Chinese Ping Pong Legend Suspended Over Gambling Debts with Sands Casino in Singapore

One of the maximum players within the reputation for table tennis found himself in the global spotlight this week, not for their accomplishments in dining table tennis, but instead for his apparent failures at the tables in a casino.
Kong Linghui ended up being just like the Michael Jordan of ping pong, a likeness even to the position that he allegedly got himself in gambling problems.
Kong Linghui, mentor of the women that are chinese table tennis team, was summoned on Monday to return to China simply as the 2017 World Table Tennis Championships had been getting underway in Germany. He’s been suspended from the united group in the wake of the scandal over gambling debts.
Kong, a 41-year-old former champion considered one of the greatest players in the annals of this game, was called in a lawsuit filed in Hong Kong that alleged he stiffed the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino in 2015 on almost $720,000 in markers.
Alleged Debts and Gambling Regrets
On Tuesday, Kong posted on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media site, to explain that the debts weren’t his. He said he visited the casino in Lion City, Singapore, with friends and family, and utilized his credit line so they could play while he ‘sat and observed.’
‘It is just until today after news reports have exposed the incident that I have learned someone had left some debt unsettled aided by the casino,’ he said in a statement (as translated by Bing) on Weibo. ‘we am being dragged into the lawsuit. I’ve immediately required the indebted to show up and clarify the known facts.’
In line with the lawsuit filed by Sands against Kong, the casino stretched him S$1 million in credit during a trip in 2015, of which he has since paid back s$550,000 february. That left an unpaid balance equivalent to US $320,000.
‘we am profoundly disturbed by the impact that is negative of incident on the team,’ Kong wrote. ‘ we will work with my team to eliminate interference and make every work in this World Table Tennis Championships, and continue to fight for the honor of this motherland!’
Ping Pong Prince
Kong, known as the ‘ping pong prince,’ is certainly one of just a choose few rivals to win the grand slam of table tennis games. The table Tennis World Cup, and table tennis events at the Olympics, where he won two gold medals and a silver during his heyday in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he won the World Table Tennis Championships.
The 41-year-old Kong won Olympic gold in 1996 and 2000.
Considered by their contemporaries as one of the most complete and table that is well-rounded players of all time, Kong is credited for shaking up a longtime European male dominance associated with the sport within the 1990s.
The Chinese government sent him to Sweden to study the great players. He returned to China in 1993 with what he had learned, and by the end of 1995 he was the top rated player worldwide.
In 2006, Kong retired early at age 30 after crashing his Porsche in Beijing while driving drunk. The Chinese government waived a mandatory 15-day detention because of his displaying success for the nation.
Macau Residents Gambling More Frequently Than in Previous Years
Macau gambling profits are finally starting to trend in the right direction, thanks to a return into the VIP segment, and mass advertising efforts from casino resorts. But there’s another factor in the reversal of fortune, and that’s the regional resident.
In early 2016, Macau’s six resort that is integrated launched a local’s campaign that provides various non-gaming perks to city dwellers. But discounted rooms and activity packages also resulted in a slight bump in the resident gambling rate. (Image: Macau Loves Locals)
Based on a paper published by the scholarly Study of Commercial Gaming at the University of Macau, 51.5 per cent of city residents participated in some type of gambling during 2016. That’s two percent higher than exactly what the same poll concluded whenever it absolutely was last tallied in 2013.
Funded by the Macau Social Welfare Bureau, the assessment would be to keep tabs on gambling habits of locals, and monitor whether residents tend to be more prone to gambling that is developing.
The rate is still greatly lower than the 68 percent who admitted to participating in Macau back in 2003 while the nearly 52 percent majority shows that Macau habitants gamble more frequently than the general Chinese population.
Macau ended Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho’s monopoly on gambling after nearly four decades in early 2000s, and has now been monitoring the social effects of the casino industry’s liberalization ever since.
Study Results
Like many other Asian cultures, the Chinese have a propensity to gamble because of strong belief in fortune, fate, and fortune. A vintage gambling proverb in China declares, ‘you have no idea how lucky you might be. if you don’t gamble,’
This is exactly why the Chinese government has banned nearly all forms of wagering throughout its long history. Macau, A portuguese that is former territory only became part of the individuals Republic in 1999.
But thus far, there is little evidence, at the very least in line with the Macau University findings, that residents into the city are experiencing disproportionate gambling addiction rates.
Of the 2,000 respondents surveyed, just 51, or 2.5 percent of the sample, answered in a manner that classified them as ‘probable disordered gamblers.’ And of these in that category, just 10 (0.5 percent of the total pool) fell to the ‘severe’ grouping.
Assuming the info is correct, that means just 3,250 of Macau’s estimated 650,000 residents are currently suffering from the severe gambling problem. However, the report nonetheless concluded that ‘there is still room for folks to boost their awareness and understanding’ when it comes to disorders that are gambling.
Video Gaming revenue plummeted from the high of $45 billion in 2013, to $28 billion year that is last as the mainland continues to crack down on allegedly corrupt VIP junket operators in Macau.
More Than Gambling
Macau is within the procedure for wanting to advertise its reimagining to visitors that are potential. Long known for its plethora of casinos, resorts are marketing their amenities first, and gambling a distant second or third today.
A recent Macau tourism report concluded that there are many facets that are actually enticing travelers to the area apart from gambling. On the list of key non-gaming facets are the quality of the resorts, food and drink establishments, duty-free shopping, and events and entertainment.
Preferably, those components will even attract new residents to Macau and bolster the economy that is local.
The Macau government expects to see visitor arrivals grow five % overall in 2017. That will generate more demand, and theoretically, more jobs.
New City of Las vegas, nevada Logo Met with Disdain by Some Councilmembers for Being ‘Not Serious Enough’
An official ‘City of Las Vegas’ logo which was revealed last fall is receiving mixed reviews from the town council. While many tourists don’t understand it, the town of Las Vegas is distinct from the greater glamourous Strip, and encompasses primarily the downtown Fremont Street area, from a gambling perspective.
The Las Vegas logo design on the left is called away for being not serious enough for the ‘we mean business’ message that Mayor Carolyn Goodman as well as other councilmembers want to potential industries about their city. (Image: City of Las Vegas/Collage: Casino.org)
But a burgeoning business and arts climate has left a number of the city’s council feeling that the brand new logo does not mirror its more serious side.
The girly, pink magenta script emblem wasn’t meant to restore town’s longtime existing seal, but alternatively to complement it. However, some bureaucrats believe the new logo is being used too frequently, and in places where the city should present a more official-looking and image that is business-oriented.
‘When I look at the logo, that does not say official company to me, and that concerns me personally,’ Councilman Ricki Barlow stated at a meeting that is recent. ‘The seal [on the other side] says official business.’
The issue, based on those voicing concerns over the colorful identity, is that the logo isn’t being utilized strictly for advertising purposes. Certainly, the pink nevada font now covers city that is official, letterhead, business cards, employee uniforms, and more.
‘ All I’ve seen was basically the disappearing of the populous city seal,’ Barrow concluded.
Exactly How We Got Here
In regards to a year and a half ago, the town sought a marketing identity that is new. Designers submitted 20 ideas, and after councilmembers narrowed them down to four, they opened it up to public vote for the winner.
Victoria Hart’s Las Vegas logo emerged as the top pick in October 2016. Las Vegas paid her $10,000 for the style, and invested another $50,000 performing the advertising plan that encompassed it.
Among the detractors to Hart’s design is City of vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman. ‘ We are serious business here at the populous city,’ she explained of her opposition. Goodman was instrumental in using downtown Las Vegas’ once image that is somewhat shady making it a now-thriving business and arts center which includes the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, footwear maker Zappos together with edgy Container Park plaza, where previous shipping crates have been converted into storefronts.
But not all officials concur with Goodman’s assessment. Councilmen Steve Ross and Stavros Anthony said they enjoy the look that is new while Bob Coffin asked, ‘Have we overthought it?’
No motion to repeal Hart’s logo was made throughout a recent council meeting, though the board states it’ll continue the discussion in July. For the time being, an online store selling branded materials using the pink emblem is set to launch next week.
Too Flashy for Las Vegas?
Some will dsicover it a little humorous that the City of Las Vegas would be concerned their brand new logo design presents a too flashy image. The most gambling that is celebrated in the globe, both famed and notorious for its nightlife, is the epicenter for the tourism and hospitality industries.
But the area most visitors call Las Vegas is found in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester in Clark County. The Stratosphere is the only Strip resort inside the city boundaries, though the northern end of the drag that is main often cited at SLS Las Vegas (the previous Sahara), just south associated with observation tower.
And the most famous Las Vegas sign, the marquee landmark that reads, ‘Welcome to Fabulous nevada,’ markings the southern end of the Strip, and is some 4.5 kilometers outside associated with city that is actual.
The City of Las Vegas still has plenty to crow about these days despite often being referred to as the less chichi cousin of the Strip and all its glitz and glamor. Along with its company and arts districts renaissance, Downtown Las Vegas is home to Fremont Street, which will be now outpacing the Strip when it comes to casino revenue percentage gains in recent months.
From Next Pope to Bond, Paddy Power the ultimate goal of Novelty Betting
Paddy Power is at it again. The bookmaker that is irish offers a slew of eccentric novelty prop wagers, but now, the UK sportsbook is outdoing itself.
Paddy energy is getting its pope mobile back out on the road to promote its papal betting lines. And yes, we believe this holiness that is fictitious smoking a cigarette. (Image: Paddy Power)
Bettors overseas can currently place bets on every thing from who is the pope that is next to which star will change Daniel Craig and step into the iconic role of James Bond. Of course, there is an excess of betting opportunities surrounding Donald Trump’s presidency.
While Paddy energy’s listings are since comical as ever, they’ve taken a softer tone than in past years. The site received plenty of debate some in 2008 for asking if newly inaugurated President Barack Obama would be assassinated during his very first term.
Pope Props
At 76 years and 86 days old, Pope Francis had been the ninth pope that is oldest to ever be elected to the papacy in 2013. Now 80, Paddy Power is counting down the days before the Roman Catholic Church will have to find a new leader.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (Philippines) is the favorite at 5-1, followed by Cardinal Peter Turkson (Ghana) and Cardinal Marc Oullet (Canada), both at 8-1. US Cardinals Sean O’Malley (10-1), Kevin Joseph (20-1), and Timothy Dolan (20-1) are within the running.
But so is U2 frontman Bono, at least according to Paddy Power. The musician and philanthropist is a longshot, however, at 1000-1. Richard Dawkins, an atheist, comes at the devilish odds of 666-1.
Surprisingly, Trump isn’t an option.
Bond Bets
Craig said recently he’d ‘rather slash his wrists’ than play 007 once more, meaning Bond producers are scurrying to discover a new name actor.
Paddy Power believes it’s Jack Huston’s to lose (2-1), followed by Tom Hardy and Tom Hiddleston (4-1). A few humorous longshots include Kristen Stewart (90-1), Helen Mirren (175-1), David Beckham (500-1), and Diddy (500-1).
Surprisingly, Trump isn’t an option.
Trump Trending Better
The chances of Trump leaving workplace before his first term expires are growing longer. Earlier this month, bettors felt there had been a decent possibility of the commander that is 45th chief being ousted before 2020.
Nonetheless, the favorite on the question, ‘What year will Trump cease to be president?’ is ‘2020 or later’ at 11-10 today. This season does come with the shortest that is next at 13-8, followed by 2018 (10-2) and 2019 (9-1).
Paddy energy is obsessed with the new leader associated with the world that is free and justifiably so. Trump produces interest that is much his often times outlandish comments and penchant for social media.
The sportsbook ended up being even trying to hire a US political expert for its newly created position, ‘Head of Trump Betting.’ Paddy energy took a beating on the November US election after it began spending on Hillary Clinton wagers prior to Americans shocking the world.
Peace Props
Finally, Paddy energy is able to see who you would imagine is certainly going to win the Nobel Peace Prize when it is announced this October.
Pope Francis leads the real way at even money, accompanied by German Chancellor Angela Merkel (13-5). The White Helmets, Syria civil protection soldiers, are at 3-1, and murdered British Labour Party politician and humanitarian Helen Cox is at 6-1.
Notables consist of Barack Obama (22-1) and his spouse Michelle (33-1), Leonardo DiCaprio (50-1), and Russian President Vladimir Putin (90-1).
And yes, Trump is a choice at 25-1.
Casino Gaming in Vietnam Set for Change as Ministry Gets Licensing Powers
Casino gaming in Vietnam operates in something of a strange destination, but a new move by the us government could be a sign things are starting to change.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance was offered the ability to grant business licenses to casino organizations to aid national debt. (Image: saigoneer.com)
Just before a 2017 decree, many natives that are vietnamesen’t permitted to gamble in the nation’s casinos but foreign visitors could. A government decree (Decree 03/2017/ND-CP) moved to change this by introducing a three-year pilot scheme that would allow certain residents to gamble at the start of this year.
Though there have been conflicting reports about how the decree will really work in training, the overall idea is locals with money of at the very least VND10 million (US$443) will have a way to gamble in a casino.
Although this decree was meant to enter into influence on March 15, the national government has yet to issue a statement on how areas should implement the laws.
Ministry of Finance Gets the Energy
Inspite of the lack of movement, the government has now said that the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Banking and Financial Institutions will have some influence regarding the laws.
As outlined in a report by VietnamNet May 30, the Ministry of Finance has been given the charged capacity to grant organizations licenses to casino and video gaming services.
At this stage, it is not clear what this signifies in practice, but there was an opportunity it could give gaming operators and technology companies permission to operate within the united states. What is understood, however, is any business wanting to offer casino-based entertainment must invest a minimum capital of US$2 billion.
Furthermore, prospective companies must explain how it will tackle dilemmas such as problem gambling. Overall, the news that is latest still doesn’t give us much more of an understanding of how Vietnam’s casino industry will evolve in real terms over the coming months.
Progress is Slow but Still a sign that is positive
Nevertheless, there is clearly an atmosphere among federal government officials that progress requires to be made. With GDP slowing down in Q1 of 2017 and general public debt (as a percentage of GDP) increasing by more than 12 percent since 2011, ministers are now buying a way to redress the balance.
Allowing residents to pay money in local casinos has been seen as one of the most effective ways to try this. Taking this as a starting point, an escalation in casino-based activity as a result of newly certified operators could stimulate further spending.
Although some more pieces associated with the puzzle must be lined up ahead of the nationwide coffers can experience some great benefits of Decree 03/2017/ND-CP, it certainly looks as though things are transferring the direction that is right.
