On Empty Thoughts: Macau Casino Dealers Walk Off Job in Continuing La...

REBLOG> On Empty Thoughts: Macau Casino Dealers Walk Off Job in Continuing Labor Unrest:
Guerrilla Gamblers' Original Blog

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Casino Dealers on Strike in Macau

At noon time of 1 Oct 2014, up to 300 dealers of led by the "Forefront of Macau Gaming" took sick leave collectively to demand higher wages and better benefits. The Forefront of Macau Gaming, headed by Leong Man Teng, is a labor union with members from six major casinos in Macau. "The vast majority of our team members have reported to work and are delivering their high level of service as usual," MGM China Holdings Ltd company said in a statement, the Voice of America reported.

Gambling Hub

As a pioneer in the legal casino business, Macau is a gambling hub for the Asian region. Mainland China constitute the 60% of the visitors. Gaming revenues account for nearly 90% of government revenues. From a fishing village Macau had transformed into the gambling captial of the world with 35 casinos and a population base of more than half a million living in an area of 31.3 km2. Macau is pushing to build eight new resorts in the next three years but will faces labor shortage problems due to the current rigid regulations that prohibit foreigners from working at gaming tables.

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My Comments

With all the extraordinary they are reaping, they can't give their staff a bit of relief. This is shamefully not very Chinese mentality running a casino.

China Corruption Blitz Hits Macau Junkets

Laundering Money

Rotten gamblers, especially the whale bettors, could be mistaken for money laundering. This may be the assumption of Chinese President, Xi Jinpin. His crackdown on corrupt officials and tycoons is starting to drain China. This almost 2 years blitz had caused the sale of luxury good to dwindle and the VIP rooms at Macau casinos to slow down. It had driven rotten gamblers to other gambling destinations. This is like sending away the goose that laid the golden egg to your fellow neighbors. The claim of coming by a windfall from the casino is not that easy to justify with the generous amount of surveillance camera covering the casino. Coming up with the bankroll to make the amass the extraordinary win would be a great question mark.

Macau's Casino Junket Squeeze

The prolonged crackdown is now starting to squeeze the junkets in Macau. As the Chinese economy dragged its feet, the whale gamblers shy away. In Macau, whale gamblers will punt HK$1 million without second thoughts. Junkets who lend them money and settle their debts are not longer as flexible as debt recovery is not as easy. Authorities are digging junkets for information on Junkets are had left the industry. Chinese officials suspected of corruption who may be laundering money through Macau. The pressure is too much that, "I can't sleep at night. There are just too many problems," said one 54-year-old junket operator who didn't want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. "I'm not optimistic for the future of the VIP junket industry here." Of Macau's 220 licensed junket firms, at least 15 have shut up shop in the big casinos this year the Reuters reported on 24 Sep 2014.

Filling Bottles: Restaurateur Drugged Customers with Poppy Laced No...

REBLOG> Filling Bottles: Restaurateur Drugged Customers with Poppy Laced Noodles...:
Sue DaJi's Original Blog

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Addictive Noodles

A restaurant owner in Yan'an, Shaanxi province cunningly added an addictive ingredient into his noodles to keep his customers coming back. Zhang uses poppy buds, which he crushed up into powder and mixed into meals as his secret recipe. An anti-narcotics police agent said that chemicals from poppy, even poppy seedpods, could build up in the body to be tested positive for opiates on a drug test. When ingested over long period, it could cause addiction. Zhang was detained for questioning for 10 days. He confessed that he purchased 2kg of poppy shells for 600 yuan.

Poppy Laced Noodles Exposed

Zhang's plot was exposed when Liu Juyou was tested positive for drugs during a routine urine test under an anti-drink-driving check. The 26-year-old patron of the restaurant was shock by the test result because he never touched illegal substances. He was detained for 15 days. To clear himself Liu asked his family members to do a urine test after eating noodles from the restaurant. After confirming Liu suspicion, the authorities investigated the restaurant.

Poppy Users

Being an unconscious user and victim of Zhang's unscrupulous profiteering practice, Liu appealed against his detention. The police dismissed the case on the ground that laws were design to detect drugs and punish drug users. Opium, heroin, morphine, marijuana and any other anesthetic and psychotropic drugs which can be addictive are illegal in China. "Poppy shells used to be an ingredient in a popular hot pot sauce until the product was banned", the South China Morning Post reported on 24 Sep 2014.

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My Comments

Good ethics is necessary to build good business. Underhand tactics will bring short terms gains at the loss of reputation.