What’s the Chinese Word for Tsunami?

Here are some statistics we picked up from an Internet site on how many more Chinese are traveling abroad, leaving the Communist paradise to experience life in other locales. And as everyone will tell you, this massive wave of Chinese tourism, already lapping at the shores of Southeast Asia, is just beginning. Assuming those hordes of tourists want to spice up their vacations with a little action at the gaming tables, does the region have enough casinos?

Mainland tourists are a new and growing phenomenon, in Bali and the rest of Asia. As their incomes soar and Beijing loosens restrictions on foreign travel, China’s middle classes are venturing eagerly beyond the Middle Kingdom. Last year, the number of Chinese trips overseas rose to a record 35 million, up from 620,000 in 1990, according to China’s national statistics bureau. About half were to destinations in Southeast Asia.

Hong Kong has been the biggest beneficiary of this trend. Last year, visitors from the mainland accounted for 13.6 million — more than half the 25 million total outside arrivals to the former British colony.

Pagcor: Get the Mayor’s Blessing

Here’s an update on the case in Bacolod.  What’s the old cliche? Never fight city hall.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. has clarified that even if authority has been granted them by PAGCOR, Phuture Visions Co. Inc., the company owned by the sons of Rep. Monico Puentevella, will not be able to operate bingo games without a Mayor’s Permit.

In her letter dated March 21, 2007, Margarita Bangi, Pagcor Bingo Department managing head, said they will wait for the decision of the court on the case involving the closure of the bingo outlet of PVI at SM City mall in Bacolod City, before acting on the request of the city government. Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia had written PAGCOR chairman and chief executive officer Efraim Genuino on Feb. 23 informing him that his office did not issue to PVI, that is being operated by the family of Puentevella, the Mayor’s Certificate of No Objection, which is a requirement for the conferment of provisional Grant of Authority to operate bingo games at SM-Bacolod.

He informed PAGCOR that PVI has not been issued the Mayor’s Permit as it had not even applied for its issuance. He also requested PAGCOR to recall or revoke the provisional GOA to operate traditional bingo games obtained by PVI “for want of a Mayor’s Certification of No Objection” and for failure to secure a Mayor’s Permit within 30 days from notice of such provisional grant.

Everything But Pacific

It was a great bet, if you could get your broker to take your money.

Shares of Pacific Online Systems Corp. , the exclusive operator of lotto outlets in the Visayas and Mindanao regions, had a rip-roaring ride, jumping almost 50% in their debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange. The stock went from its IPO price of P8.88 to P13.25.

The company sold 39.8 million shares to investors (it has 191 million shares in total). With the first-day rise of P4.37 per share, the people who were able to get any of the 39.8 million up for grabs are now collectively P174 million pesos richer. Not bad.

Pacific Online president Willie Ocier attributed the company’s successful public offering to its growth potential. “I think the reason why the stock performed very well is because of the belief of the investing public that we are a growth company. We are hopeful that the new products that will be offering will contribute to the growth of the company,” Ocier told reporters following the listing ceremony for Pacific Online shares.

The exciting thing for gamblers are the new games forthcoming:

Power Lotto is similar to current lotto games but a ticket is priced higher at P50 and the jackpot price worth P50 million. EZ 2 is a two-digit game aimed at competing with local jueteng while Keno is the marathon lottery game.

The state-owned Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is evaluating the new gaming products.

Ocier said Keno, the fastest-growing lottery game in Australia, would be launched by the second half of the year. Pacific Online plans to set up 200 parlor sites for Keno within the year at a cost of some P30 million.  

Join Raffle, Uncover Tax Cheats

The joint Burea of Internal Revenue and Pagcor-sponsored game Premyo sa Resibo is less than a year old. While consumers get raffle tickets, and the chance to become millionaires, the government has been getting a trove of data. And so far, that data is revealing how many retailers hate paying taxes.  What is it that pundits often say? To end our budget deficits, the government does not have to pass new tax laws, just enforce the existing ones.  

A popular government raffle program has uncovered massive tax cheating by more than half of the 140,000 establishments whose receipts were submitted by consumers to the Bureau of Internal Revenue for a chance to win P1 million.

From June to August 2006, Teves reported that the Premyo-sa-Resibo campaign had resulted in the gathering by the BIR of some 7.8 million receipts covering about 140,000 establishments.

“Of these establishments, only 52.6 percent had valid TINs (Tax Identification Numbers). About 51.2 percent had no records of income tax payments with the BIR, while the rest had made only minimal income tax payments,” Teves said.

He said the BIR Central Office had disseminated the information to the regional districts so they could conduct investigations and audits.

UIGE and an American Lament

While some people in the Philippines complain about the coming Internet gambling boom and the “corrupting influence” it will supposedly bring to these shores, on the farther shore of the Pacific Ocean are Americans complaining about the lost jobs. The culprit? The passage of the UIGE Act last year that cut off the financial bloodline of online casinos. 

Everyone knows online gambling won’t completely turn its back on Americans, but we won’t be at the forefront. The newest and best options will pass us by. The newest wrinkles and twists on betting will only come to us second-hand. Worst of all, the endless opportunities for jobs and taxes will instead go to people in Malta, the Philippines, or any of a number of countries embracing the industry. . . . .

So thank Congress and Bill Frist for sending us all into a state of pointless decay. Yes slightly fewer people might gamble online, but how do we as a society win from this? Money not wagered online still tends to find a way into action. The gambling activities are rarely subverted in whole. Besides last time I checked Americans are not lacking in frivolous or downright dumb ways to spend their money.

Many of these ways to spend money increasingly support lower paid service jobs and areas with little American value added. Shopping to your heart’s content and buying made in China products does a lot less good than products designed by Americans, sold by Americans, and taxed by Americans Instead some young Filipino will double his earnings opportunity just because he speaks English, while some potential American sportsbook employee will have to continue to compete against an outsourced Indian or Chinese resource.

Maybe First Cagayan should send a thank you note to US Senator Bill Frist, the Republican from Tennessee? Better yet, how about a few thousand shares in Leisure and Resorts?

Pinoy Poker Championship

Wanna earn P1 million playing a game you love? The Philippine Poker Tour is hosting for the third time its Million-Peso Hold’em Philippine championship on July 7 and 8, 2007. 

But to get that P1 million guaranteed championship purse (it goes higher the more people play), you first have to risk P33,000 — P30,000 as buy-in and another P3,000 for tournament registration fees.

Gentleman’s Sport

Honesty thrives in this archipelago. Where? In an arena where millions changes hands, with no need for the modern conveniences of computers or contracts to track who bet what or who owes whom. The arenas are the cockpits found in every town for sabong, the Philippines’ pasttime.

There are no tickets, written agreements, chips, tokens or cards to record your bet. It’s all in one’s integrity, honesty and good memory.

“Sabong is considered a gentleman’s sport,” comments Regorosa. There is very little room for cheating, and those caught could get badly beaten up or jailed. Once you make a wager or place a bet, there is no turning back because sabungeros (cockfight aficionados) will take your word for it and expect you to do the same. Don’t, and you draw the ire of a stadiumful of sabungeros, risk being mobbed, and lose your good community standing.

When is $1 Million Not $1 Million?

“Read the fine print” is the perennial advice to us consumers. Check this story about a $1 million lottery winner not being able to pay for his medical bills. Not only do the rules say that the top prize should be disbursed over 20 years, there’s also the taxman taking his portion of the winnings.

Million-dollar lottery winner Wayne Schenk doesn’t feel very lucky, in spite of hitting the jackpot.

That’s because the dying ex-Marine was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer five weeks before snatching the $1 million prize on a $5 scratch-off ticket — but the New York Lottery says no dice on paying him in full.

With doctors giving him little more than a year to live, the former Marine has no need for a new house, or a fancy car. He’s hoping to buy a little time — by checking into a Philadelphia hospital that specializes in treating advanced-stage cancers.

The $1 million New York Lottery prize pays out in $50,000 annual installments over 20 years, and the Eastern Regional Medical Center told him it would need $125,000 up front and $250,000 in reserves to be tapped as his treatment proceeds.

Gung ho Ho

The Philippines’ neighbor, Macau (aka The Monte Carlo of the Orient or the Asian Las Vegas), just got a new attraction. Filipinos are familiar with the name Stanley Ho, and his company Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) just opened up the Grand Lisboa.

The HK$5 billion Grand Lisboa, a 52-story complex with a 430-room hotel as well as a five-floor casino with 240 tables and 484 slot machines, opened Sunday, just in time for the thousands of traditional Chinese gamblers who are expected during the Lunar New Year break this weekend.

There was a time when Ho was looking at doing business in the Philippines. Oh those times seem so long ago! The new casino in Ho’s bailiwick is a response to the changing environment. The 85-year old Ho, who once had a monopoly on gambling in the former Portuguese colony, is facing stiff competition. The swashbuckling cowboys from Las Vegas have been building furiously, even by TheStrip standards, in Ho’s backyard.

Later this year, the American billionaire Sheldon Adelson plans to open his 3,000-suite Venetian Macao, billed as the largest hotel-casino in the world. The complex and many others are being built on reclaimed land between two islands called the Cotai Strip.

But if you think Stanley still has the touch of Midas, you can own a piece of his empire later in the year. He plans to sell shares and list his company on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Will customers who have “contributed” to the success of SJM, i.e. the highrollers, be given an allocation of IPO shares?

Meanwhile, Ho said he is confident the HK$15 billion listing in Hong Kong of SJM will go ahead this year.

“The listing of SJM will surely happen this year, and it will happen before September,” Ho said.

Enjoying Your Earnings

If you win the lotto or make a killing at the baccarat tables, how would you spend your winnings? If you’re the type who likes to tickle her tonque with exquisite tastes and exotic flavors, here’s one way to do it.

Foodies are flying in to Bangkok from far-flung corners of the world this weekend to experience a scintillating 11-course gala dinner — with a one-million-baht price tag.

Only the most well-heeled food and wine connoisseurs are expected to take a seat at the exclusive table in the Thai capital, where the feast will be prepared by six Michelin three-star chefs from Europe.

“We limit at 40 seats, and right now it’s fully booked,” said Kanokrat Petchpornprapas, a spokeswoman for Mezzaluna, the restaurant holding the event at the top of one of Bangkok’s tallest and most luxurious hotels, overlooking the Chao Phraya River.