Man Jumps from Casino Ship to Escape Loan Sharks

Gambling on loan-shark borrowed cash is all enjoyable and games until such time you lose most of that money and are forced to remove to your skivvies and jump from your floor that is third cabin aboard the casino ship that has been the reason for your short-lived fun and subsequent woes, into the frigid waters of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor below.

A Chinese national surnamed Lu found that out of the difficult way final week, based on the oriental magazine Ming Pao. He presumably borrowed HK$120,000 (approximately US$15,460) from loan sharks and embarked for a night of gambling aboard the casino ship, which skirts (or rather sails) around Hong Kong’s strict gambling laws by cruising out into international waters, a ploy that is increasingly popular world over.

The ship had been someplace nearby the Eastern Harbor Crossing Tunnel between Lei Yue Mun and Kwun Tong when the man made his escape effort (the loan sharks were presumably on board with him) after burning through the borrowed cash. He wrapped his documents and exactly what little cash he had left in plastic, stripped down, donned a life jacket, and jumped from the screen of his cabin.

Rather than being free to swim to safety and make his wet way house however, he was acquired by another ship, which quickly brought him, soaking and sullen, to a nearby police place, and then from there to a healthcare facility for a check-up.

As the guy was launched by authorities and has not been charged with any crime, the police are clearly the least of his concerns at present, over it; people who probably weren’t particularly impressed by his decision to go for a late night swim as he still has a formidable gambling debt hanging over his head, and likely some very angry people looking for him.

Chinese Laundry Through the Slots: Money Laundering Alleged for Med Tech Firm

You think you have a gambling problem? Think about $116,000 per on a slots habit month? That’s just how much Bi Xiaodong, wife of China Medical Technologies (CMT) CEO Wu Xiaodong, is rumored to have pumped into the high roller slot machines at Las Vegas’ upscale Wynn and Bellagio casinos between 2005 and 2010, playing with an impressive allowance from the man from whom she was then separated.

Washed Out

Contrary to popular belief, you can find individuals who throw money around at that crazy level in Vegas, so gambling $5K a hand at slots by itself most likely wouldn’t normally have raised too many eyebrows. Exactly What did catch the interest of investigators, however, was the way that Mrs. Xiaodong received the sums that are enormous be able to afford to play at that level, because one source suggests that she may have passed as much as $62 million through the Bellagio slots alone between 2008 and 2012.

The Missus claims she got her gambling money allowance from child care and for living expenses (begging the relevant question of whether her kids had footwear or milk to take in); and maintains she separated from Wu in 2001 and had absolutely nothing to do with his business CMT since before its IPO in 2005 on the New York Stock market.

Cash Problems

It was last summer when CMT had to close down, after creditors moved in to get missing interest payments from the company, forcing them into liquidation. Those bondholders included GLG Partners, a London firm that manages $26.4 billion in assets; GLG has become suing Wu Xiaodong in a suit that is civil California, alleging that Xiaodong stripped assets from CMT and then fed them surreptitiously to his wife, who in turn went them through the fancy Strip slots.

How It Works

Here’s the shell game: the casino lets players cash down from lengthy periods of slot play with a credit note for all of those other money deposited. The ball player can then take that note to a casino cashier, get a look for the remaining quantity, deposit said check in their bank account, and declare it as ‘gambling winnings’ on their tax statements ( which are then cancelled down by the same quantity in ‘gambling losses,’ of course.)

Reports say that Bi Xiaodong declared near to $17 million on her comes back in wins between 2009 and 2011, with the ancillary loss to cancel the wins out 1984 chapter notes. But the questions about where the amount of money emanated from were what led detectives to look into the CMT cash flow possibility, and the risk of money laundering of CMT’s massive IPO funds.

Money Speaks

Now CMT’s liquidators are attempting to monitor some $670 million in missing money that has been raised through the company’s 2005 IPO. Also under investigation are the company’s former finance director Takyung Tsang and his wife.

Might be a case of dirty laundry.

Macau Gaming Revenues Through the Roof for March

The economy may be crawling back on its stomach everywhere else, but in Macau, money seems to be falling out regarding the sky, at least for its profitable casino industry.

A J.P. Morgan analyst quotes that March gross Macau video gaming revenues for the world’s most gambling that is successful ever will top away at $3.67 billion, a new month-to-month record even for Macau. A sector that appears to have exploded with a 15 to 20 percent growth rate this year with the final monthly tallies not even in yet, it’s predicted that final intakes could end up at a 25 percent increase over the same time in 2012, and it looks like that’s thanks to a proliferation of Asian whales.

On the Other Side regarding the Coin

Talk about trickle-down economics: seems the majority of Macau’s casino industry workers are also having a good year so far. In a 2013 survey referred to as Macau worker self-esteem and Satisfaction Index, 1,026 employees responded about their various amounts of job satisfaction, also their job that is overall confidence. The movement downward was subtle enough to be able to categorize their feelings as ‘stable’ in the mysterious world of index rankers although slightly down from last year’s Index.

Casinos Employ Many

With almost a third associated with the survey participants working in Macau’s booming casino industry, it would appear that non-casino employees have ever-so-slightly higher job satisfaction than their casino worker counterparts, with croupiers publishing the lowest satisfaction away from the entire gaming employee team. In regards to income, however, croupiers rake within the highest satisfaction of any of workers, gaming and non-gaming alike. Could all those incredibly wealthy Asian whales be both impossibly demanding and also great tippers when they win? Sure feels like it.

The ahead year

Now it just remains to be seen in the event that rest of 2013 are as profitable as March appears enjoy it will be whenever all the numbers are completely tallied.

We understand one group especially whom is wishing for continued wealth to come strike the tables in Macau: the croupiers.

Record-Breaking Poker Jackpot Relaunched

BetVictor Poker recently revamped and relaunched its massive Bad Beat Poker Jackpot with a prize that is record-breaking of €921,603 (those Euros translate to $1,193,291).

‘We’re delighted in order to introduce the all-new Bad Beat Jackpot with an industry record-breaking prize pool of over €920,000,’ announced Andy Horne, head of poker at BetVictor.

Easier to Win, More Payouts

Suspended earlier this thirty days so that BetVictor could create a few positive changes to the structure for the players, the jackpot can now be won more easily, with more benefiting from the payout too.

‘Will it achieve €1 million? Who knows.? The changes mean it will often be won more and by more individuals now,’ explained Horne. ‘The current jackpot will discover over €90,000 paid out to opted-in players playing at equivalent stakes as the winner, so even although you’re maybe not during the table where it hits, you’ll share in the good fortune, and that’s no bad beat.’

Opt In for Players

Players seeking to participate in the Bad Beat Jackpot now need to make use of the ‘opt-in’ option which can be found on all cash tables above €0.10/€0.20, Each hand they play a small price to pay for the chance to win a chunk of a big prize at which point they will contribute €0.02 to the increasing jackpot.

In order to raise the chances of winning, the new hand that is qualifying been paid off from four-of-a-kind eights, to four-of-a-kind deuces.

Whenever the lucky winner manages to sweep the jackpot up, 10 percent associated with prize pool is going to be distributed to players that have opted in during the stake degree at which the jackpot is hit.

It’s All Your Own

In addition, BetVictor, which was established in 1946 and is now one of many world’s leading bookmaking that is independent gaming groups, has announced that there will be no administration fees involved, and so the complete jackpot is going to be distributed to your players involved.

With increased opportunities of winning, and a record-breaking prize pool of almost one million euros just waiting to burst, BetVictor is certainly going to have its flood gates battered down by those looking to play on low-stakes tables with all the potential for a payout that is decent.