High roller claims strange ritual at centre of $43m Star Casino legal battle

A high rolling gambler claims a strange ritual is at the centre of his bitter $43 million legal battle with Star casinos.

For a man who places $500,000 bets and is regarded as one of the world’s biggest whales, Singaporean Wong Yew Choy, now the nemesis of Australia’s Star casino group, flies low under the radar.

Though he owns an online gaming empire based in the Isle of Man and the Philippines, has sponsored teams in the English Premier League and has a stable of thoroughbreds in Singapore, with an Australian trainer delivering him winners, Wong is a hard man to collar.

That is why it is curious the mysterious Wong, 55, has invited scrutiny by defending a $43m legal action brought by the Star Entertainment Group in the Singapore High Court which on the face of it seems impossible for him to win.

Singapore gambling whale Dr Andy Wong and an unknown friend. He is also known as Dr Wong Yew Choy, he is being sued by Star for $43m. Picture: Supplied

Early last year, Star Gold Coast’s glamorous VIP marketing executive, Teazel Yaw, began talking to Wong about a visit to its VIP premium gaming rooms.

Wong had previously visited Star Sydney’s private rooms but for Star Gold Coast, having recently completed its new VIP section, it was considered a coup to get a gambler of Wong’s stature to fly in.

“He is,” said an industry insider, “one of the biggest around.”

Star’s expectations were that “Dr” Wong, as he calls himself, would bet big. And it was not disappointed when he landed on July 26 last year courtesy of Star’s private jet and settled into a complementary penthouse with his entourage — with an upfront gift of $100,000 in “lucky” money.

Wong handed over a blank cheque in exchange for $40m in gambling chips and, after losing most of that that, provided another blank cheque and for another $10m in chips. When he blew out of town seven days later, on the same jet, he was a deeply unhappy man and according to Star owing $43m.

The Star Casino in Sydney. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone

Star should have been happy. After all, $43m amounted to one-sixth of the entire profit the group earned in 2017-18 across its Sydney, Gold Coast and Brisbane casinos.

But Wong was livid over supposed mistakes made by dealers and, when Star later went to cash his cheques, they found he’d ordered his Singapore bank to put a stop payment on them.

Australian casino operators Star and Crown Resorts have been rebuilding their Asian VIP sector after 19 of Crown’s staff were arrested and jailed in 2016 for illegally trying to lure mainland Chinese whales down to its Melbourne and Perth casinos.

Going wider across Asia in the hunt for whales has been key to the restoring the VIP cash flow and baccarat gamblers such Wong — who also goes by the name Andy Wong.

They are prepared to bet even bigger than legendary whale, Kerry Packer.

Baccarat now accounts for the majority of gaming in Macau and is the simplest of games: the dealer deals two cards to him or herself, and two to the player. The closest to nine wins.

“There is no strategy,” said Bill Zender, a Nevada-based consultant who advises casinos on risk.

“You just figure out how much you’re going to bet. The house advantage is quite low and with the Chinese and south-east Asians the game is perfect from them in their beliefs, because once the cards are shuffled and put in the shoe, their fate is sealed in that shoe.

“Everything is predestined.”

Dr Andy Wong and his sister Genni Wong at a racing event. Picture: Supplied

It is not disputed that Wong was unhappy when on several occasions he was dealt his cards face up.

Asian VIPs in particular want their cards dealt face down so they can “squeeze” them. They rub the card and peek around its edges — often bending the cards so out of shape they can never be used again.

The card they’re fondling will not change and nor will the outcome of the game, unless you’re Penn & Teller. However, the custom is so established that even online gambling sites now offer a digital version of the squeeze to accommodate the delusion.

It will be alleged when Wong first complained about a dealer turning his cards face up, he was already $37m in the red. Wong alleges Star’s chief operating officer, Paul Arbuckle, accompanied by Ms Yaw, were deeply apologetic for upsetting his enjoyment of the game and gave him a verbal assurance that his losses occurred up to that point were written off.

That is strongly disputed by Star.

Star did hand-deliver Wong a grovelling apology letter, assuring him it would not happen again. But it was also pointed out in the letter that he had not lost any money as a result of the dealer error. Nor was there any promise that his debt had been wiped.

Wong agreed to play again but says he was once again dealt face up. He ceased gambling and went home.

Star sees the case as a straightforward debt-recovery mission — albeit perhaps the biggest in the history of gambling. Wong claims his debt was forgiven on a verbal say-so.

One person close to his case told News Corp the $43m didn’t matter to him. He could easily absorb it. It was for him a matter of principle.

Some players want their cards dealt face down so they can “squeeze” them.

As chairman of Celton Manx, Wong’s subsidiary SBOBET became the first company approved in the Isle of Man to licenced to deal live online gambling; and the first Asian betting firm to get shirt-naming rights on a football team, West Ham United.

Wong and his sister Genni own Zac Stable in Singapore, which has steadily produced winners trained by Australian Clifford Brown.

“Tremendous bloke, known him for 10 years, really good fellow, whether he’s buying a horse, or whatever, he’s very honourable,” said Brown of Wong.

Wong’s Singapore lawyers declined to their client’s business interests or why he called himself “Dr” Wong (it is believed to be an honourary doctorate), but said in its statement of defence that he was “a highly respected and valued patron of casinos around the world”.

The Star on the Gold Coast. Picture: Supplied

Trainer Michael Freedman, since returned from Singapore to Australia, briefly handled Wong’s horses — all of which carry the prefix “Zac”, such as Zac Influence, Zac Enforcer and Zac Spirit — 10 years ago.

“I only ever referred to him as Mr Wong. I never knew much about him,” he says.

Wong Yew Choy claims The Star Gold Coast gave him a letter forgiving his massive $43.2m debt after he complained about the way several baccarat hands were dealt to him, but the letter supplied from Star suggests otherwise.

Another Singaporean trainer, Leticia Anne Dragon, also trained Wong’s horses for a short time. “I know he used to pay his bills on time and we had no issues with him,” she said.

“I never knew he was a doctor. The owners in Singapore are very discreet. I really don’t know.”

Wong’s lawyers said an interview with him was “out of the question”.

Originally published as High roller claims strange ritual at centre of $43m Star Casino legal battle