Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

Three Casinos for Foreigners to Open in Seoul, Pusan
There are 13 foreigners-only casinos in South Korea, one each in Seoul, Pusan, Inchon, Kyongju and Mt. Sorak, and eight in the southwestern resort island of Cheju.
By Kim Rahn
Korea Times (November 17, 2004)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200411/kt2004111715460253460.htm

Do most foreigners in Korea want or need casinos?

Why are they foreigner-only casinos?

[hellofaniceguy]

Casinos are for the owners of casinos. Not for gamblers. How or why do you think these casinos cost so much money? They get rich NOT by paying winning gamblers...that's for sure! They get rich because of losing gamblers! Where do you think all the money comes from to pay the salaries, buildings, pay raises, comps and other perks...it all comes from losing gamblers. And the losers far out number the winners by 1000 to one. So...new casinos in korea for foreigners? Nope. They are for the koreans...the employees and the owners along with everyone else who has their hands in the pockets! But hey...Las Vegas is doing great! But then again...korea is no Las Vegas and will never be. The games in korea casinos suck and so do the rules when compared to Vegas or Monte Carlo.

[weatherman]

Mostly built to tap the japanese, overseas Koreans with other passports and growing chinese markets. Went into the one in Pusan a few time to meet a friend. He usually was about one of three white dudes in the place.

[peemil]

I love the Casino in Gyeoungju.

[Medic]

Why do you love the casino in Gyeoungju

[gajackson1]

I can probably answer that one - but it will have to be for at least a hobbyist gambler, and only in pm or in person. Pref, if you live there.

A-ha!

But if you WERE/ARE one, and DO live there, then maybe you already know, and therefore don't need to do so . . .

Cryptically,

G-money

[Wisco Kid]

I'll never understand why people waste so much money gambling.

[jaebea]

Guess it's the lure of winning it for (what appears to be) nothing. Of course, the fact that you've wagered something completely escapes the minds of those poor souls who get sucked in.. :)

13 casinos in Korea, wow.

I've never been a fan of the places, at least when viewed as institutions of gambling. However, the one in Sydney was a bastion of cheap and dodgy food at all hours of the evening during my uni days (and sometimes even now). I have fond memories of scamming the usage cards (which track how much you've played, which was 0 for me) and getting free drinks at the drinks machines.

Not to mention the big screen. Great way to pass a quiet night. Plate of shoddy food, a free cuppa and the weekend's game or a rugby test @ 4am.

Ahh the good old days.

jae.

[The Bobster]

Gambling is fun when done in moderation. It's just another way to pass the time. If I lose $50 while standing at a table and getting a few free drinks for the space of 4 hours, I compare it to others ways I might have spent the same money over the same amount of time and usually consider it good entertainment.

If I find I'm losing more than $50 or at most $100 over that same period, though, the activity becomes boring for me ... because I have to make that same amount back before I start having fun again, and thus it becomes something close to a job.

If you study the rules of the various games and the probablilites attached to them, you'll start to understand that some bets are better than others, and some are just plain dumb. As with any other kind of game, studying the rules and figuring the percentages is interesting as an intellectual pursuit. Try it and you will see. The best books about it were written quite few years ago by a fellow named Scarne.

It's true that for a small minority of people gambling becomes an addiction. For people like this, something akin to Freud's idea of the "death wish," is in operation, and the attraction is losing instead of winning, though they engage in denial as any addict does, When they lose that first $50 they start making the dumber bets - bigger possible payouts, but low likelihoood - and when the lose THOSE they progress on to the bets that are positively STUPID. These are people who have spent enough time to know which are which, even if they never read a book.

(You can indulge yourself in the low probablility / high payout bets when you are far ahead of your initial bankroll. That's when you can have fun.)

I've heard it said that Asian people (not just Koreans) are more susceptible to gambling-as-addiction than is true of other cultures. If anyone has an idea about reasons for this, I'm interested.

For the record, The Bobster has visited Walker Hill Casino exactly one time in the 5 years I've been here in Seoul. I was playing roulette that night and I came out 130,000 won ahead of a 50,000 won bankroll, and all the others in my group had cashed out with nothing at all ... obviously, that meant I had to buy the drinks later, haha.

I think it's in The Moveable Feast that Hemingway advises that you should always keep gambling money separate from other money. He liked to bet on horses.

[Grotto]

the only Korean friendly casino is:

Gangwonland in Gangwon-do. Open to all Koreans and foriegners except for residents of Gangwon-do....they only get to go in the first Tuesday of every month for one day(to gamble) they can enjoy the rest of the amenities all year round.

[JackSarang]

I go to the Walker Hill Casino in Seoul occasionally. The majority of people in there are Japanese with may too much money to throw around. Then the rest are either Chinese or Koreans with an overseas passport. I'm usually the only white-guy in there, sometimes I'll see a couple soldiers or a business man.

[peemil]