easy to get robbed in malaysia too !
singapore is safer than malaysia / genting
but the sgd50 bets for blackjack is WAY too much ...

I checked it out last week. First of all, the area around the casino ("resorts world") is not really open yet. 2/3 of the restaurants still say "coming soon" and shops are about half open. So the incidentals are not up to speed yet.

On the casino itself: first of all, the limits are high as reported. Blackjack minimum SGD50, lots of SGD100 tables. They have quite a few tables of "pontoon" which is some weird rules perversion of blackjack, plus a good selection of various table games. It's more like an American casino than a Macau one--they opened with texas hold-em, three-card poker, caribbean stud, etc where Macau just added some of those recently.

The place actually has one of the HIGHEST ratios of table to slots that I've ever seen. In most places in Asia and North America, the majority of the action comes from slots and they take up most of the space. This place looks like it's a lot closer to 70-30 tables.

And that brings me to my next point: it was PACKED. I mean really, really packed. On a Sunday night, tables were 2 and 3 deep, not a seat to be had. Every slot machine was either being played, or out of service (there were a lot out of service, to be honest). I've never seen that much action in one place (insert obvious topical forum joke here). I took two complete circuits of the foreigners area and found one seat in total.

There are separate casinos for Singapore/PR (still accessed through the main entrance, they just get an exclusive area like VIP area), and for smokers--the main casino is nonsmoking.

I haven't been to Genting's other properties so I have no idea how it compares, but as compared to Macau it was busier, the limits were higher, and there was nowhere near the scenery for those into that sort of thing. I wouldn't go back even if I didn't have to pay. But I'll check out the other one, just so I can say I've been.

Whoops, forgot to mention, there is a live poker room but it wasn't up and running when I was there. Unclear whether it is open or still in installation mode but they had some papers on the tables that made me think it's not open yet. About six tables in total, so pretty small, and right in the middle of the main floor so no room to expand.

Yea man. Can see them hanging around the food/refreshment area in the center of the casino.

Reviving an old but still relevant thread. Think the following newspaper article answers the question of whether there are WGs in the singapore casino.

Sep 16, 2010
Prostitute fined for soliciting at casino
Vietnamese caught at Marina Bay Sands; it is first such case since IRs opened this year


A PROSTITUTE pleaded guilty yesterday to soliciting in the Marina Bay Sands casino.

Duong Linh Thao, a 36-year-old Vietnamese national, was fined $700.

It is the first case of soliciting in a casino to come before the courts since the integrated resorts (IRs) opened earlier this year.

Thao was in the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) casino last Saturday when she struck up a conversation with 50-year-old Rames Algasamy at about 1am.

She then offered to sleep with him in exchange for $200.

Unknown to Thao, Mr Rames - dressed in plain clothes that evening - was the casino's security operations manager. He detained her when she persisted in offering him sexual services.

Police were called in at 1.30am and Thao admitted to soliciting in a public place.

In court yesterday, a tearful Thao, who is believed to be here on a social visit pass, said she regretted her actions.

Speaking through a Vietnamese interpreter, she said that she had visited the MBS casino to gamble and ended up committing the offence after losing much of her money.

Thao told the judge she would be able to pay the fine.

The maximum fine is $1,000.

In reply to queries from The Straits Times, MBS said that it had a comprehensive security plan and also deployed a large number of specially trained security officers within the casino premises to prevent and detect any illegal activity.

Resorts World Sentosa declined to comment.

Regular punters at both casinos told The Straits Times that they had seen security staff quietly usher out women who appeared to be more interested in men than in placing bets.

But the women know how to allay suspicions, said Mr Jerry Tan.

The 54-year-old businessman has noticed some of these women carrying chips so as to pose as gamblers.

'But if you watch them for a while, you'll see them moving from table to table, not to place bets but to see if someone is keen on having sex with them,' said Mr Tan.

He and other casino regulars have also observed the women's tendency to flock around men who are winning.

Said Mr Tan: 'Perhaps they think those who had a good run on the tables and are up by several thousands of dollars would be more eager to have a fling.'

has anyone gone to the other one in sentosa?
i'm guessing they would be operating at a similar set up with the one on marina?
coming from a place where casino BJ starts from $5.. those min bet are just nuts..

i think the craziest thing about this casino that i have heard is if you are a singapore citizen you are charged a fee to get

inside. never ever have i heard of a casino doing this. if this is true talk about pissing off local ppl. when i was in america

i can't believe how many states have casinos. it use to be vegas and atlantic city were the main hubs. not anymore and they

are dying. i feel that in asia as more competition for easy money arises there will be casinos in every country or in places that

ppl wouldn't think there would be . i wonder though could it be possible for hong kong to get a casino. well nothing in this

day and age surprises me.

I was at the Marina Bay Sands two weeks ago.  There are a few $25 blackjack tables if you hunt around.  They tend to be fully utilised.

Have fun, CGP

i heard it is easier to win money in Singapore's casino if you play card games - because the staffs in there are not well trained like macau yet....

this cracks me up! i guess you dont play card games in the casino.

card games have nothing to do with the dealer or staff in the casino. the odds have been long imputed and they know exactly what the odds are. in baccarat, no effect. in blackjack, even if you can catch a glimpse of the downward dealer card (very unlikely), it seldom improves your odds. in other card games like poker or war, absolutely no effect.

[ Last edited by  DaBestHK at 17-9-2010 14:00 ]

actually if u get a newbie dealer in BJ, in certain cases you can uhh.. utilize their weakness, but only for once or twice.
due the to fact that the game need you to tap or wave, sometimes if u didn't give a very obvious wave and somehow the dealer dealt the next card to the next player or themself that could be advantegeous for you, you could argue that u haven't waved off the hand yet. obviously the dealer would be abit more cautious after that.. but i've seen it done b4.
or even in the case of doubling or spliting, when they forgot to mention it to you. though they don't always work

yes agree, once or twice, which i also mentioned. but unless you are playing 1 or 2 hands only, and you chance upon the error, a newbie dealer does not make it any easier for you to win over a period of time, which is what is the essense of my reply to haroldla who said it is easier to win with a newbie dealer.

If you can see the dealer's unexposed card, it is a big advantage to a professional playing blackjack.

Weak dealers can be exploited for this very weakness, however, in many places now, they do not deal two cards to the dealer, only the single face up card.

So I don't agree with your statement.

The weakness that zhouyun is talking about is not a good one, as cameras watch your every move.  Do it more than once, and you will be watched by the pit bosses and on cam.  Given this, it makes no difference to your win rate.

my post # 30 which you are replying to talked about card games in general, and that the odds will not tilt to the player if the dealer is inexperienced.

but since you want to single out blackjack, if the professional is playing one on one with the dealer, or if the table is full of professionals, then yes, it is an advantage to him. if the professional is playing on a table with a bunch of people, it is very unlikely to improve his odds whether the dealer is experienced or not. the post i was replying to was talking about it being "easier to win money in general at the tables in Singapore because the staff are not well-trained."

try to read the posts in the full context

[ Last edited by  DaBestHK at 17-9-2010 18:19 ]

Sorry, but you are wrong.

I did read the post, and while I agree that no game is tilted in favor of the player (they do build those enormous buildings on the backs of losers), your example was incorrect.

A blackjack player who can consistently see the "hole" card of the dealer (in places where they still deal the old fashioned way, such as the Old Lisboa), has a huge advantage, regardless of whether they are alone on the table, playing with a table full of amateurs, or a table full of pros.

It's pure statistics, and it doesn't rely on the makeup of the players at the table.

The argument that inexperienced dealers are better for you are somewhat valid for the following reason:

When they make a mistake, you keep quiet and take the winnings (or don't lose the bet) - this happens frequently when the dealer is not used to counting and will either award your losing hand a payout, or will "push/tie" your hand, leaving your bet untouched.

On the cases where his mistake is not favorable to you, you can simply complain and have your bet given back.

So yes, all other things being equal, an inexperienced dealer would increase your win rate (although generally you would still lose overall unless he is horrible and keeps giving you money when you should lose/tie).

Your example hinging on professionals or non-professionals is not relevant, as that is merely superstitution or a belief founded on non-factual information.  How the other people play on the blackjack table does not affect you long run, believing anything else is based on ignorance.

and so, you are right?


really? did you read all my posts about the topic? if yes, then see below


you're saying "consistently" above, i didnt say consistently. in post # 32, i said:
"


my posts were never in the context of someone "consistently" seeing the hole card.


have you been reading, or are you just replying for arguments sake? my replies are about comments made about staff in the Singapore casinos, not Macau. and again, let me reiterate, the original comment was about card games, not blackjack in particular. seems you like arguing your point even if it misses the context of the original post.

i hope your views are not from theory, and that you are actually a pretty good card player. i may not be a professional, but i have made the final table a good number of times in poker tournaments, and the Vegas casinos still owe me a good chunk in baccarat and blackjack winnings over the past 15 years.

[ Last edited by  DaBestHK at 18-9-2010 08:45 ]

I am stating that, yes, you are wrong when you claim that newbie dealers do not help your win rate.

They do help you in a myriad of different ways, from exposing their hole card, to misinterpreting your hand motions, and the most likely, in the game we are talking about, they can't count properly and improperly pay and take your bets.

In fact, there are people that troll casinos specifically looking for these "weak" dealers, as you can get a good enough edge to give you positive EV on playing that table.

All other things being equal, it is more profitable to be on the table of a newbie dealer instead of an experienced one.  The newbie dealer will make mistakes, and often, this is to your favor.  If it isn't, you complain and get it fixed.

I was referrring to a casino in Macau that still deals blackjack with the hole card.  Many casinos around the world still deal this way, although that is changing now to avoid the very same problem I am mentioning ie exposing the hole card accidentally.

I merely said I don't agree with you in my original post.  That playing with an inexperienced dealer is an advantage to you.

This applies to blackjack, carribean, pai gow, hold'em progressive, etc.  Basically any game where the dealer has to make judgement calls on how to arrange his cards, or lots of counting (blackjack), it is an advantage to play on a table with a weak dealer.

If you don't understand this, it's hard to believe you are as good a player as you portray yourself to be.

haroldla was right, you are wrong.

I haven't played yet in Singapore, but as with all new casinos, this early in the game, the dealers would be weak due to lack of practical experience.

I wouldn't call myself an excellent card player, but I have a lot of experience in operating and running a casino.  So yeah, I imagine I know what I'm talking about.

So casino operators and owners know better than experienced card players eh? ever wonder why Wynn, adelson and maloof are not gamblers? They should gamble at their competitor's properties if, as you say, they know better than experienced players on how to beat the house.

All right then Mr Know It All, believe whatever you want. I hope your advise wont lead to losses for those bros who believe you

yeah i heard bout it, and all that i heard is "its too far from good" (i have'nt been there)
some of my friend told me, macau casino is the best in south east asian

They do have their hopes up and are expecting Singapore to do as well as Macau. An analyst saying SG could overtake Las Vegas in 2-3 years:

“Singapore is already the second-largest casino market in Asia after Macau and could potentially overtake the Las Vegas strip as the second largest casino market in the world after Macau in the next two to three years.”