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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - More FTs becoming thiefs & robbers soon</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>7:05 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 8) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>40953.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Nov 6, 2010
foreign workers & casinos
It's off to the gambling tables on their days off
More foreign workers head to casinos; many lose their pay, savings
<!-- by line -->By Melissa Kok & Teh Joo Lin
http://www.straitstimes.com/PrimeNews/Story/STIStory_599962.html
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Foreign workers outside the casino at Resorts World Sentosa yesterday. Many workers are visiting the casinos out of curiosity or because they want to make a quick buck through gambling. -- ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA
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IT WAS 8am on a Sunday.
Instead of spending time with his friends on his day off, foreign worker Ramesh, 34, was at the casino at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), trying out his luck at the tables.
By noon, he had lost around $500 - about half his monthly salary - on baccarat and poker.
Running out of cash, he then asked a friend to transfer $100 into his bank account so he could try to recoup his losses.
'I didn't want to go to the casino at first, but my friends told me I can win money so I go,' he told The Straits Times when reporters visited the casino last Sunday.
The Indian national from Chennai, who has been working in Singapore as a technician for the past 12 years, started visiting the casino late last month.
And within a week, he had wiped out his entire savings of $2,000, and even resorted to borrowing about $1,500 from friends. 'If I have some money, I cannot 'tahan', I'll go to the casino,' said Mr Ramesh, who would gamble not only on his days off, but also after work on weekdays as he could not resist the urge.
He was among at least 10 foreign workers who spoke to The Straits Times when reporters visited the RWS casino on Sunday. And many of them have similar stories to tell.
Work permit holders like Mr Ramesh are a common sight at the casinos in RWS and Marina Bay Sands. Many started heading to the casinos either out of curiosity or because their friends told them they could make a quick buck through gambling. Others say they were there to enjoy the cool air-conditioning and free drinks offered.
Some said that before the casinos opened, they spent their days off with friends and co-workers in places such as Little India.
Now they head to the casinos. Among the workers are Chinese nationals and South Asians.
Workers interviewed declined to give their full names for fear of their employers finding out and cancelling their work permits. All admitted they were gambling without their bosses' knowledge. Some said their bosses have advised them against going to the casinos; and there were those who are not too worried about losing their hard-earned money as they would 'set a limit' first.
Mr Ram, 36, who has been spending his entire Sundays at RWS for the past two months, says he brings only $100 to gamble each time. If he loses that, he will leave. He said he set a limit because 'my salary - $1,200 a month - is very low'.
'Sometimes win, sometimes lose. Now about even,' said Mr Ram, who usually takes a train down to RWS from his Woodlands dormitory.
But for Mr Velanganni, 36, who works as a manual labourer for a trading firm, the habit is getting out of hand. He has gambled away $4,000, or around four months of his salary, since he started visiting RWS five months ago out of curiosity. He got hooked on gambling after he won $300.
'It was a happy feeling at first when I won... Sometimes I win maybe $50 or $100, but most of the time, I'm losing,' said Mr Velanganni, who had just lost another $550 when reporters approached him.
He admitted that his parents in Chennai are upset with him for gambling. Asked if he would stop going to the casino, he said: 'I think it's the last time today... I keep losing, I'm going to quit.'
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foreign workers & casinos
It's off to the gambling tables on their days off
More foreign workers head to casinos; many lose their pay, savings
<!-- by line -->By Melissa Kok & Teh Joo Lin
http://www.straitstimes.com/PrimeNews/Story/STIStory_599962.html
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar -->
<!-- story content : start -->
IT WAS 8am on a Sunday.
Instead of spending time with his friends on his day off, foreign worker Ramesh, 34, was at the casino at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), trying out his luck at the tables.
By noon, he had lost around $500 - about half his monthly salary - on baccarat and poker.
Running out of cash, he then asked a friend to transfer $100 into his bank account so he could try to recoup his losses.
'I didn't want to go to the casino at first, but my friends told me I can win money so I go,' he told The Straits Times when reporters visited the casino last Sunday.
The Indian national from Chennai, who has been working in Singapore as a technician for the past 12 years, started visiting the casino late last month.
And within a week, he had wiped out his entire savings of $2,000, and even resorted to borrowing about $1,500 from friends. 'If I have some money, I cannot 'tahan', I'll go to the casino,' said Mr Ramesh, who would gamble not only on his days off, but also after work on weekdays as he could not resist the urge.
He was among at least 10 foreign workers who spoke to The Straits Times when reporters visited the RWS casino on Sunday. And many of them have similar stories to tell.
Work permit holders like Mr Ramesh are a common sight at the casinos in RWS and Marina Bay Sands. Many started heading to the casinos either out of curiosity or because their friends told them they could make a quick buck through gambling. Others say they were there to enjoy the cool air-conditioning and free drinks offered.
Some said that before the casinos opened, they spent their days off with friends and co-workers in places such as Little India.
Now they head to the casinos. Among the workers are Chinese nationals and South Asians.
Workers interviewed declined to give their full names for fear of their employers finding out and cancelling their work permits. All admitted they were gambling without their bosses' knowledge. Some said their bosses have advised them against going to the casinos; and there were those who are not too worried about losing their hard-earned money as they would 'set a limit' first.
Mr Ram, 36, who has been spending his entire Sundays at RWS for the past two months, says he brings only $100 to gamble each time. If he loses that, he will leave. He said he set a limit because 'my salary - $1,200 a month - is very low'.
'Sometimes win, sometimes lose. Now about even,' said Mr Ram, who usually takes a train down to RWS from his Woodlands dormitory.
But for Mr Velanganni, 36, who works as a manual labourer for a trading firm, the habit is getting out of hand. He has gambled away $4,000, or around four months of his salary, since he started visiting RWS five months ago out of curiosity. He got hooked on gambling after he won $300.
'It was a happy feeling at first when I won... Sometimes I win maybe $50 or $100, but most of the time, I'm losing,' said Mr Velanganni, who had just lost another $550 when reporters approached him.
He admitted that his parents in Chennai are upset with him for gambling. Asked if he would stop going to the casino, he said: 'I think it's the last time today... I keep losing, I'm going to quit.'
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