on losing bets. The dealer would also hand the students extra chips when they were going to convert the chips to cash.

Their scheme obtained them about $19,700. After the chips were converted to cash, they would meet in the MBS hotel toilets to split the money. The dealer was said to be the mastermind and jailed for 8 months and 12 weeks under the Penal Code and the CCA. The 3 of them also paid $20,275 back to MBS.

7. Convincing other players at the table they have lost

In December 2015, 4 men and 2 women from China were charged with cheating at play under the CCA. What they did was to convince other players at the MBS and RWS baccarat tables that these players had lost their bets. They then pocketed their victims’ chips.

They reportedly cheated victims of about $700 worth of chips. The 6 suspects were also believed to have cheated other casino patrons by pretending to help them place bets.

8. Using smartphones to record jackpot machines’ play patterns

A Czech national and 2 Russians won $108,995 from the jackpot machines (also known as slot machines) at MBS and RWS over 3 days in May 2016 by using their smartphones to film the jackpot machines’ play patterns.

They later uploaded the recordings to a server to predict the jackpot machines’ mass payouts. The predictions were sent back to the players’ smartphones to alert them of the mass payouts.

They were part of a Russian syndicate which paid players 10% of the winnings. All 3 were charged with cheating at play under the CCA. The Czech national was jailed for 22 months. The 2 Russians were sentenced to 45 and 30 months’ jail respectively.

The 45-month jail sentence was later reduced on appeal to 38 months after the courts introduced and applied new sentencing guidelines for the offence of cheating at play.

Rws Casino Dress Code

Other Casino Offences

Other illegal behaviour under the CCA include:

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1. Putting fake coins into a jackpot or slot machine
2. Making fake chips or chip purchase vouchers
3. Using any device to count or record the cards dealt
4. Carrying, selling, or buying fake chips to use as real chips (and the use of such fake chips)
5. Carrying or using tampered cards or dice
6. Carrying or using anything which could interfere with the casino’s games
7. Tricking the dealer to get more money
8. Pretending to be casino staff

While the UK Supreme Court has held in a lawsuit against Genting Casinos that edge-sorting by a gambler himself will be considered cheating, it remains to be seen whether Singapore will take the same approach.

Casino Control Act Punishments

Depending on which CCA offence you have been suspected of committing, you can be arrested without a warrant and jailed for up to 7 years, fined up to $150,000, or both.

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At the very least, the CCA empowers Singapore casinos to detain you until the police arrives if they suspect you cheated. We don’t imagine that’s an enjoyable way to spend a free day.