Taking a Gamble

In a country as structured and safe as Singapore, it may come as a surprise that there are opportunities here to take a "risk".  No, I'm not talking about going out for the day without an umbrella or ordering food at the hawker center without knowing what kind of "meat" it is - though these do represent some serious potential risks.  No, I'm talking about good old-fashioned gambling and I decided to write about this tonight because I spent the weekend "gambling" in two different ways.

Saturday - I made the trip from Singapore to Johor Bahru, Malaysia, with a few co-workers and new friends.  I mention this as a "gamble" only because most Singaporeans insist you're gambling with your life if you go to Johor Bahru.  I found it no more threatening than a night out in Philadelphia.  (well, you judge how much of a gamble that is)  I was, as far as I could tell, the only Caucasian within 20 or 30 miles of where we had dinner, but it really didn't bother me.

Dinner was casual, a lot of fun, and included Beef and Chicken Satay, Salted Egg Crab, Steamed Whole Catfish, and my new favorite, Pork Knuckle.    The restaurant was what they call a "coffee shop", which is very common in Malaysia.  It was open air and full of locals - most eating as families around small, flimsy wooden tables, drinking ice-cold sour plum and lime drinks, periodically laughing at the Chinese comedy / drama that was playing on the TV on the wall.

 

It was about a 90 minute drive, dodging motorbikes, to get to Malaysia, through customs, and to the restaurant, but it was a unique experience and well worth the trip.  I have several hundred Malaysian ringett, a few more stamps in my passport, and a new appreciation for just how spicy the chili crabs are here in Asian.

Sunday - I decided I would try some more traditional gambling.  From what I've discovered so far, there are three "legal" forms of gambling in Singapore.  To date, I've tried only one.....but my time here has just begun! 

The Casinos:

There are only two casinos in the country (Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa), but they are large and pretty amazing. The Marina Bay Sands is slightly smaller than the MGM - which is the largest casino floor in Las Vegas - the MBS is fairly large. 

What I find most interesting is the country's policy on Singaporeans gambling in the casinos.  It turns out that citizens must pay $100 to enter the casino, or an annual fee of $2,000 for unlimited entry for one year.  For foreigners, just show your passport and they are more than happy to take your money from you the old fashioned way at the table vs. the casino door.

Singapore Pools:

I was surprised that sports betting was such a big deal in Singapore.  Sure, they love football (soccer), but there

really isn't a ton of professional sports played in Singapore.  The "Singapore Pool" is the equivalent of a sports book in the US.  You can place wagers on motor sports, football, etc. at any one of the more than 300 "Singapore Pools" scattered all over the island. 

Of course, for me, I was very happy to see that my bovada.lv account still works here in Singapore, so I've been able to bet on my new favorite "local" sport - the Australian Football League - from the comfort of home.  (I would have noted the online account as a 4th "legal" form of gambling, but I'm not sure if it's even legal in the US, let alone here).  I've adopted the Carlton Blues as "my team" while here in Singapore - so feel free to follow along from home via yahoo sports, etc. 

Singapore Turf Club

I've been looking forward to a day at the track all week - and I was very pleased that the weather was cooperating.  In fact, I didn't even take an umbrella on this trip (ok, I actually forgot it), but I didn't need it.

The Singapore Turf Club is about 20 minutes from where we live, conveniently located at the exit of one of the MRT stations.  I paid $8 for admission into the air conditioned club, which was much more crowded than I expected.  That said, it was easy to find a beer and seat to watch the races.  After a few minutes, I got the nerve to figure out the betting system and place a few bets.  It's a little different, but you can essentially place all the same Win, Place, Show, Exacta, Trifecta, etc. bets...they're just called different things and you have to fill out a little form to show what you want to bet before going to the bet window.  (kind of like completing the SAT's with a your number 2 pencil and staying in the "bubbles" to ensure the right bet is placed)

What made it especially interesting were two things. 

1. The race call was broadcast in English in one half of the club, while the other half was in Mandarin - so you had to choose your seat carefully.  Truth is, I'm kind of superstitious when I bet on the horses (go to the same bet window every time if I'm winning, for example) - so after winning my first two bets sitting in the Mandarin section, and losing the next bet while sitting in the English section - I quickly moved back and listened to the Mandarin race call......unfortunately, my luck didn't change with the move.
2. The fans were crazy!  Aside from cheering on a Triple Crown hopeful at Belmont, I've never heard more enthusiastic fans at a race.  Every few minutes there would be a roar of screaming and arm waving as people watched simulcast races from Malaysia - followed by even more screaming when the live races went off in Singapore.  It really made for an exciting day at the races.

Thanks to a couple exacta winners, I did win enough to cover all my bets, the cost of a couple beers (a great deal at $4 each), and my entry fee - all in all, a pretty successful day at the track.

That's about it for this week.  I head to the Philippines on Tuesday for a few days of work - so I'll send another update with my perspective on Manila next Sunday........