Casino Wars: RW Sentosa vs Marina Bay Sands

There aren't many things that Singapore can claim to be better than Malaysia. With the recent opening of 2 casinos however, Singaporeans can now boast of having an extra casino than us. I did not miss the opportunity to visit both while I was there, strictly for research purposes of course.

We visited Resorts World Sentosa first, by taking the RW8 bus from Vivo City. It took us directly to the entrance, the word 'CASINO' in big & shiny capital letters hanged atop it. This is a proper entrance alright...no need to keep it hidden at the top floor like in Genting Highlands.

The entrance is divided into Singaporean & non-Singaporean sections. A very stern looking Chinese man stood in front it to check the passports of every tourist wanting to enter. He gave mine a long hard look before letting me in. This procedure is definitely less embarrassing than getting pull over by the police in Genting to check for IC (happened to me numerous times).

While Genting had a fleet of shiny Myvis & Alza to be given away & displayed along the corridor in conjunction with our National Day. Singaporeans have to make do with a Lamborghini Gallardo due to the lack of a national car maker. Tourists were crazily snapping away at the car as cameras weren't allowed beyond that point.

The casino itself was very nice, although it isn't as big as I first thought. Punters were crowded around a few tables (the others were either closed or empty), placing their bets quietly. The atmosphere is akin to a library.

I grabbed a cup of drink from a waiter who was busily walking around, handing out drinks. 'Hmm...hot Chinese tea, how healthy' I thought to myself after taking a sip. Walking around exploring the place, I reached the free drinks counter which served only hot Chinese tea (again!) & plain water. 'Milo must be very expensive in Singapore'.

We left the casino moments later, having to pass through the same cumbersome security checks at the exit. The new casino certainly looked impressive, but I wonder why the designers completely ignored some basic rules in casino building like having fugly carpets or not displaying the time (they had clocks inside).

Argh, my eyes!

One uniquely Asian element remained in the design though...feng shui. Like I said in my last post about casino, I am a man of science but here are some of the alleged feng shui incorporated into the layout.

If you took the escalators from the hotel, you will have to pass through these LED screens shaped like knives to cut you into pieces.

After that, you will have to walk pass a corridor with water like reflections projected onto the ceiling to drown you. The criss cross structure resembled a net trying to capture water fishes like you...

If you made it pass all of that alive, you will still be entering a casino situated at the deepest point of the resort, so you're practically entering Hell.

The feng shui arrangements are so powerful, even this peculiar sculpture of an elephant with a pyramid situated on top, is said to be deliberately placed to trap would be punters.

Beware the money grabbing elephant!

Note: Post about Marina Bay Sands will be coming soon. (Read it here)