The 'rich kid's' jungle casino

In the recently completed indictment, the People's Procuracy of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province determined that Ngo Xuan Quyen was the leader of a dice gambling organization in the forests of Binh Chau - Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve (Xuyen Moc district) but escaped with two close followers, Nguyen Van Thinh and Tran Minh Sang. The investigation agency is pursuing and handling the case later.

Among the remaining defendants, 10 people (24 - 44 years old, all residing in Xuyen Moc district) were prosecuted by the People's Procuracy for the crime of "Gambling organization"; 12 people (31 - 56 years old) were accused of "Gamble"according to Articles 322 and 321 of the 2015 Penal Code.

Quyen, who once organized a casino in a coffee shop in Phuoc Buu town, Xuyen Moc district, was sentenced to 8 months in prison. In July 2018, he appealed for a suspended sentence because he was "repentant, sincere, and had a war invalid father," but his appeal was rejected. At that time, Quyen's father was the Deputy Chief of Police of Xuyen Moc district.

Ngo Xuan Quyen at the gambling den on the afternoon of November 22, 2019. Photo: Cut from video by Hac Minh

Shortly after being released from prison, at the end of October 2019, Quyen set up a dice gambling den operating from 12:00 to 18:00 every day and constantly changing locations in the deep forests of Bong Trang, Bung Rieng, and Phuoc Thuan communes - where there is no phone signal, to avoid being monitored by the police.

The gambling area was built with makeshift tarpaulins surrounded by dense trees. The gambling mat was a tarpaulin with a black line down the middle for players to bet on even or odd. Players had to pay Quyen 50,000 dong in "commission" for every million dong they won. There was a game where he earned up to 15,000,000 dong.

The right to hire many people to help shake the dice, keep watch, and remind gamblers to pay after each bet, with a salary of 300,000 - 700,000 VND per day.

To enter the casino, players had to pass through many checkpoints. The big gamblers in Xuyen Moc and regular customers were shown the way by Quyen's underlings. Players were served food and drinks.

The investigation agency determined that every day, hundreds of people from many provinces and cities came to Quyen's casino to play. Among them, Phung Van Long (56 years old) played 8 times, each time bringing 4 million VND and betting each game from 500,000 VND to 1 million VND. The total amount of bets on the games Mr. Long participated in was from 50 million VND to about 1 billion VND.

Dozens of people playing dice on November 22, 2019. Photo: Cut from video by Hac Minh

The person who participated the most 10 times was Luong Bao Bao (33 years old). Each time he entered the forest, he brought from 10 to 20 million VND, betting 2 to 5 million VND per game. On the gambling table, Bao won and lost from 40 million VND to 600 million VND.

At the end of November 2019, knowing that the casino was exposed, Quyen and two juniors fled.