Counterfeit Chips

Now, RWS casino discovers counterfeit chips

Just a month after Marina Bay Sands (MBS) discovered the use of fake gambling chips at its casino, Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) is now facing the same problem.

RWS recalled its S$500 and S$1,000 chips last Saturday on suspicion that counterfeit ones were being circulated, The New Paper (TNP) reported.

Police confirmed that a report was made about the fake chips and said the case is still pending investigation.

Earlier this month, RWS revealed its chips have tamper-proof radio-frequency identification features.

A punter, who declined to be named, said he saw chips being recalled at around 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Croupiers on the main casino floor were giving out winnings with S$100 chips despite continuing to accept bets in larger denominations, said the businessman in his 40s.

Five Indian nationals were charged on New Year’s Eve after they had allegedly exchanged fake S$1,000 fake chips for smaller denominations of reals ones at MBS last month.
‘No evidence of organised crime’

Police say that although 112 people have been nabbed for casino-related crimes in the past year, there is no evidence of activity by organised syndicates yet.

According to The Straits Times, most of the crimes committed were petty offences. These include those who stole casino chips, cheated at gambling tables and impersonated people to gain entry into the two casinos.

These petty crimes accounted for the majority of the dodgy dealings linked to casinos last year.

While more than half of all casino patrons are reportedly Singaporeans and permanent residents, the majority, or 60 per cent, of those arrested for casino crimes were foreigners.

Police also say that organised crime that plagues other casino hots spots has been kept at bay here. Their investigations revealed that most of the casino crimes reported last year were opportunistic and low-level.

However, experts warn that things could change with more premium gamblers, also known as ”whales”, show up.

“Major criminal elements tend to closely follow the ‘whales’,” said Dr Derek da Cunha, author of Singapore Places its Bets, a book on the social and economic impact of the entry of casinos here.

He explained, “This is because you will then be dealing with astronomical sums of money which organised crime syndicates might find too lucrative to pass up.”

Dr Fong added that the more elaborate types of crime will take longer to detect. Sometimes, it can take one or two years for the surveillance department of a casino to detect cheating, especially in cases where staff conspire with crime syndicates.

“You may need to look back at the records for two years to spot a pattern,” he said.

Already, crime involving casino staff has begun to surface.

Last October, an MBS casino pit supervisor and a patron colluded to cheat the casino of S$31,500 by manipulating a Money Wheel game.

In November, 30-year-old Taiwanese croupier Chiu Yee Fong was charged with pocketing S$111,400 worth of chips from RWS.

In Macau, it is the casino employees who commonly succumb to temptations to cheat.

Dr Fong has also reveals cases of crime syndicates recruiting down-and-out gamblers who need money to pay off debts.

Executive Director of The Hiding Place, Mr Dick Lum, who is also a counsellor at the halfway house, said desperate gamblers tend to bet further to recoup their losses.

“They can turn to crime,” he said, adding that he has seen an increase in the number of gamblers who have stolen to support their habit.