Win a Lambo? No thanks, we'll take cash
[Above: A row of jackpot machines at RWS; Insert: A Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera.]
By Benson Ang
TWO punters won a Lamborghini each at the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino last week.
The duo, who were playing the slot machine game Mystery Jackpot, were among those who have won over $70m in the first three months since the casino opened, RWS said.
Each car is worth $850,000 and does not come with COE, but both winners opted for $650,000 in cash instead.
Singaporean Rina Sim, 51, had gone to the casino with her parents, aged 86 and 75, on May 7.
While her parents played at the VIP tables on the second floor, she tried her luck at the slot machines in the smoking area, making $5 bets. The electrical company manager was down to her last $50 when she hit the jackpot.
Suddenly, the buttons on the machine stopped working. She could not continue playing or retrieve her ticket.
The message "Congratulations, you have won the Lamborghini!" flashed on the machine.
She said: "I didn't want to be too happy at first in case it was a mistake. I thought maybe the machine was spoilt.
"I called a staff member for an explanation. And when he told me, I was happy beyond words."
For a few minutes, she felt "shocked and numb".
"I really didn't expect to be so lucky," she said.
Ms Sim, who drives a month-old Nissan Teana, opted for the cash because she felt an expensive sports car would be difficult to maintain.
The single woman, who lives alone in a condo, will use the money to pay off her housing loans. She will also give some of it to her parents and donate a few thousand dollars to old folks' homes.
She said she also gave the 10 employees under her a $100 raise each.
The RWS regular, who visits the casino twice a week, also frequents cruise ships and casinos overseas.
But Ms Sim, who described herself as an "aunty", said she would not bet more than she does now. She will also not stop working.
She said: "The money is not life-changing. If you spend a bit here and a bit there, it will be gone quickly. You still have to work and be thrifty."
An RWS slot manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that once there is a win, the machine will hang so that staff members can identify, and congratulate, the winner.
Big dollar bills
At RWS, some winners have taken up the casino's offer of a free night's stay at one of its hotels or to be driven home.
He said: "Usually, the bigger the amount, the more secretive the winners are. Punters from the West tend to be more expressive about their joy at winning."
The $70m paid out by RWS so far are from its gambling tables and slot machines.
RWS did not say how much was lost by punters at its casino.
The Straits Times reported that RWS made a pre-tax profit of about $110m in the first three months.
The other car winner is a Singaporean permanent resident in her 40s.
The Korean woman is a regular punter at RWS. The biggest jackpot winner at RWS so far is a Caucasian man, who won over $1.6m last month.
But Mr Charles Lee, senior counsellor at Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre, cautioned: "For every one winner, there might be thousands who have lost."
He explained that those who make a windfall at the gambling tables tend to fall into two categories.
They may be social gamblers who might be able to stop and keep their winnings. But there are also pathological gamblers, addicted to the high of gambling.
They might lose their winnings through future bets.
He warned: "Winning might give people certain beliefs about gambling, such as how they are good in the game or that they are naturally lucky."
His advice to winners is to stop gambling because the odds are always against the gambler.
He said: "Winners should talk to financial experts and invest the money properly. Or they can consult family members about what to do.
"Anything but gamble again."
[email protected]
[Above: A row of jackpot machines at RWS; Insert: A Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera.]
By Benson Ang
TWO punters won a Lamborghini each at the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino last week.
The duo, who were playing the slot machine game Mystery Jackpot, were among those who have won over $70m in the first three months since the casino opened, RWS said.
Each car is worth $850,000 and does not come with COE, but both winners opted for $650,000 in cash instead.
Singaporean Rina Sim, 51, had gone to the casino with her parents, aged 86 and 75, on May 7.
While her parents played at the VIP tables on the second floor, she tried her luck at the slot machines in the smoking area, making $5 bets. The electrical company manager was down to her last $50 when she hit the jackpot.
Suddenly, the buttons on the machine stopped working. She could not continue playing or retrieve her ticket.
The message "Congratulations, you have won the Lamborghini!" flashed on the machine.
She said: "I didn't want to be too happy at first in case it was a mistake. I thought maybe the machine was spoilt.
"I called a staff member for an explanation. And when he told me, I was happy beyond words."
For a few minutes, she felt "shocked and numb".
"I really didn't expect to be so lucky," she said.
Ms Sim, who drives a month-old Nissan Teana, opted for the cash because she felt an expensive sports car would be difficult to maintain.
The single woman, who lives alone in a condo, will use the money to pay off her housing loans. She will also give some of it to her parents and donate a few thousand dollars to old folks' homes.
She said she also gave the 10 employees under her a $100 raise each.
The RWS regular, who visits the casino twice a week, also frequents cruise ships and casinos overseas.
But Ms Sim, who described herself as an "aunty", said she would not bet more than she does now. She will also not stop working.
She said: "The money is not life-changing. If you spend a bit here and a bit there, it will be gone quickly. You still have to work and be thrifty."
An RWS slot manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that once there is a win, the machine will hang so that staff members can identify, and congratulate, the winner.
Big dollar bills
At RWS, some winners have taken up the casino's offer of a free night's stay at one of its hotels or to be driven home.
He said: "Usually, the bigger the amount, the more secretive the winners are. Punters from the West tend to be more expressive about their joy at winning."
The $70m paid out by RWS so far are from its gambling tables and slot machines.
RWS did not say how much was lost by punters at its casino.
The Straits Times reported that RWS made a pre-tax profit of about $110m in the first three months.
The other car winner is a Singaporean permanent resident in her 40s.
The Korean woman is a regular punter at RWS. The biggest jackpot winner at RWS so far is a Caucasian man, who won over $1.6m last month.
But Mr Charles Lee, senior counsellor at Tanjong Pagar Family Service Centre, cautioned: "For every one winner, there might be thousands who have lost."
He explained that those who make a windfall at the gambling tables tend to fall into two categories.
They may be social gamblers who might be able to stop and keep their winnings. But there are also pathological gamblers, addicted to the high of gambling.
They might lose their winnings through future bets.
He warned: "Winning might give people certain beliefs about gambling, such as how they are good in the game or that they are naturally lucky."
His advice to winners is to stop gambling because the odds are always against the gambler.
He said: "Winners should talk to financial experts and invest the money properly. Or they can consult family members about what to do.
"Anything but gamble again."
[email protected]
