The First Casino in Indonesia?
November 29th, 2007 | Business
Indonesia soon will build its first Casino on Bintan island near Singapore. Officials said that only foreign tourists and non-Muslims will be allowed to enter the gambling area. Bintan is a 200,000-acre resort island that can be reached easily from Singapore by ferry. If the House of Representatives legalize this project, will it be the next Vegas in the South East Asia?
Actually, the largest casino in the world isn’t in Vegas or Atlantic City. It sits deep in the heart of Connecticut: Foxwood Resorts & Casino. There are also large casinos located in Shreveport, Louisiana, Grand Victoria in Chicago, Montreal, the Bahamas—-to name a few. But let’s just take a look at Vegas’ case.
Vegas is the fastest-growing city in the world—the last place left on earth where a cocktail waitress afford a mortgage on a house and a lease on a car. The phenomenon of Las Vegas was much more than a card story. The town’s growth, financial influx, architectural fluidity, and character all were unique in the human history.
Vegas had gone through five distinct periods since gambling was legalized with the passing of Nevada Assembly Bill 98 in 1933. First, there was the mobster era, beginning just after World War II. Morris Dalitz and Bugsy Siegel moved into town, built the fist major casinos at $250 million, Flamingo—-quickly followed by the Sands, Riviera, Dunes, and Tropicana.
In the sixties, Howard Hughes took over where the mobsters left off, adding an element of corporate legitimacy to the town through his political and business connections while funding another building boom.
Then in the 70s, Kirk Kerkorian gave birth to the first of the huge resorts with the construction of the first MGM Grand in 1973. At $120 million, with 201 rooms, the casino was the dawn of the true Vegas-styled entertainment complex and a precursor to things to come.
After failed with the idea of “family entertainment”, Vegas decimated the competition from Atlantic City by reinventing itself as the world’s foremost adult amusement park. Luring millions of conventioneers with a state-sanctioned, lax attitude toward the sex industry, and a new focus on the consumption-oriented middle class, the city became America’s premier vacation and corporate conference destination.
At the beginning of the 90s, a massive influx of corporate money spawned the Vegas we know today. Beginning with Steve Wynn’s Mirage, Vegas picked up where the MGM Grand of 1973 left off. Mirage was a $650 million trip into fantasy and reinvented the concept of the mega resort. But the Mirage was only the beginning. On it heels came Excalibur, the Luxor, the Hard Rock, and New York.
Culminating in the construction of the massive Bellagio and Venetian (costing $1.6 billion and $1.2 billion respectively), Vegas currently sported 19 of the world’s 20 biggest hotels, hosting over 30 million visitors a year, and generating $5 billion in gaming revenue.
But, why was a lot of money invested in Vegas?
It’s all about greed. People by its nature are greedy. People love to gamble. On the flip side, they build the casinos because they want to take your money. You come there because you want to take their money. The rest is just window dressing—-how they lure you in, how you justify it to yourself when you get back home.
But it’s not an even game. The casinos make sure the system is rigged in their favor. That’s the nature of business. It’s no different than any other business. You don’t open a movie theater and let people in for free. You charge them for the entertainment. That’s was casinos does. You paid for that service by losing more than you won (the average visitor to Vegas lost $300 during a weekend, primarily male, spending another $300 on food, rooms, and entertainment, in addition to $300 for the flight).
There are geniuses too out here. They also known as card counters and sometimes they do beat the house—-although it takes enormous discipline, dedication, and mathematical skill. But it’s not as cut-and-dried as that. Card counters can be good for business. They make the civilians think the game is beatable. But over time, nobody beats the house—-that’s the cardinal rule of casinos.
Even if luckily you earn a lot of money, Casino Manager will suddenly arrived at you and ask you to leave the casino. They had no legal choice but then you are hereby notified that you are no longer welcomed at their casino. If you step foot in the door, you’ll be trespassing and they will arrest you. Yes, it seems unfair, but it’s the nature of cardinal rule of casinos.
I’ve also heard that in almost every casino, there was 2-way mirror that used to run the length of the casino ceiling. Above that were a bunch of metal catwalks and security guys would walk up and down with binoculars, gazing down at the players. The major hotels also have more than a thousand cameras set up all over the place and become part of the décor—-they’re switched around every few days to keep the cheats from finding ways to avoid them.
Pretty soon, they will be scanning every face that comes through the front doors, and matching them with even bigger databases. They’ll know if you’re a high roller or a wanted criminal. If you have been to their casino before, they’ll know you by your face easily. If you haven’t, they’ll know you from their shared database. And they’re not working alone. They also hire private investigative firms to do the dirty work.
Given this unique advantage, opening casinos anywhere will be very profitable for the owner. The systems had designed to make it nearly impossible for players to win the owner’s money. Simply adopt the matured systems from Vegas, make sure it runs smoothly, and the owner’s will earn their money invested in no more than 2 years.
If the House of Representatives legalize this project, I’m sure Bintan soon will attract a lot of people and be the fastest growing island in Indonesia. Probably in Asia. Not only that, the place itself will be an informal meeting point for infamous Indonesian tycoons such as Tomy Winata and Putera Sampoerna. As you may already know, in Indonesia, often a negotiation would run more smoothly if conducted in the informal situations.
If only I don’t believe in God, I will definitely into this business. As far as I know, no industry can beat gambling and sex industries—-in terms of return on investment. Fortunately, I don’t have a lot of money to be invested at this moment and so far I still believe in my religion. And I hope the House of Representatives will use the same judgment like me in dealing with this issue.
November 30th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Comments
November 29th, 2007 at 5:22 am
dan nantinya profit industri itu akan dsumbangkan sebagai devisa negara? bagoos…kita semua akan akan “memetik” (baca: dosa) hasilnya…
November 29th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Teori yang bagus mas. Ntar kalo jadi dibikin, yang nyumbang duwit pasti orang-orang kita, trus yg jadi bandarnya pasti orang-orang itu juga. Udah tau deh, ntar larinya duit kemana. Iya kan? :)
November 29th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Putera Sampoerna dan punya casino di Gibraltar kan ? Namanya “Mansion”, yg jadi sponsor klub EPL, Tottenham Hotspurs.
November 29th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
do i look greedy :lol:
December 1st, 2007 at 8:27 am
apabedanya casino dan trading di bursa efek jakarta ? semuanya ya judi, susahmas kalau dosa dan bisnisdi campur
December 1st, 2007 at 8:35 am
Vote yes!
Medan casino, jakarta casino dan Bali casino = kemiskinan insyaallah akan berkurang
December 2nd, 2007 at 4:58 pm
wow..casino in indonesia ??
December 2nd, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Indonesia mo punya casino!!
Wah aku gak setuju
Di luar hal2 agama, aku masih gak setuju
Gambling is a highly regulated business
Ngatur lalu lintas aja pemerintah Indonesia gak bisa apalagi mo nambah beban tuk ngatur bisnis gambling
December 3rd, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Wah aku gak setuju nih.
Bisnis gambling adalah bisnis yang penuh dengan regulasi.
Pemerintah Indonesia ngatur lalu lintas aja gak bisa, udah mo nambah beban dengan mengatur industri gambling.
Belum lagi nanti social cost dari rakyat yang tidak setuju.
Sok Las Vegas aja nih Indonesia
December 4th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Yesterday my kids and I went to a casino resort hotel to stay the night. When I took my boys down to the arcade, I was surprised to hear some of the kids talking about how they had ran out of play money but their parents were busy gambling so they would have to sit outside and wait on them. Later that evening in the pool, there were no parents other than myself, but at least 25-30 children, little children at that, playing in the pool. Once again I overheard one child tell a 3 year old that they were allowed to swim until mommy got done gambling. 3 years old with no lifeguard on duty!! I was sort of stunned. I would NEVER allow my kids to even leave my side in public. Am I overreacting?? What is your opinion in this…..
December 5th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
No no no….
I don’t believe that our government can handle gambling regulation.
Take a look at prostitution business, even though there is a prostitution localization (such as : Dolly), but there are still a lot of illegal prostitution businesses. So it is better to shut off the legal prostitution localization and giving no exception for prostitution like what Bandung and Solo did. Same things also for gambling businesses.
December 10th, 2007 at 8:36 am
I recently got a phone call from two Portland high school seniors who were writing papers about gambling and teens. As we talked, they disclosed that as freshmen and sophomores, their social lives consisted mostly of video games, playing sports and hanging out. Now, they said, it’s mostly Texas Hold ‘Em with stakes of $1 to $20. They told about a friend who spent his entire spring vacation playing online poker.
OK, maybe it’s too late to come up with a new senior night activity. Then at least follow the example of some Canadian casinos that have on-premises “responsible gambling centers.” They not only detail the potential dangers, but also help casino guests understand how the games work and the true odds of winning and losing.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:10 am
doh telat gw nov
secara saya tinggal di batam deket dg bintan, baru tau kalau mau ada proyek ini stelah mampir ke blog lo :)
December 11th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Wahh seru ya…saya pernah menyambangi “Genting Highland”, tempat judi terkenal di Malaysia. Yang mengantar teman Malaysia, tapi dia tak bisa masuk, karena kalau masuk akan langsung di borgol. Jadi judi tadi dimaksudkan untuk pendatang. Saya sempat melihat-lihat, mencoba juga sih permainan, dan yang pasti kalau dihitung pake peluang pun kita tahu, ga bakalan menang….jadi sekedar mencoba. Dan yang datang berpakaian lengkap, pake jas, yang cewek cantik-cantik….semua berpakaian formal, pake sandal ga boleh masuk (temen Indonesia ga jadi masuk gara-gara pake sepatu olahraga).
Masalahnya apakah peraturan kita bisa ketat, sehingga yang dikawatirkan teman-teman diatas, bahwa yang judi orang kita, bandar orang kita…tak terjadi.
December 12th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Sebenarnya untuk Indonesia masalahnya bukan terletak pada judi legal atau judi tidak legal, tapi perilaku bangsa ini memang aneh, lihat saja tidak ada judi di Indonesia pun, masyarakat Indonesia masih mau dikibulin dengan judi togel, apalagi kalau nanti judi di Pulau Bintan itu dibuka, tambah ramai judi buntut yang berpatokan pada Pusat Judi Bintan tersebut.
Yang menyedihkan lagi adalah, penjudi marginal Indonesia sangat senang dengan mengutak atik rumus (dalam bahasa Cinanya : ciam si) hingga lupa diri, lupa pekerjaan dan tenggelam dalam lamunan utak-atik angka guna memperoleh nomor jitu dimaksud.
Belum lagi perilaku para petualang yang mengaku paranormal yang bisa menebak angka jitu dan lain sebagainya, tambah rusaklah bangsa ini.
Berbeda dengan bangsa tetangga kita misalnya Malaysia, meski banyak warga melayu yang doyan beli buntut, namun mereka “just hanya membeli” tanpa ada upaya untuk mengutak-atik angka sehingga lupa kerja lupa keluarga, seingat saya di Malaysia ada 4 judi untuk rakyat (Cina dan India) Melayu “dilarang berjudi”, yakni : Magnum, Toto, Kuda dan satu lagi saya agak lupa apa namanya, yang semuanya sudah computerized dan dijamin tidak ada Bandar yang kabur akibat tidak mampu bayar pemenang.
Sedangkan judi untuk kelas dunia di Pusatkan di Genting Higland.
Secara ekonomi, dari pada duit Indonesia dibawa keluar untuk berjudi oleh penjudi Indonesia lebih baik diputar di Negeri sendiri untuk membangun negeri ini, itu biasanya yang menjadi alasan bagi pemerintah, para penjudi dan pendukung judi, sedangkan yang tidak setuju berpatokan kepada agama, kedua-duanya menurut saya benar, yang keliru adalah sudut pandang saja, Agama, apapun alasannya judi adalah haram, disisi lain melarikan uang “rakyat” keluar negeri untuk berjudi juga haram, maka perlu dicari sinergi agar kedua reason tersebut dapat terwadahi semuanya sehingga uang negara selamat, namun moral agama bangsa juga tidak terkorbankan.
Di Malaysia, mungkin karena pemerintahan yang otoriter dengan senjata ISA (Internal Security Act) sehingga setiap kehendak pemerintah harus jalan, namun belum pernah saya (pernah tinggal disana 10 tahun) menjumpai ulama dan lain sebagainya yang dengan keras menyuarakan kepada pemerintah agar judi ditutup, mereka sudah cukup patuh dengan ajaran agamanya agar tidak berjudi.
Di Indonesia sangatlah unik, apapun upaya pemerintah akan selalu mendapat tentangan dari masyarakat (setidaknya, kelompok yang mengatas namakan masyarakat), seperti UU Pornografi dan Pornoaksi ditentang, namun Judi ada yang menentang ada juga yang mendukung, mereka selalu beralasan itulah demokrasi.
December 14th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
If I had to roll the dice, my prediction would be 24 to 30 months. :P
December 31st, 2007 at 12:53 am
Perjudian resmi adalah salah satu bentuk untuk menyumbang devisa negara, lihat negara negara lain yang memiliki lokasi judi resmi, negaranya berkembang dengan sangat pesat.
January 14th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
saya sangat setuju jika ada casino di indonesia namun tentu dengan aturan-aturan yang jelas dan tegas mengenai casino dan dalam komplek tersebut dipadukan kegiatan yang bisa membuat orang rileks serta mendapatkan hiburan
January 25th, 2008 at 10:07 am
h*r*m j**** tuh anggota house of representatives!!!
GAk punya otak apa ya? bukannya ngurus negera yang bener malah mau bikin tempat maksiat.
gak ngeliat apa kalo bencana udah banyak….kayak gak ada lagi kerjaan….
well, what can i say….. cuma orang bodonh yang judi untuk rilex dan hiburan……
January 27th, 2008 at 10:19 am
KLU FOREIGNER YG MAIN, GW SETUJU BANGET CASINO BUKA,
Alex Noorman : pikiran loe pendek
dino : loe udh umur brp,jgn” masih kelas 6 sd ya
Wibowo : benar banget kata loe bro