The real question is how long has this been going on with everyone turning a blind eye to it? Additionally is this just a one time raid and then everything goes back to what it was or are the authorities serious about stopping b this:
China’s CCTV on Monday broadcast an expose on casinos on Jeju Island that attract Chinese gamblers through prostitution.
The broadcaster said 80 percent of gamblers on Jeju are Chinese, often lured with the promise of free tour programs and prostitutes.
One casino contract shown in the CCTV program promised clients purchasing W100,000 worth of chips a free special massage, while around W36 million worth of chips leads to an opportunity to sleep with an aspiring Korean actress or model, and buying W90 million worth of chips two nights with the woman (US$1=W1,150).
Some Korean casino offices in China were raided by police. CCTV said 13 Koreans and 34 Chinese recruiters were arrested in June for illegally luring gamblers in Beijing, Shanghai, Hebei and Jiangsu. [Chosun Ilbo]
You can read more at the link.
This story is a perfect example of the dangers excessive gambling can cause. If a foreign intelligence agent knew of his gambling problem they may have attempted to try and offer him money for secrets to feed his gambling problem. It is just amazing that a three-star admiral would allow himself to have such a gambling addiction that would lead to criminal conduct and make himself such a security threat:
The admiral fired last year as No. 2 commander of U.S. nuclear forces may have made his own counterfeit $500 poker chips with paint and stickers to feed a gambling habit that eventually saw him banned from an entire network of casinos, according to a criminal investigative report.
Although Rear Adm. Timothy M. Giardina’s removal as deputy head of U.S. Strategic Command was announced last year, evidence of his possible role in manufacturing the counterfeit chips has not previously been revealed. Investigators said they found his DNA on the underside of an adhesive sticker used to alter genuine $1 poker chips to make them look like $500 chips.
Nor had the Navy disclosed how extensively he gambled.
The case is among numerous embarrassing setbacks for the nuclear force. Disciplinary problems, security flaws, weak morale and leadership lapses documented by The Associated Press over the past two years prompted Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Nov. 14 to announce top-to-bottom changes in how the nuclear force is managed that will cost up to $10 billion.
The records obtained by the AP under the Freedom of Information Act show Giardina was a habitual poker player, spending a total of 1,096 hours — or an average of 15 hours per week — at the tables at the Horseshoe casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in the 18 months before being caught using three phony chips in June 2013. [Associated Press]
You can read more at the link.
Korean mafia is involved in video gambling:
Adult game arcades and distribution of gift certificates were discovered to be dominated by crime organizations, which used the profit to fund illegal activities.
The market for adult only game arcades and commercial computer rooms reaches 88 trillion won annually, with tax evasion rates estimated to be 8.8 trillion won.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) submitted a report on July 11 to Cheong Wa Dae on Addressing Social Evils – Dismantlement of Commercial Game Arcades Urgently Require
According to the report, Ahn, a middle boss from the Yeonggwang crime family in South Jeolla Province, is in charge of national distribution of H Gift Certificates, the third largest producer of certificates, while Seobang crime family deputy boss Oh is operating two illegal casinos which generate daily profits averaging 100 to 500 million won.
The report stated, Tax evasion rates from illegal money exchange are estimated to amount to 4.5 trillion won for adult-only arcades, and 4.3 trillion for commercial computer rooms.
Who would of thunk it?
The Stars and Stripes today is running an article the Korean contracted security guards providing proper force protection for US Army camps here in Korea:
Recent news reports blasting civilian contracted security at a handful of Army bases in the States and the U.S. European Command’s decision last week to conduct a comprehensive force protection assessment of all installations and facilities in the theater should not worry base residents in South Korea, officials here said.
That’s because anyone seeking to enter an installation here illegally would be up against multiple layers of gate security controls, including Korean National Police who patrol outside the bases, the 1,400 civilian guards who work inside the gates and the soldiers and technology that round out the package.
When I read this I began to immediately think of all the Koreans illegal on post gambling away despite all the security measures. The article did address this at least:
Stuart said 99.9 percent of the (contracted guards) are top notch. But anytime you gather a large group of people, he added, you’re going to have a few bad apples.
One example is the occasional television news story in which a reporter will secretly film himself bribing his way onto a U.S. installation usually the first step in getting footage of South Koreans illegally gambling on base slot machines.
The amount of Koreans gambling away at on post slot machine areas is due also to a systematic problem of people being signed in on post by ID card holders who then allow them to go to the slots, as well as corruption. Some may remember this scam uncovered last April when a Korean woman who was an ID card holder was signing people on to Yongsan for $30 a pop. The police found her bank account containing $1.2 million dollars from the scam.
You would think somebody would have noticed this woman coming in and out of Yongsan continuously with new customers the past three years. Not to mention employees at the casino noticing her dropping people off at the casino every day. That is why I think there was probably Korean employees complacent in this scam. I am willing to bet these activities are continuing on today. Just go to the on post slots or golf course. You think everyone in there is a valid ID card holder?
Oh My News’ latest article from Hong Euntaek who travels around America and writes stories about what a bad place America is has chosen now to write about America’s casinos. He doesn’t like the casino culture in America and is also concerned about the amount of Asians that gamble at these establishments. However, when I read this paragraph I had to laugh:
Casinos in Korea have been available solely for foreign tourists or American military personnel. Korean celebrities who sneak into casinos in American military compounds are often caught by photographers and subject to public humiliation. So they would rather head for a safe casino in the U.S. if they have time. At a glance, I’d say that more than half the patrons in the Pechanga casino hall were Asians. It was strange to hear people speaking in Korean, like “The cards are not good,” or “Give it up.”
Why should the celebrities feel shamed? Regular Koreans are doing the same thing. Go to any American military base and the areas set a side for gambling are filled with Korean nationals, not mention the golf courses as well.
Korea plans on building a new casino that will focus on Chinese gamblers:
“South Korea is betting on a new US$120 million casino project to lure more Chinese gamblers to a market that has traditionally focused on Japanese high-rollers.
“There are currently 13 casinos in South Korea that draw about 600,000 gamblers a year, mostly Japanese and Chinese.
“With about a half billion dollars in annual revenue, South Korea’s casino industry is still far behind the former Portuguese colony of Macau, which is about to surpass Las Vegas as the world’s richest gambling venue. Macau reportedly attracted 16.7 million visitors last year who spent about $5 billion.
A Korean woman earned herself $1.2 million dollars by illegally signing people on to the installation, according to the Stars and Stripes:
A 48-year-old South Korean woman was arrested Tuesday on charges of using her access to Yongsan Garrison to charge entrance fees in exchange for signing in almost 180 South Koreans during the past three years to gamble, according to Seoul police.
The woman has been accused of charging each person 30,000 won ($30) for access an estimated 900 times between April 2002 and January 2005, and the numbers could be higher, said Chief Detective Jang Sung-yoon, who works in the foreign affairs section of the Seoul Police.
The woman is officially charged with running an illegal currency exchange business, in which she charged interest while exchanging won and dollars, Jang said. The police found a bank account in her name containing more than 1.2 billion won, or $1.2 million, he said.
The woman, whom Jang would identify only by her last name, Kim, gained access to base through her membership in the Korean-American Association, Jang said. He said Kim never had worked on base or for U.S. Forces Korea.
To gain access to a USFK facilty an ID card holder only needs to sign that guest on to post and the guest gives up their ID card until they are signed out by midnight that same night. This whole scam is really amazing. The fact that illegal gambling is going on isn’t amazing, what is amazing is how much money she made signing people on to post. $1.2 million dollars and signing in 900 people in 3 years!? How the heck didn’t anybody notice she was signing in all these different people all the time?
The biggest question I am concerned about is force protection. If USFK has a curfew because of all the terrorists lurking in Itaewon just waiting to get us than you would think access to the camp would be much tighter. Heck the terrorists can get on camp for $30 and bomb us there too unless they get caught up to long on a slot machine. Maybe soldiers are safer in Itaewon after all?
