Merrill Lynch Employee Busted For Poker Game In Hong Kong

Hong Kong offices like these were used for the Texas Hold 'Em game. (Photo by Irum Shahid)]

In Hong Kong, one does not play poker for money, period. You'd think that someone who works for Merrill Lynch would know that sort of thing, seeing as how their business revolves around helping people spend their money in the right way. Apparently not.

New Zealand national (and banker for the multinational financial institution) Michael Tan Boon Suan and seven other players have been busted for "gambling in a gaming establishment," according to court documents. Tan and his fellow alleged gamblers were arrested at a Texas Hold 'Em poker game in March, local media finally got around to reporting on Wednesday morning. Police officers seized more than HK$3,000,000 at the game and arrested four women at the scene as well: two from Hong Kong and two from Nepal.

Oddly enough, while poker, widely considered a game of skill, is banned, the Hong Kong Jockey Club runs legal numbers lotteries and horse-race betting. Macau, just across the bay, is widely considered the Las Vegas of Asia, but casinos and their associated games are illegal in Hong Kong. If this is Tan and company's first offense, they face a maximum penalty of three months in jail and a fine of HK$10,000 (around $1,300 in the states.)

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