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Singapore holds first international poker tournament

2006-11-13 15:51:44

The first ever international poker tournament is being held in Singapore in a move which signals the opening of the gambling floodgates for the south-east Asian city-state.

The Asian Poker Tour event, which features a prize pot of $2 million, is being held at the Meritus Mandarin Hotel in the city.

Singapore currently allows betting to take place only through official outlets, and as a consequence the event is being marketed as a sport, with no money changing hands until the final result.

However, it is the new laws concerning casinos that have truly made investors take interest.

After 40 years of prohibition the city-state lifted a ban on casinos last year, saying that the influx of investment and tourism would be a major boost to the local economy.

Since then Las Vegas Sands has been contracted to build a VIP casino resort to open in 2009, with a second such project still to be licensed.

A study published last year claimed that Singaporeans spend $735 million a year on overseas gambling, via telephone exchanges and the internet.


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