In gambling, you usually have to get lucky in order to win. Perhaps in card games, a gambler’s skill bumps up their chances, but in roulette, it’s nearly all up to luck.
In 2021, a man tried to make his own luck by colluding with a dealer at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) casino to spin the roulette wheel in his favour.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Daniel Koh offered to tip Soh Xuan Rong if she spun the wheel in a way that made the ball land on three numbers he bet on.
He ended up winning S$2,330 from Soh’s table, plus another S$1,215 from the table of another dealer who later became involved in the scheme.
MBS eventually discovered the collusion and all three parties received jail sentences.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Koh, 33, would only bet on his three favourite numbers: 32, 15, and 19.
These three numbers were positioned next to each other on the roulette wheel.
Source: Free Walking Tour Salzburg on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only
Soh, a 25-year-old roulette dealer, soon began to notice this unique method.
They exchanged contact numbers, and Soh suggested they invest in the games so she could get a cut of his winnings.
Koh turned her down for he had another idea — he proposed tipping Soh S$70 each time she spun the roulette wheel so that it landed on his three favourite numbers.
Soh agreed and eventually brought another roulette dealer, 27-year-old Ting Zhi Ping Marcus, into the scheme.
Koh used Telegram to find out when either dealer was working, deleting his messages with the self-destruct chat function.
While he was playing, the dealers would spin the wheel as best as they could to hit the three favoured numbers.
Between 1 July and 12 July 2021, Koh played 174 games of roulette at Soh’s table, winning a total of S$2,330.
During this period, he once won S$4,305 in a single day, as well as lost S$5,000 on a separate day.
Soh received around S$1,000 in tips, which Koh would pay outside the MBS casino.
On 2 July 2021, Koh won S$1,215 in 18 games at Ting’s roulette table, tipping the latter S$50.
Throughout 2021, he paid Ting between S$500 and S$1,000 for his assistance in the games, 8world News reported.
Source: Marina Bay Sands
Their ruse came to light after a routine check by MBS’ surveillance department, which contacted the police at the end of July 2021.
In court, Koh and Soh pleaded guilty to charges under the Casino Control Act. Ting had been jailed after a previous hearing.
The prosecution sought 30 to 40 weeks’ jail for both Koh and Soh due to the level of planning and premeditation in the scheme.
Soh’s lawyer requested a more lenient sentence for her, alleging that his client was a three-time blood donor, felt remorse, and made full restitution.
Koh’s lawyer argued that Soh was the mastermind, as an employee of the casino and the one who initially proposed a scheme.
The prosecution rebutted that while not an employee, Koh concocted the plan and came to an agreement with both dealers.
On Monday (23 Oct), Koh and Soh were each sentenced to 28 weeks in jail.
The judge allowed them to defer their jail terms to December 2023.
Earlier this month, an accomplice for an MBS Casino syndicate pleaded guilty to illegally helping them win S$433,730 in just eight days.
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Featured image adapted from Free Walking Tour Salzburg on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only.
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