Needless to say, the mere thought of entering the place of sin that spells c-a-s-i-n-o excited me. Like a child given an ice-cream for the very first time in his life, I was hoping to see, with my very own eyes, the lights, sounds, shrieks of excitements, cries of disappointment or even the expertly executed card-dealings that has been glorified by shows like 双天至尊 or 赌神. As I walked past the security barricade which separated the casino from the rest of the establishment (not before getting checked by the grumpy security who seemed unconvinced by the numbers reflected in my passport), I could already smell what I had been expecting.
True enough, the sight that greeted me was very much similar to what I pictured in mind even before this trip. The gamers (I refuse to use the term gambler) came in all shapes and sizes. The formal big-time rollers dressed in coats or long-sleeves, with either a bundle of cold-hard cash that they would exchange for chips at any game they wanted to play, not even bothering to queue at the counters that catered to this purpose; or with chips that came in RM100 or RM500. Not just one or two, STACKS of it, easily worth a couple grand. There were the casual gamers, who would fish in their breast pockets or trousers for that remaining chip they had in a last ditch effort to win some money for a better dinner. Failing which they would just go away and perhaps hope for better luck the next time round. Of course, of all patrons who went in with hopes of striking rich big time, there was the most annoying group which are collectively known as aunties or ah-saos. The most distinguished feature in this particular group has got to be the "kia-si" aura they elude. They place bets as though it was a game of life and death, when its just a RM5 chip on whether it will be BIG or SMALL in a game of dice. When they win that round, they give off cries like those you see when people strike a lottery or jackpot, and when they lose, they moan and complain of why they did not bet on the other outcome that would have won them some dough. One of the more shameless one even dared to proclaim that she had placed a RM30 bet, when in actual fact it was just a RM25 one. Come on aunty, more than 100 cameras in the casino, you think they can't tell if you were lying???
Anyway, apart from the interesting characters you see floating around the tables, the games that were on for 'participation' also made me feel the real temptations that come along with the term 'gambling'. From a simple game of dice, to the ones I recently got to know like baccarat and three card poker, there were too many avenues for money to exchange hands. Unfortunately, I did not get to see any Blackjack, or the ever-so-popular poker (Hsingthye mentions that game is called Holdem, you know, the one where people do the cool shove-hands-move and say SHOWHAND). Perhaps these games were for the real big time players, who either have cash to burn, or look to multiply their assets in a timeframe of minutes.
Of course, being the poor man that I am, there was nothing I was actually able to afford. Or maybe there were one or two. The legendary jackpot machine and its brother the russian roulette. The roulette looked like one big money tree, for the casino that is. Mountains of stakes are scattered on a table with many options; Choose to bet any of the 37 numbers you think that ball will land on the roulette, or whether the ball will land on a red or green space, whether it will land on an odd or even, whether it will land in which specific range of this 37 numbers. Yes the returns look promising, but yet many are blinded by this illusion, in which translates to the dealer at this game to have an easy time of sweeping the chips into a hole (which becomes the casino's winnings), only paying the winnings to a few lucky chaps. Sensing that a game of russian roulette was pretty much like guessing what numbers would come out in our next TOTO draw, I decided that jackpot was to be the only viable option if I were ever to make a 'donation' to the place I was in.
There were hundreds, if not perhaps a thousand jackpot machines I saw in the whole casino. Yes the casino is that big, and for a moment I truly felt lost in the midst of the human voice and cigarette smoke which filled the air. Many don't see the fun in a jackpot machine, and I don't see much of it too. However, the fact that a game could be played for the cheapest price of RM 2 cents, and you could theoretically strike a windfall of a million or more, the promise was simply too enticing. Soon enough, I found myself glued to a seat in front of this particular machine called 'Mega Fortune'. Slotting in a RM50 note which I knew there were remote chances of ever seeing it again, but at the same time psyched by the fantasy of bringing home some RM1,500,000++, I just had to give it a go. Anyway what started as an interesting activity of pressing the button on the machine and see the slots turn (no, the machines have upgraded from the sticks found on the right hand side you have to pull, to just a simple 3 button 'controller'), soon got boring. I was constantly going through the 'swinging' motion of losing 10 credits, and then winning 10 credits. Repeat this process over three hours and you start to get real sick of it. Whatever thing that felt so surreal to me three hours before now started becoming a chore. I was hoping to lose the money! I cannot tell you how funny this feeling actually is. Well yes I did tell desmond, kok and ps about winning the jackpot with just one credit, and then take a helicopter ride back to SG, spend the money blah blah blah... those things only happen when you daydream. You do get to see the winners of the jackpot prizes as you walk into the casino (their faces covered in black tape, you should know why), and its this kind of thing that tricks people like yours truly to make donations towards helping the casino look like they are so kind and generous to give away millions to those who are truly born lucky. Guess I'm not one of them, never will and that might not be a bad thing.
Struggling to find my way out after a long and tiring 4 hour stay in the place, I came out feeling different. No, not just feeling poorer, but feeling the reality of everyday setting in. Indeed, the promises of being a overnight millionaire, or merely becoming a few grand richer would make many wonder why they work so hard for everything in life, but for all those whose promises cannot be fulfilled, they might just leave the place with a hole in their pockets if they're lucky, or if not, a mountain of debt to clear, all thanks to a moment's folly. Hahaha, that's seriously alot of food for thought in a simple excursion. I must go more places!
Other than the rather fruitful casino trip (ok at least it wasnt in terms of the wallet), we had a fun time eating and just chilling in the hotel. A trip's great with great company. The buffet lunch at the Kampong Restaurant was good and value for money! By far the best meal we had throughout the stay, and the customer service was excellent! Yes that brought me to another point, apart from the restaurant, most other shops or eateries we patronise were supervised by unfriendly and unhelpful people. They need some PR! In another unpleasant dining experience, I had a minor misfortune of eating a dish of chicken curry in the Hainanese Restaurant you can find in the First World Hotel. I strongly dissuade anyone to dine there, for it might just cause you to feel like you are eating someone's leftovers, and I'm not joking here. The only saving grace of this dining episode was a desert, which strangely enough, is something I eat only in Genting.
Yes, the humble Banana Split. For anyone who has no idea what you've seen above is. Its more than just 3 scoops of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice-cream. It has got a single banana sliced into half (thus its name), topped with whipped cream and a cherry, with a dash of cherry syrup and crushed cornflakes and kokocrunch. I do not know why I don't order this desert in Singapore, but the last time I had it, it was also at Genting.
SPOILER ALERT
One other highlight of this trip was the 2 movies we caught, Transformers and Die Hard 4.0. Frankly speaking, having watched Transformers when I was younger (though I did not actually watch it as early as when it was first released), I was always captivated by the various amazing robots featured in the cartoon. Not to mention the catchy theme and the never-ending fights between Optimus Prime and Megatron, the basket of a decepticon that was Starscream, the uber cool combo robots like Constructicons, the Dinobots that was to spawn the equally popular Power Rangers a few years later.. the list could go on and on, and of these things, I only saw perhaps a decent remake of that fight between Prime and Megatron. Other than that, everything else was like mediocre, if not bad. Just to name a few, Megatron wasn't the original gun he was in the cartoon, though he does look quite cool as a jetplane. Starscream screams UGLY, and he was simply too tamed in convincing any Transformers fan that he is Starscream. Again, too little robots and too little info of how they got there, what should each one be doing, and basically whenever there were fights, you could never differentiate an Autobot from a Decepticon (although the action was not bad). Argh, whatever it is, watch it if you are a sucker for action flicks, and be prepared to be disappointed if you want to see a remake of Transformers G1.
Die Hard 4.0 was a good action film. ALOT of action, fights, explosions, basically everything there is to a good action film. I couldn't remember what Die Hard /2/3 was, but you need no background info to enjoy this film. Bruce Willis is still good for the role, and some scenes really left me in awe (though extremely exaggerated). Watch the show without giving too much thought or logic into the plot, and you'll be in for a treat of explosive action. Failing to do so will make you think that Bruce Willis is desperate to make ends meet by coming out of retirement. Hahahaha.
Anyway, all in all, it was very enjoyable, and I do look forward to another good trip in the near future. Well, this week there's a couple of gatherings to look forward to, and hopefully I'd come out with a couple of dishes I wish to try out. Hohoho, time to find my guinea pigs!
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