Moneylending offered but interest rate higher than that of an Ah Long

KUALA LUMPUR: June 30, 2009

This mini-casino is located in a three-star hotel in the centre of the city and the entrance is through an innocuous door in the rear of the hotel.

Except for a sign that says “Open”, the door looks like any other in the hotel. The room is windowless and has quite good sound proofing.

The set-up of the casino is just like a cybercafe with 26 computers located in the main hall - all facing the same direction towards a 52-in LCD TV - that was showing CNN, which seemed strange for a place like this.

None of the gamblers there was paying attention to the CNN programme that was on and the reason became obvious when one looked at the computer screen.

Behind the Manila-based croupier shown on a small screen on the computer screen was also a TV, showing the exact same CNN programme. According to the manager of the establishment, this was to assure the punters that it was real-time gambling.

The smoked-filled room was dark and the only light came from the computer screen. Surprisingly, the room – about 10m by 10m – was relatively quiet except for a voice on the computer calling out the results.

Most of the customers, who were all male that night, were either playing roulette or baccarat.

The moment one enters the casino, a member of the staff greets you and leads the way to a computer.

The staff would then ask the customer how much they would like to deposit for their bets, the minimum being RM100.

The money – cash only – is then taken to the main counter where it is keyed into the computer system. Once it is registered, the amount shows up in one corner of the gambler’s computer screen.

However, the amount in ringgit is displayed on the computer screen as HKD (Hong Kong dollars) instead.

After a gambler has finished playing, he just has to alert a member of the staff that he wants to cash out.

According to some punters, the outlet also provides “moneylending services” if they run out of cash but the interest rate is higher than that of an Ah Long”.

Located at the back of the outlet is a VIP room where high rollers can engage in big-time gambling in private. There are two computers in that room.

The outlet also provides free drinks and food to customers, just like a real casino would. Again, the VIP players get special treatment as the staff are willing to go out to “ta pau” (take away) Hokkien mee from a well-known stall nearby.

It is not known if the hotel management is aware of the “casino” as most of the hotel staff believe the outlet is a cybercafe. The Star.

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