Las Vegas In Singapore! Perdition or Salvation?

I am probably going to get a few charming death threats about this write up (frankly speaking, I am starting to believe RIP should rightly stand for rise if possible, so thanks for the fish). Let’s dive in as some of you may already know Las Vegas Sands at the Marina Bay is going to open soon – perdition or salvation?
Lets just leave that to one side for the moment; I know that’s like talking about fruit cake recipes without the raisins, but lets just go with the flow for the moment. Firstly, where are we? We are in the shit hole; the economy is spluttering along like one of those soviet built dead traps – we need a radical shift to get shuffling again.
That’s one reason why I am a big fan of LVS. I happen to love casino’s not only because they offer great entertainment; but precisely the sort that really hits all my green buttons. I am not just talking about astonishingly fuckable ladies with liquid brown eyes and legs that run forever, that’s really a side dish – only the whole idea of a casino is really like entering an adult version of Disneyland, its a surreal dreamscape – that’s why in every single one of my love stories (for the benefit of those who regularly buy my sappy toe curling yarns, though I know not why?). I never ever fail to include at least one montage that features the main protagonist in a casino. You want proof, here it is! – Chapter 30 – “La Grande Casino.” Yes. I am a gambler, but I am not your regular punter who simply puts his chips on just any number; to me there is the whole idea of odds, trade off, pay out, calculus, algebra and the art of mentally crunching all these numbers without seeming to do so is what differentiates the gambler and a charitable foundation  (you need to have those baseline skills, because the last thing you want any casino operator to do is red flag you as a card counter) – so the whole idea is not unlike a virtual game; you strut right in with in Zegna tuxedo, hair slicked back, Vacheron Constantin (shades are a must!) and take your chances with the house – but one word of warning: never ever gamble with money that you are not prepared to lose!  And be disciplined (for example, yesterday I bough 50 lots of BEHL, you go check out in the Nasdaq, how it will go up tomorrow – go do it! I am out tonight, just after the bell! That’s what I mean by discipline) And dont ever get distracted, casino’s have honed the art of the hook, line and sinker to a science; once they spot a punter racking in the chips; dancing girls, free flow of drinks and the whole weapon of mass distraction will kick in fast and furious, trust me – you see casino operators aren’t dummies, they know; if they can keep a “winner” on the table long enough; the house will ALWAYS reap it all back and more; understand this! You can never win against the laws of probability in the long run (unless you happen to be the reincarnation of Nostradamus); all you can really do is run up her skirt when she is not looking; do your thing and scramble down the drain pipe  before the husband shows up with a meat cleaver – that’s as good as it gets as far as odds go when it comes to taking your chances with the house (unless of course you happen to be either GIC or Temasek and even when you take the mother of all falls you still come out smelling roses by invoking some mumbo jumbo freaknomics like, “long term investment”, duh! I surrender to you lah! ) – so three elements are vital if you are to win – set a min and max limit; dont ever get distracted, stay focussed – tip: stick to gatorade, never drink and deal!. My rule of thumb is simple; when the sirens show up; and the Presidential Suite is on offer; what I usually do is; slip a chip down the cleavage of one of those silicone tit distractors and whisper to them, “Go and buy a dress! Now! If I like it, I’ve fuck you when all this is finished and triple what they’re paying you. This is not personal, its strictly business” And stay focussed on the numbers, once you have hit the target limit, that’s the cue to cash out – dont look left or right, dont stop for a chat, stay away from that one for the road cocktail – just go to the counter and put everything in a briefcase (can get one in cash converter) and walk right out of the door – if you dont have that discipline or Tao to do that, then my suggestion is stick to monopoly and boardgames, because if you break those golden rules that I have just shared with you; IT WILL BREAK YOU IN HALF! I KID YOU NOT!

Now that after finished with the pitfalls of leading a life of dissipation, lets continue with the story of why I think casino’s are great stuff for us Singaporeans. My point is really simple sometimes to get good results and a decent return on energy; all it takes is a bit of imagination and verve – for example, if the government is really serious about solving our abysmal baby rates; the best thing to do is to incorporate a pole (for pole dancing and perhaps drying the laundry or building up your biceps) in every living room (strobe lights can be optional); that’s what I mean by practical solutions; no need for econometrics and statistical calculations and too much talking, cut it down to the primal and we would be producing like rabbits; all those power point charts can just go right out of the window along with the baby incentives – so with this in get to the point mentality do try to see my point when when I say that the financial crisis coupled with the advent of LVS gives Singapore a once in a lifetime chance to review how we can really organise our economy and society in ways and means never before..providing of course our government manages it properly. That to be is the biggest if.

I know some people are saying this casino thingy is just a great way to launder dodgy money; very believable when one looks at the structure; it reminds me of one of those high tech Scandinavian designer Ironing boards that one finds in high end laundrettes; but I am digressing, my point we are witnessing an epochal event, living through one of those moments on which history may even pivot in ways that we can never ever imagine..One reason for that is because the whole idea of a casino is not just the idea of an ivory ball tickling against a polish ed roulette wheel; its comes with a whole lot of other stuff; some good, others not so good and then there is the stuff that will simply put you in a citrus pine box; but with all these expect societal changes one thing remains patently certain; many of our assumptions and time honor beliefs about what and how socieity should or should not be orientated will be consigned to the dustbin of history.
Sure these verdicts might turn out to be overblown, then again the social cost may well prove me wrong to even regret writing such an article. Some have even counseled the idea legalising gambling on such a large commercial scale will lead society down a tempestuous slippery slope and trigger all sorts of social problems – well I don’t buy that claptrap, not even if it comes from the pulpit. Truth is gambling is already here ( and in earnest, I might add); don’t believe then just check out your local 4D outlet – so the whole idea of gambling is not a novel notion like a time traveling or teleportation.
Neither am that naïve to expect the cost to society to be muted either – like all vices, some will veer to the harder stuff; some will even go right down under – but when I put the pluses on the scales against the minuses; its not going to be anything near what the Christian right claims, where families will be ripped apart to ribbons and the lines of the destitute queueing for a bowl of soup will be the order of the day. In this view, a convulsion even one as radical as an appearance of a casino will not, by itself, be enough to usher in an Apocalypse; neither will we see the four horse men galloping in Orchard; there will certainly be tremors and perhaps even shakes; but all things considered; you will surprise how resilient human beings are; they will adapt, water will find its level and society will go along with it quiet happily; very much in the way the internet porn did not bring about the end of the world – or spawn an indolent society and perpetual masturbation lifestyle – trust me, life will just go right on.

What remains to be seen is whether the government is prepared for these epochal changes – like I said a casino brings with it a whole genre of stuff, some good, others not so good, but if the idea is really going to fly; then a heavenly balance needs to be found somewhere between the spectrum of let-it-rip and the whole idea of managing it in such a way, it does kill the panache, verve and aplomb of what a casino should offer – as the sages say, string it too tight; and it will snap; string it too loose and it will simply not play.

 
Either way one thing remains patently clear to be; the arrival of Sands will be both a blessing and a curse; that to me is the nature of the beast – just like the great cities of this world, like New York, Paris and Tokyo, they may be derided for their lack of moral turpitude, brutishness and filth; but despite the grime and all the good, bad and ugly they are also gold plated lightning rods that will always continue to attract the best in terms of intelligence and entrepreneurial spirit – I can’t wait for Sands to open. Btw, any card counters out there? You are free to contact me. This is a serious business proposition?

Darkness 2010

N.B DO BOOKMARK THIS SITE, IF SOME OF YOU CLAIM, YOU ARE MISSING OUT, BOOKMARK IT, THAT WAY WHEN WE DECIDE TO TAKE OFF SOMEWHERE ELSE, AT LEAST YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD TO CONT READING SOME OF OUR STUFF . BOOKMARK, IT AS WHEN THEY TAKE OFF, AS THEY DO, AT LEAST, YOU WILL HAVE A LINK, DO IT NOW!– ANOTHER GOOD REASON TO BOOKMARK THIS SITE IS THIS HAS HAPPENED  RECENTLY – http://singaporedaily.net/2010/01/11/daily-sg-11-jan-2010/#comment-7611 , THE BP HAS BARRED ALL FUTURE ESSAYS TO BE POSTED BY THE SINGAPORE DAILY. I DID ASK BABY DARKNESS ABOUT THIS AND THIS IS WHAT HE HAD TO SAY, ” There are two ways to read, one is you let someone spoon feed you like a baby. The second is you choose what and how you want to eat.  Remember, if your body is a temple. Your mind has to be the altar piece; it’s the linchpin that makes possible the grand idea of La Convivencia with you and your community, spirit, mind and perhaps 7 million other things– without this one thing, the power to choose, you are simply a cactus on a window sill! 

So understand this little rich girl, there is reading and there is reading, there is a world of difference, if you dont even bother to argue with the belief, you are what you eat. Then you would have absolutely no problem understanding – why, you are most definitely without a shadow of doubt what you read and dont read.

You can certainly categorize what I write, but you have no right to judge ……that was what Singaporedaily did – a broad line has to be drawn, otherwise, dont be surprise, if someone decides its card blanche to give you and me the mushroom treatment, “feed you shit and keep you in the dark.” So this has nothing to do with Anime 3 and her rubberband brigade. I value her readership and support, but this is a bigger sphere we are dealing with here – so this is where I will draw the line…it will hurt…like that other fake site, Temasek review that kept faking doss attacks; but how could they let the real wolf out without first planting the idea in peoples mind, “if it can happen to me, it will also happen to you,” Think about it – they cried wolf – we helped, but this time, I am not going to stick my neck out for no one…its everyman for himself….I dont even care, if the whole house catches fire…call it tough love, but if you aren’t a hard man, then you shouldn’t be in the ring and that’s the only way to deal with people who cry wolf, its all here, the explanation

http://singaporedaily.net/2010/01/12/daily-sg-12-jan-2010/#comment-7618 – dont worry dotty, the readers will eventually pick up the scent…they always do, you just wait and see, dont ever sweat the small stuff, life is too short – Darkness 2010……”Missy Dotty