A look at the Philippines' casino junket system

The Philippines’ booming casino operation has attracted high rollers, including Chinese high-stakes players, bringing the country closer to Macau’s level.

While thousands troop into the country’s enigmatic casinos every day, the real money is made inside the VIP that are mainly controlled through the junket system.

The testimony of Kam Sin Wong, operator of what’s regarded as the country’s largest casino junket operation, before the Senate and his explanation based on questioning by the senators gave the public a peek through how the system works.

The inquiry of the blue ribbon committee was the third of a series of hearings aimed at finding out how the $81 million money stolen by cyber attackers from the central bank of Bangladesh ended up in a local bank in the Philippines and finally in the hands of casino junket operators.

*Almost all, if not all, players referred to by Wong in his testimony were Chinese, who have found a new gambling haven in the Philippines after Macau. Casinos are illegal in China; the only place in China where it is legal is in Macau.

*VIP junket operators, like Wong, act as facilitators for Philippine casinos, specifically in this case, Midas Hotel and Casino in Pasay City and Solaire Resort and Casino in Paranaque City.

*The country’s casino regulator, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) runs the casino in Midas. Pagcor gets 26.5 percent of the share of earnings from the junket operation, while the rest goes to Wong’s company, Eastern Hawaii Leisure Company.

For Solaire, he said that as the junket operator, he gets 47.5 percent, while the resort and casino firm gets 52.5 percent share. “Solaire and I are partners. We are the bangka (banker). If we win, I get 47.5 percent, Solaire gets 52.5 percent,” he said.

* Casino junket operators, like Wong, have a network of agents, whose job it is to select VIP patrons to gamble. Agents lure the gamblers with free accommodation, transportation and other perks. Wong said that they also provide a high credit limit to the players to entice them to play.

*Agents receive commission from the junket operators. The higher the bet their recruited players put into the game, the higher the commission they get - whether the player wins or loses.

*High rollers play the baccarat, a card game similar to Lucky Nine. There’s a banker and player or players, and he one who gets nine or the higher number close to nine wins. The game is played in a fixed room or a private room. Some high stake players play one-on-one with the banker.

*At Solaire, which Wong describes, as the high-end hotel and casino resort, the minimum bet is set at P25,000, which can go as high as P5 million. At Mindas, he said players can bet below P25,000 per game.

Wong said that money going into the casino games at Midas average to around P7 billion per month. He could not give a figure as to the Solaire operations, but added that it runs to the billions as well.

*Players do not bet using cash, but plastic chips called dead chips, according to lawyer Silverio Benny Tan, compliance officer and corporate secretary of Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, which operates in Solaire.

*Dead chips are issued by the casinos in exchange for cash. Depending on the agreement with the junket operator, the player could not simply exchange to cash his chips after winning and walk away.

*For example, Wong said that if a player with a P1 million bet wins P1.5 million, he can exchange to cash the P500,000, but should continue playing, sometimes, the requirement is to roll the chip six times, before he could get back his P1 million - if he continues his winning streak.

*For Tan, the use of dead chips allows the casinos to monitor the winnings of the players, where the commissions of the agents would be based. The names of players are also recorded and the number of times he plays as part of the casino management system.