First, gambling is considered an acceptable form of social activity. Playing gambling games in friends or relatives' houses are socially acceptable and are welcomed in Chinese societies. The smell of money makes Chinese people interested in playing these socially (but not legally) acceptable activities. While engaging in these activities, Chinese people can make friends, engage in business transactions, sign deals, and form stronger bonds (hopefully) with players of the games. (Yes, one or more of the players has to make a sacrifice) Second, Chinese visit casinos for financial reasons. For forty years under the rulings of the Communist Party, Chinese mainlanders could not find enough opportunities to make money by engaging in activities that Americans enjoy. However, the inner urge of becoming more financially stable is deeply rooted in Chinese people's thousand-year history. Gambling in casinos provides a "possible" way for these people to get rich quickly. Gamblers need little connections (which is required to do business in China), and experience little red tapes. Thus, they find ways to go to casinos. Third, boredom is another major cause for the popularity of gambling among Chinese. In modern China, there is a number of Chinese (majority of them are in Southern part of China), whom after the opening up of the market economy, became extremely rich. However, the wives of these people's social activities are limited. Thus, they turned their hobbies into gambling. It is not uncommon to see many Chinese middle aged women to visit each others' houses to play Ma Jiang, a popular gambling game in China. Fourth, visiting casinos might help stressed business people or government officials to escape life's worries and difficulties. Some might think that successful business people would not find time to visit casinos. Unfortunately, not true for the Chinese. A survey concludes that more than 90% of Chinese visitors to the United States make Las Vegas an ultimate stop for them. Most of them have gambled frequently in Macau and Southeast Asia. According to a private research, when asked to why they gamble, these successful Chinese business people or government officials (whose names are kept confidential) replied, "It's relaxing. When I gamble, I don't worry about anything else". Last, gambling is, for Chinese as well as for others, a form of activity that creates excitement and challenge. For games like Blackjack, there is always the possibility that you could outsmart the casinos. Therefore, if no other challenges are present, playing these games in casinos becomes a natural alternative. Recently, Chinese people have begun to play casino games online. For sites like "Golden Palace", having a Chinese version of their website is becoming the trend. However, in mainland China, the government has been cracking down online gambling sites. Chinese are a superstitious group of people. Some Chinese gambling superstition thinking and behavior have become essential parts of the Chinese culture and are popularly accepted by the population. Chinese obsession and beliefs in superstitions are commonly portrayed in their movies. In a scene in Kung Fu Mahjong , for example, one actor claimed that he was wearing his red underwear and, hence, ready to go to Macau (casinos).
Chinese believe that picking the right numbers can affect one s fortune. Some Chinese gamblers deliberately avoid hotel room numbers like 4 (sounds similar to die in Cantonese) and 58 (sounds similar to won t prosper in Cantonese) and select auspicious hotel room numbers like 84 (sounds similar to prosperous till death in Cantonese) or 18 (sounds similar to definitely prosper in Cantonese). To a Chinese, 8 is associated with prosperity and 4 is associated with death. Numbers such as 3 , 6 and 9 are also considered good numbers that, when combined appropriately with 8 or other numbers, can contribute to a Chinese s chances of winning when gambling. A combination of good numbers include 1388 (sounds similar to prosperity in one s lifetime in Cantonese), 168 (sounds similar to prosper all the way in Cantonese) and 998 (sounds similar to prosper for a long time in Cantonese). However, picking the wrong number or combination of numbers can potentially be disastrous. For example, a Chinese gambler who boarded a shuttle bus to a casino in Macau noticed later that the bus license plate was MF 1358 (sounds similar to won t prosper in one s lifetime in Cantonese). Thinking that he should not be overly superstitious, he ignored it but kept it at the back of his mind. However, when he lost that night, he put the blame on the shuttle bus with lousy numbers as the main cause of his misfortune. Superstitious Chinese gamblers may sometimes perform rituals to get loads of blessings for luck and prosperity from their gods. Such acts may include offering fruits, lighting up a joss stick or simply making a prayer. They would do so at the start of the Lunar New Year or when it is needed such as before a major casino trip or publication of lottery draw numbers. Many Chinese also believe in feng shui. They believe the world that they are living in are full of chi or force (positive or negative), which can be manipulated to their advantage. While some Chinese worship feng shui as a rational science, others see it as pure superstition. Still, most people accept it as part of the Chinese culture. Some Chinese use feng shui (e.g. arranging one s furniture at home) to avoid bad fortune (i.e. keep away negative chi or force) and increase the amount of fortune they get (i.e. bring in positive chi or force). Superstitious Chinese gamblers may sometimes avoid entering a Chinese casino through its main entrance as they believed it is blessed (or cursed ) by the feng shui geomancers. Below is a list outlining just some of Chinese gambling superstitions and taboos. While many young Chinese today may no longer believe in these dos and don'ts, they are still being recognized and/or practiced by many.
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