Inside Asian Gaming

March 2010 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 15 when you drive into Malaysia. • Go on a gambling cruise. There are numerous cruise ships in Singapore that offer gaming alternatives to the integrated resorts. MV Leisure World, for example, offers a net price of S$62 per person for one night accommodation onboard its ship based on twin-shared standard cabin. All meals included. You can also stay one night onboard MV Long Jie, another luxury gambling cruise ship in Singapore, for less than S$100. • Play slots in National Trades Union Congress (or NTUC) Clubs. NTUC Club was established in 1986 to offer entertainment to its union members (now more than 500,000) and the Singapore public. NTUC Clubs in Ang Mo Kio and Pasir Ris, for example, offers numerous slot machines for the recreation and entertainment of its members. • Playmahjong with your family members and friends at home or in a Chinese clan association. There are a number of clan associations in Singapore belonging to Chinese dialect groups like Hakka, Hokkien, and Teochew. The standard bet is S$1/2 per point (which doubles as the point increases) for each round. This can potentially translate to a lost of S$32 per game if one opponent wins by five points. For S$100, one can afford to lose up to three rounds of a mahjong game. • Play poker or other card games with your friends privately at a friend’s home. Harmless games using poker cards are often played during Chinese New Year celebration, festive events, and happy occasion in many Chinese Singaporean families. Other Gaming Alternatives: • Buy lottery ticket at a Singapore Pools outlet or by phone. Singapore Pools offers four types of lottery namely, Toto, 4D, Singapore Sweep, and Scatchit. The most popular lottery games in Singapore are Toto and 4D. There are two draws per week for Toto (pick six numbers) and three draws per week for 4D (pick four numbers). A Sys Roll Toto ticket with a S$1 bet amount costs S$20, while a 4D Roll with the same bet amount costs S$10. For S$100, a Singaporean can buy five Sys Roll Toto or 10 4D Roll ticket. The odd of winning six Toto numbers is one in more than 8 million, while the odd of winning the first prize in 4D is one in 10,000. • Bet on football games or motorcar races at a Singapore Pools outlet or by phone. Established in 1968, Singapore Pools offers football betting on domestic and international matches as well as motor race betting. For less than S$100, a Singaporean can bet on a number of football matches and motor races. • Bet on horse racing. Founded in 1842, the Singapore Turf club offers totalisator services in Singapore. A simple race bet, which one picks the best horse to finish first, costs just S$5. Food & Entertainment Alternatives with S$100: • Watch a movie in the cinema. If you watch Avatar (3D) at Golden Village Marina, it will cost you S$11 if you booked on the Internet. For S$100, you can watch nine movies (popcorn not included). • Ride the world’s largest observation wheel, the Singapore Flyer, three times. • Enjoymorethan30platesofHainanese chicken rice at a local hawker centre. • Eat more than 150 sticks of satay (with ketupat and drinks) at East Coast Lagoon Food Village. • Drink 38 cans (each 323 ml) of Carlsberg beer bought from NTUC Fairprice supermarket. • Eat 43 loaves (600 g) of Gardenia jumbo white bread bought from NTUC Fairprice supermarket. • Buy five packs of Huggies XL Diapers from NTUC Fairprice supermarket. Compare these alternatives to the following: • Parking without valid parking coupon - Fine S$30. • Illegal parking in common property (HDB flat) - Fine S$100. • Jaywalking - Fine up to S$500 for first offence. • Littering - Fine up to S$1,000 for first offence. • Illegal gambling - Jail up to 6 months or fine up to S$5,000. Desmond Lam is a visiting senior research fellow at the School of Marketing, University of South Australia. Visit www.DesmondL.com Singapore