Singapore’s first casino opened its doors to the public on Sunday. It targets foreigners, who are exempt from paying the steep entrance fee levied on locals. The casino is part of a massive resort that also includes a Universal Studios theme park, plus several hotels and restaurants.

The Washington Post: Singapore’s first casino opens on Chinese New Year

Singapore’s first casino opened on Sunday as part of a plan to increase tourism revenue. The day was Lunar New Year, an important day on the Chinese calendar.

The new Resorts World Sentosa was built by a unit of Malaysia’s Genting Group at a cost of $4.7 billion. It is in fact the first of two new casinos that hope to transform Singapore’s current reputation as a manufacturing and banking centre.

Genting’s Singapore resort is more than just a casino. It also houses a Universal Studios theme park, plus several hotels and large convention centre.

The facility is on Sentosa island, and its opening marks the end of the government’s longstanding opposition to gambling. It will, however, remain quite strict. An admission fee equal to about $70 is required of all guests, as part a government campaign against gambling addiction. Further restrictions include a bar on entry to anyone under 21, a ban on bank cash machines on the casino floor and a blacklist of gamblers with known addiction problems.

During the opening ceremony, Genting Group chairman Lim Kok Thay made a statement alluding to possible US expansion. “Going forward, we are actively looking at the U.S. because the last financial crisis has brought some pain, but at the same time we see great opportunities there, in terms of buying into existing resorts that (are) down on their luck.”

Bloomberg: Genting Opens Singapore’s First Casino, Plans U.S. Expansion

Genting Bhd. opened Singapore’s first casino on Sunday as Lunar New Year celebrations began. Chairman Lim Kok Thay said the group may also expand operations to the U.S.

“We are actively looking at the U.S. and we see great opportunities,” Lim told during the opening ceremony. “Singapore’s project would be a good model for our future investments going forward.”

The new $4.7 billion Resorts World Sentosa casino houses 530 tables, 1,300 slot machines, and a 12-table poker room. The resort also includes an adjoining Universal Studios theme park.

“We will be the most exciting gaming resort in the world,” Lim said.

Genting, Asia’s largest publicly traded gambling operator, opened the casino in the wake of a global financial crisis that began in 2008. It will be followed by Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s $5.5 billion casino complex in Singapore later this year.

Singapore’s new casinos are expected to encourage economic growth this. The country hopes to attract 17 million visitors and triple annual tourism revenue to S$30 billion by 2015.

NPR: Singapore Tries Luring Foreigners As Casino Opens

Many foreigners and a few Singaporeans flocked to card tables and slot machines Sunday at 12:18 p.m. — the lucky hour when Singapore opened the doors of its first casino.

Singapore is banking on the Resorts World Sentosa to lure tourists and expatriates, and hopes to do it while maintaining their hard-earned reputation as corruption-free.

The line reserved for foreigners had grown long by the midday opening, while only a few Singaporeans were ready to pay the steep entrance fee.

The casino is part of the new Resorts World Sentosa, built by Malaysia’s Genting Bhd for $4.7 billion on a small island just off Singapore’s coast.

The opening will be followed by Las Vegas Sands’ Marina Bay Sands in May. The government hopes the casinos will increase the country’s GDP growth by 1% and add 35,000 jobs.

“They recognize they have to evolve,” said David Cohen, an analyst with consultancy Action Economics in Singapore. “Some of their traditional industries are no longer going to be competitive as Singapore climbs the ladder into a higher income, higher cost location.”

After long debate, government decided to go ahead with the casino projects for their economic benefit while implementing measures to minimize social harm. Locals must pay huge entry fees, and more than 34,000 residents — including those on welfare, in bankruptcy, with criminal records or flagged by family members — are barred from the casinos.

“It’s a way to mitigate and ameliorate, to have the goodness without all the badness,” said Lim Hock San, chairman of the National Council on Problem Gambling.

A new style of lottery tickets has emerged in China. The tickets bear colorful portraits of the ancient philosopher Confucius, along with proverbs form his work The Analects. If the proverbs on a ticket match those drawn by lottery operators, the player wins a cash prize. The new lottery is bringing a lot of criticism by people who find this use of Confucius’ teachings distasteful.

China Daily: Confucius lottery tickets draw ire

Confucius was a Chinese philosopher who encouraged people to seek their fortunes in a noble manner. Ironically, his portrait and words of wisdom can now be found printed on lottery tickets, which are the only form of gambling allowed by the Chinese government.

Last month, lottery vendors in China’s Shandong province started selling these new Confucius tickets which offer a top prize of 300,000 yuan (about $44,000).

The new lottery tickets have enraged bloggers and columnists across the internet who claim that the lottery tickets are tarnishing the image of the wise man who lived more than 2,000 years ago.

Lottery officials are surprised. Tang Nianbing, a manager at Shandong’s lottery center, defended the company against accusations that they are using Confucius to promote sales. “The center is not trying to influence the sale of their lotteries (by using Confucius’ image), ” he said.

“The Confucius-themed lotteries are the country’s most real culture-centered tickets,” wrote Tang in an article that introduced the lottery. “Its cultural content will erect a milestone in the development of our country’s lotteries.”

The Shandong area was home to Confucius about 2,500 years ago. Several different tickets from the Shandong lottery center of are printed with the cultural themes from region.

The Washington Post: Critics question wisdom of Confucius-brand lottery

China’s official lottery is now offering Confucius-themed lottery tickets adorned with colorful drawings of the ancient philosopher. The tickets have promoted discussion over whether the combination of gambling and his teachings is appropriate.

According to the lottery’s website, the Confucius tickets are intended to teach players about ancient Chinese culture, and to help people live a “healthy, wholesome life.” The site also reports that the Ministry of Finance approved the program, which launched last week in Confucius’ hometown of Qufu.

Critics of the program see gambling standing at odds the spirit of Confucius’ teachings. One anonymous critic on a Chinese forum cited a Confucian proverb, “The gentleman sees righteousness, the petty man sees profit.”

This state-run lottery is the only form of gambling allowed in China. A single Confucius-themed ticket costs 10 yuan (about $1.50) and scratching the ticket reveals a quote from “The Analects,” a compilation of the philosopher’s works. The grand prize ticket is worth 300,000 yuan ($44,000) and will read, “Of all rituals, harmony is the most valuable.”

Global Times: Confucius is a brand name in hometown lottery promo

A picture is worth a thousand words in China’s first welfare lottery based on the ancient philosopher Confucius. His picture and words can also be worth 300,000 yuan ($43,936) if they appear on a winning lottery ticket.

A portrait of Confucius along with sayings of the legendary philosopher show up on lottery tickets that went on sale last week in Qufu, the hometown of Confucius, located in East China’s Shandong Province.

Each ticket is printed with proverbs from The Analects, Confucius’ most famous work. If the sayings on a player’s ticket match the ones drawn by the lottery center, the player wins cash.

The top prize lottery ticket, worth 300,000 yuan ($43,936), will read, “Of all rituals, harmony is the most valuable.”

China’s lottery center believes these new tickets can help educate people about the wisdom of Confucius, but many commenters think it is distasteful to use the ancient philosopher’s words and portrait for profit.

Tang Nianbing, who works in the marketing office of the Shandong Welfare Lottery Center, believes the tickets are a valuable teaching tool. “Everyone in China knows Confucius and The Analects, but not everyone can recite three sentences from it,” said Tang. “People who buy lottery tickets will have a chance to remember several sentences from The Analects, which is a win-win situation.”

Not everyone agrees. An internet poll conducted on a popular Chinese website showed that out of 1,869 voters, 52.6 percent disapproved of a Confucius-themed lottery. Only 4.2 percent were undecided.

Four men were caught playing dominoes in Indonesia and sentenced to 6 canings each on behalf of their sins. The first of the 4 men were publicly caned, but the other 3 escaped prison and fled before they were punished.

The Washington Post: Indonesian gambling convicts escape before caning

Three Indonesian men convicted for gambling escaped imprisonment just before a public caning in the Muslim province, Aceh. Muhammad Rusli, the Local Islamic police chief, said the men fled Saturday during an unguarded bathroom visit minutes before being punished.

The men were caught playing dominoes for 1,000 rupiah ($0.10) per game. They were each to be caned six times at a mosque on Friday.

Aceh banned alcohol and gambling as it adopted Islamic law, after achieving semi-autonomy from the secular central government after a decades-long civil war.

The Jakarta Post: One whipped, three escape corporal punishment

With a Sharia police escort, Syahrul bin Muhammad limped to stage. He was about to receive a public caning as punishment in front of a mosque in Jantho city, Aceh Besar regency, on Friday. Syahrul was one of four arrested for gambling and scheduled to be punished.

He was unlucky. The other three suspects escaped the detention cell at the prosecutor’s office, 15 minutes before they were to be caned.

The four were caught gambling in the village one month ago. They were immediately taken to the public order and Sharia police headquarters together with Rp 100,000 (US$11) in cash and a pack of domino cards as evidence. On Thursday, each was sentenced to six lashes of the cane.

Rusli denied allegations that the detention center’s officers were bribed. He blamed the escape on the officers’ negligence, saying the three suspects escaped after making an excuse to use the bathroom. He learned of the escape just before Friday prayers and ordered his men to comb the city, but the search was fruitless. He promised they will be punished if caught.

MSN News: Rights groups slam caning in Indonesia’s Aceh

Islamic Caning in Indonesia’s Aceh province is a “systematic human rights violation” and is against state law, according to a national human rights group. The group, Kontras, calls for the local administration to “annul physical criminalization” and revise its Islamic legal code. Kontras said laws in the semi-autonomous Aceh shouldn’t work against Indonesia’s international treaty obligations.

Activists noted the province’s Sharia regulations were being applied selectively and affected the poor most. They claimed that rich businessman would never be caned for gambling.

The caned farmer was one of four men who were arrested in December after betting up to 1,000 rupiah (11 cents) on dominoes. The others escaped punishment but he received six strokes of the cane outside on Friday.

This issue is another blow to the Sharia police in Aceh after three officers were charged with gang-raping a woman in custody last month.