三喜临门 Triple Blessings

新加坡的第一个赌场于这个星期天（2月14日）农历最吉祥的新年当天开幕。这是新加坡为了增加旅游收入、讨好富有旅客的重要努力。圣淘沙名胜世界在农历新年第一天吉时12时18分迎接了第一个中年妇女赌客。

以广东话来念1218，有‘易发’之意，会带来好运。第一个赌徒之后有两百多人，开幕几小时之后，有好几百人已经在外排队。开幕的第二天，在几个小时后，12时30分的时候，人潮多到当局还不得不关闭进口二个半小时。

据报道，那些已进入赌场的人，也难找到下赌注的机会，或找不到赌桌边空座，或没老虎机可玩。外面的排队人被告知要耐心等待进场，而有些在赌场内的人却不急着出去。

估计有三万五千人在开幕的头两天的乘农历新年周末假期到赌场去试他们的运气。访客中，以外国游客占大多数；新加坡公民与永久居民进场有诸多限制，包括要缴交一百新元的入场日票，或两千新元的一年通行证。

新加坡当局透露，开幕第一天到傍晚7时30分为止，已有3，248名新加坡公民与永久居民付出入场日票与122人购买了一年的通行证。就是说，在七个小时内，所得到的税收已达新币$572,000。

这个赌场的开幕是新加坡计划到2017年能吸引一千七百万旅客到访的另一个重要步骤。我们希望在农历新年与情人节的开幕是新加坡三喜临门的好预兆，并希望以后会有更多的好年头。

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Singapore’s first casino, a key part of a drive to boost tourism revenue and please wealthy visitors, opened its doors on Sunday, Lunar New Year (14 Feb) - the most auspicious day of the Chinese calendar. The casino at Resorts World Sentosa welcomed its first punter - a middle aged Singaporean woman - at the auspicious time of 12:18 pm on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

When pronounced in the Cantonese dialect, 12:18 sounds like ‘striking prosperity’, which would bring good luck. The first bettor was followed by an initial crowd of about 200 enthusiastic gamblers and within hours of the opening, hundreds more were queuing up outside. On the second day of its opening, it was so packed within hours of opening that it had to shut its doors for 2.5 hours at 13.30 am.

It was reported that those already inside were having trouble placing a bit or just finding a seat at the gambling tables and slot machines. While people outside were asked to wait, some of those who were inside were in no hurry to leave.

It was estimated that more than 35,000 punters took advantage of the Chinese New Year holiday weekend to try their luck on the first two days at the casino. There were far more foreign visitors than Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs), who were subject to a number of restrictions, including having to pay a one-day entry levy of $100, or $2,000 for annual pass.

The Singapore authority disclosed that as of 7.30 on the first day of its opening, 3,248 Singaporeans and PRs had forked out for the entry levy, and another 122 had purchased the annual pass. The means in seven hours, the revenue collected had reached $572,000.

The opening of the casino is another major step to realise Singapore’s grant plan to bring in 17 million tourists by 2015. We hope the opening on the Lunar New Year and valentine time day is indeed a good sign of triple blessings for Singapore and all of us have many good years ahead.