Two Sides of A Coin

The talk of the town lasted more than a month. Setting a casino in Singapore, a multi-racial society, with superb infrastructure, busy port, quality manufacturing services, stable economy, the green city with great relationships with the rest of the world. As the decision date approaches, surveys, reports, testimonials, hints were released to the public, increasing their anxiety on the outcome.

With the throw of a dice, millionaires could be made. With a pull of the lever, bankrupt figures could rise. With the flip of a card, families could be broken. These risks are showing themselves prominently, but gamblers are blinded by the lucriative returns that a small action of theirs could bring. If Lady Luck is on your side, $100 could reap $10,000 or more. If she's not, all you lose is $100. Most of us wouldn't mind a small game once in a while, hoping for a small side income to substantiate the high standard of Singaporean living.

Meanwhile, a killer lurks in the shadows of the casino. A killer named Addiction. It strikes unknowingly, causing people to spend their hard earned money in the casinos. They crave for a big win, gaining back all their accumulated losses and making huge profit at the same time. Sadly, they will never be satisfied, never stopping their contributions to the casinos until its too late, until they run their asses up in big debts.

The government claims that building a mega resort could bring more advantages to Singapore than its cons. Firstly, Singapore's economy will be better, with all the money thats thrown onto the tables and into the slots. Singaporeans would also spend their money in their homeland than go to nearby casinos to gamble their luck away. With the money retained in Singapore, its economy will rise and not that of its neighbours.

Next, Singapore's tourism will rise. For tourists that gamble might come over to Singapore to check out its new attraction and in turn, spend in Singapore, which will also boost the economy. Singapore is already feeling the heat from the upcoming Hong Kong DisneyLand, the mega shopping malls in Taiwan and Malaysia, the cheap markets in Thailand and the F1 race course jus across the crossway. They need something new, something special to compete. And the government came up with the casino idea.

Thirdly, jobs will be created to ease the unemployment rate. People could be trained to work in casinos, as sales assistants in the shops or chambermaids at the resorts.

Like what Minister Mentor the great Mr Lee Kuan Yew says, could we afford not to have a casino? The government had ensured that if, and that is IF, a casino is on its way, all the necessary measures will be in place, and that includes counselling services and such. But will all these be sufficient??

I'll evaluate some possible scenerios for the above advantages that were listed. These are my personal opinions and does not represent anyone but me.

Economy and tourism will improve. That is IF the resort has the ability to attract tourists. What happens if only a small part of tourists gamble and are willing to spend money to come to Singapore just to gamble? Perhaps they could go Malaysia since the conversion rate is better? The casino also needs to have the capability to divert the customers from Genting, meaning its facilities, games and such have to be at least on par, if not better than Genting. How much is the government going to spend on this? How much are they able to spend and not bring bad publicity with there are all those patients requesting for pubilc donations every once in a while? How much will the patrons have to pay so as to break even, not to mention boosting the economy?

What about those family packs? Do you think the parents would bring their kids for a holiday at a casino when there's a better choice (DisneyLand) in Hong Kong? A casino would not be able to attract these tourists. They'll rather opt for a zoo or even the birdpark than pollute their offsprings' minds with the obsessive gambling habits. Whats more, the standard of living in Singapore is expensive, although undenyingly the service quality is high. But would tourists be willing to spend so much just to have a small fling at the tables or save money on the food and such and have more tries with luck?

Its true jobs will be created. But isnt it the same if the plan was not to build a casino but something else? Jobs will still be created so long as there is something for them to work on.

For the social issues, the government would not be able to intervene. Can you tell a wife not to leave her hard core gambler husband who had lost all the money planned for their children's education and even bring danger to the family? Can you give them money to rebuild their lives from a mistake that they made? Its impossible.

You may say you have the adequate services to curb excessive gamblings. You may say that these outcomes will also occur if the gamblers gamble overseas. But by having a casino at your doorsteps, you're encouraging those just turned 21 teenagers, who may not be able to go overseas due to some constraints, and also the elderly folks who are afraid of going overseas, to patronise the local casino. You say they'll be able to know their limits with the counsellors available. Sad to say, not a lot of people have the self control to walk into a casino and leave without spending a dime. If they do not know how to play the games, there will surely be some kind hearted patrons on hand to teach the basics, or the dealers will give some tips to encourage spending. This will be increasing the number of bankrupts in the country, along with crimes when people are desperate to repay their debts, and those sympathetic old folks who lost their last dollars on the tables just to have some gains. Soon the number of beggers will increase, thus spoiling the image of Singapore. Those non-gambling Singaporeans who oppose the idea will also be living in fear of having loansharks hollering for debt repayments nearby or being a victim of snatch thieves. Isn't that going to cause bad publicity for the country?

Even with all these, the government could not be stopped if they so agree to the idea of having a casino. No one can stop them could they? Not with all the "good" reports about the advantages of having a casino. Not unless they see the real unexpected problems that had already been anticipated by the opposing force. Maybe Singaporeans had been cultured too conservatively that they'll look at all the bad consequences that might occur and miss out on the powerful returns that the risk will bring. Or maybe it's just a big hoo-ha over a small 5 room flat size jackpot machine occupied casino.

What could be threw out has been thrown out. The government and the residents will be looking at a decision tomorrow. Whether the government will place a bet with the resident's peace and order on the table or whether they'll walk away from the table, it will all be revealed tomorrow. (I'll say its 90% going the casino's way..)