Casinos started in a small way, and all illegal. They gambled with match sticks, cards, dice, beans, and some even have their manual roulette tables. Things changed when the sophisticated mafias started to engage engineers and technology experts to create new and more interesting games. For their huge investments to be profitable, they must find willing casino operators to use their machines.
They went to entice the casino operators with high turnovers, high gambling activities and with a sure win formula. They will pay the casino operators a fee and the casino operators will have to accommodate them with how the rules of the games should be played. Some casino operators even bent the rules for the big mafia boys.
And the mafias brought in their expensive and highly computerized machines into the casinos. They explained that the machines would do all the works, and all kinds of gamblers can play the machines. The operators only need to provide coins, $1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c and even 1c. The smaller bets were good, would attract many more small gamblers. And the operators obliged without question asked. The operators could just go to sleep and collect their dues.
As long as the mafias kept paying the operators their dues, the operators did not care and did not want to know what the mafias were doing. The machines were rigged to maximize profits. The odds in favour of the mafia machines could be as high as 90% or 99%. And they kept cleaning up the gamblers, big or small. They happily scooped up everything quietly. The operators also happily collected their fees and shared their big dividends among themselves.
The casinos were still illegal, of course. No responsible govt was going to let such casinos to operate freely to rip off the innocent and ignorant gamblers. But the mafias had big plans. It all started in America. They wanted to operate casinos legally and started to buy up the law makers. The law makers might be greedy, the govt could made do with more revenue. But there must be laws, responsibilities, to manage the mafias and prevent them from sending every gambler to the cleaners.
Other than a hefty gambling tax, the responsible govt imposed many conditions and rules for the casinos to operate legally and within limits. The odds must be controlled, no more 90% or 99% wins. The gamblers must have a fair chance of making some wins as well. Basically the mafias were not allowed to cheat the small gamblers in an unfair game. They might be allowed to bring in their sophisticated machines, but the responsible govt would want to know how the machines work and how to monitor them to prevent excesses and rampant cheating.
The govt was also smart enough to set up a regulatory body to monitor, supervise and regulate the casinos and the mafias and their machines. Of course the casino operators would want to regulate themselves. But no stupid govt would allow that to happen. They could not let the operators regulate themselves and work hand in glove with the mafias and their machines to cheat the gamblers. To allow the casino operators to regulate themselves was like asking the fox to guard the hen house. To close an eye and not wanting to know how the machines work and how much advantage they had to manipulate their winnings was criminal. It was a dereliction of responsibility to the innocent and ignorant gamblers who were citizens to be protected by the govt.
The responsible govt won. They allowed the casinos to operate under strict regulations, controlled and supervision. The odds in their machines were controlled and dictated by the govt. And everything was in order, with checks and balance and a fair and equitable system for both the casino operators, the mafias and the gamblers. Only such a system is sustainable.
Only an irresponsible govt would allow casinos to operate freely and in cahoot with the mafias, and to allow the mafias a free hand to do whatever they want, even rigging their high speed computerized machines to cheat the gamblers. No where in the world would this be allowed to happen. No where. Unless the govt is also in cahoot with the casino operators and the mafias.
The government and organised crime syndicates are two types of power-based organisations that although opposed to each other, feed off each other's existence.
ReplyDeleteGovernment makes something illegal, organised crime rushes to meet the market need, and can charge premium prices.
Organised crime grows from vast profits and their "proactive business plans" aka ruthless exploitation of territorial monopoly and violent expansion. Government then has to commit more resources for the "war" against crime.
2 well financed and resourced gangs fighting each other, but at the same time thankful that the other exists.
Fucking crazy!
Gamblers know what they are in for , nobody put a gun to their head to force them to gamble. So IF they go in with their eyes open to play with rigged machines, why regulate the casinos/operators ? It is a choice the gamblers made voluntarily.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why it's regulated by the so called "kind-hearted" government is to "regulate" or "tarik" the winnings so that it would continue to entice the suckers to think they have a winning chance.
Vices are regulated/monopolised by the ppwers that be because there is huge money to be made out of human weakness.
Are you talking about casinos or stock exchanges. Both also work on the same principles.
ReplyDeleteMost people are not aware that slot machines or one armed bandits are allowed in a lot of clubs, associations and such here and they have been made available as major revenue sources for these so called recreation clubs.
Without gambling to siphon away man's wealth, the economy will grind to an immediate halt so one can say that gambling activities is not really that bad. Like someone said, nobody pointed a gun to your head to say you must gamble. You do so absolutely at your own risk.
There are legal and illegal casinos and there are stock exchanges. Our stock exchange is the best in the world. They are the best regulated, they provide an equal playing fields for all stakeholders and everyone can trade in the system feeling very safe. No one is cheated. They even bought a $250m machines to make the system more efficient for the players.
ReplyDeleteAll kinds of cheating and manipulations in the market, unfair practices, big funds cheating small players, have been eradicated from our system.
Can't say this of the NY stock exchange. It is so corrupted by greed that the big funds could use their high speed machines to cheat the small investors by taking advantage of technology and their huge war chest. There is a report today by a William Cohan who wrote for Bloomberg in the Today paper. Indeed he called the NY stock exchange a casino.
He must have his reasons. I quote, 'We are witnessing the decline and fall of the investment banking profession as we have known it for the past 40 years....Not being able to make those big proprietary bets when you see them developing - in effect, the closing of the casino that Wall Street has become over the past few decades, will severely limit banker's money making opportunities....'
RB, high frequency trading has arrived in our local bourse. Our retail players have been taken to the cleaners day in day out. It is no different from NYSE. At least the liquidity is extremely fluid in a huge market in NY , can't say the same for the local bourse, that's why the uncle and aunties stock dabblers constantly get taken to the wood shed.
ReplyDeleteNo comments.
ReplyDeleteCan someone bring this up to the PM or Tharman?
ReplyDeleteVery Uncharacteristic for you to state no comments. It says a lot. Deafening silence.
ReplyDeleteAnon 4:5 ; you are asking a rhetorical question, no? Ask yourself : 谁在做庄？The house ALWAYS wins.
ReplyDeleteIllegal or not,this only shows that many are not entrepreneur enough.No courage to take risk.
ReplyDeleteClaim sinful,illegal .....
Gambling is like doing business and investment.
Hundred dollars can turn to hundred million or even more if you have the luck,smart and know how.
If you win,become rich,powerful and influential, you can also be the owner of a casino.
If you lose,its just like you made a wrong investment.
Only the rich and powerful will claim casino to be illegal or legal.They got 2 mouth mah.
Poor people like me,every game of chance is legal.Since gambling is legal,there is no such thing as illegal casinos.
The title is a deliberate misnomer lah. Of course casinos are legal when the pappy is runnning it. If some ah long ( note , nt ah loong ) then , it's illegal lor. See ? yin and yang ; legal vs illegal, two sides of the same coin.
ReplyDeleteLovely comments born out
ReplyDeleteof a controversial post!
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