Singapore tops HK as residence for millionaires

[Riverund]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-1...s-in-asia.html

Still looking around for these millionaires....

[indomie]

Karung guni man blows $400,000 in one go at casino

By Zaihan Mohamed Yusof
The New Paper
Tuesday, Dec 11, 2012
Most people would break out in a cold sweat at the thought of placing a $400,000 bet on the turn of a single card.

Not cool-hand Han (not his real name).

With utmost calm, Mr Han splits the two cards and takes a peek.

He doesn’t hesitate before making his next move – he slides forward four small plastic discs on the velvety table surface.

Others gawk.

Then, just like that, the baccarat game ends: The high-roller lost.

In less than 20 seconds one night last year, he blew $400,000 at Marina Bay Sands’ (MBS) Paiza VIP area.

Paiza is MBS’ club for premium players.

$400,000 in a hand. That’s the kind of money beyond the reach of most people.

It could buy a four-room HDB flat in Choa Chu Kang, or an entry-level Porsche.

Yet the 40-year-old businessman is unfazed by his loss.

Mr Han tells The New Paper on Sunday: “It’s no big deal.”

He had started the night with $300,000 and was up $200,000 when he made his $400,000 move.

He ended the night with $100,000. Losing that amount of money was a sign that he had had enough for the night – and it only took him two hours.

But “enough” is seldom enough for most high rollers.

Casinos bank on high rollers’ appetite for big-stakes gambling to rake in the money.

In April, chairman of MBS’ parent company Las Vegas Sands, Mr Sheldon Adelson, attributed the firm’s strong first-quarter revenue to its high volume of VIP players, The Straits Times reported.

About 60 per cent of its US$701.3 million (S$890 million) gaming revenue in the first three months this year came from high rollers.

And to entice them to play on, casinos encourage these gamblers with huge credit lines.

This was the case for Macau-based high roller Kuok Sio Kun at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

She is being sued by RWS for $2.2million.

She was first given $200,000 of credit in March 2010, court documents showed. In October, she was given another credit infusion of $2.8million over four occasions.

Minus the commission she had earned on the game and her deposit, she ended up owing RWS $2.2 million.

Mr Han, a VIP at RWS and a Diamond cardholder at MBS, says betting large is the norm in the VIP rooms.

VIP rooms are the domain of the well-heeled, with a clientele ranging from high-flying CEOs to your “average” businessmen.

These ultra-high rollers are what the gambling industry describes as “whales”. Whales, whatever they do for a living, have one thing in common: Loads of money.

To be a Diamond cardholder, Mr Han deposited $1 million with MBS.

He says: “There are bigger fishes out there. My bets appear small compared to these guys. “My heart occasionally skips a beat when I see the stakes they place on the table. It’s crazy.”

How mad? Try $1 million a hand.

Mr Han describes what he saw last year at a baccarat game. An Indonesian man in his late 50s arrived in T-shirt and jeans. On his finger was a big fat diamond ring.

“I wouldn’t have noticed him from far because he looked like a construction worker,” says Mr Han.

“But he had $40 million worth of chips on the table. I’m not sure if they were his winnings or capital.

“Every round, he threw 10 chips worth $100,000 each like they were 50-cent coins. I have never seen anybody bet the $1 million table limit.”

[roly8]

mewill be cold sweat just to bet 10,000 dollar

[focus]

mewill be cold sweat just to bet 10,000 dollar

Wow.. 10,000 is a lot for 1 bet.
I will break into cold sweat if it's $100 per bet.
Just 10 game is $1,000 and it might only last an hour max of "ENJOYMENT". Very expensive leh.
Your $10,000 bet is $100,000 after 10 games! Wow.. rich man.

[roly8]

Wow.. 10,000 is a lot for 1 bet.
I will break into cold sweat if it's $100 per bet.
Just 10 game is $1,000 and it might only last an hour max of "ENJOYMENT". Very expensive leh.
Your $10,000 bet is $100,000 after 10 games! Wow.. rich man.

if $400,000 x 10...

[indomie]

Don't gamble lah.. Its will take away your money and your soul. Buy property better.

[reporter2]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/prem...aires-20121211

Published December 11, 2012

S'pore tops HK as residence for millionaires

Survey shows that quality of life is the main attraction


[HONG KONG] Singapore topped Hong Kong as the most desired place in the Asia-Pacific for so-called mobile millionaires to reside, with quality of life being cited as the main attraction, according to a RBC Wealth Management survey.

Almost a third of the millionaires in Asia who live, work or spend more than half their time outside their countries of origin prefer Singapore, while 24 per cent chose Hong Kong, the second most popular in the region, RBC and The Economist Intelligence Unit said in a joint research report yesterday.

Real estate led the list of preferred assets for internationally mobile wealthy, according to the survey, which showed 23 per cent of those in Singapore reporting a "high propensity" for property investment, compared with 7 per cent in North America. The island's home prices climbed to a record in the third quarter, prompting its government to restrict home loans and cap property development.

For mobile millionaires who moved to Singapore, 89 per cent ranked quality of life as important, followed by 83 per cent ranking the country's political stability as important, the survey showed. Infrastructure and educational opportunity were also cited for reasons to live there.

In the three months ended Sept 30, the island's private residential property price index rose 0.6 per cent to a record 208.2 points, according to government data. In prime districts, apartment prices gained 0.2 per cent, compared with the one per cent increase in the suburbs.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore told lenders on Oct 5 to restrict home-loan maturities "to curb continued upward pressure on residential property prices", in an attempt to avert a housing bubble. The government said in September that it plans to cap the number of homes that can be developed in suburban projects as it seeks to curb the increasing trend of so-called shoebox apartments.

RBC Wealth Management, part of Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada, and EIU, a London-based unit of The Economist Group, surveyed 558 individuals who have at least US$1 million of investable assets through June to October. - Bloomberg