There’s a lot to be said about people whose worlds have turned to the murky world of casinos. While some only go to casinos to pass the time and perhaps take a chance at a game of cards or a lucky number at the spin of the roulette wheel, there are many who have lost their souls to addiction to gambling.
Observe the regular high rollers at the baccarat or black jack table. Their alert, calculating demeanor turns to a dazed, volatile temperament when they start losing thousands and sometimes millions of pesos on bets. One such person was the lone gunman who went on a rampage at the Resort World Casino in Pasay. He had been losing thousands and perhaps millions of pesos after a streak of bad luck.
He came back, armed with sub-machine gun and a can of gasoline. He wanted to set the world on fire—literally, Resorts World Casino and Hotel. He did both, killing 37 casino patrons and employees in a deadly night of rampage. Most of the fatalities died from smoke inhalation and not from gunfire, according to police investigators. Many of the victims locked themselves in rooms to escape the gunman’s wrath, not knowing they would die from smoke inhalation.
It was a senseless act committed by a deranged man who lost it all, including his mind. After setting fire to several gaming tables on the second floor, he then broke into the cashiers counter to steal millions of pesos in casino chips. Apparently, he does not know that the chips he took won’t be of any use; they were going to be demonitized almost immediately even if he was able to escape.
The gunman, finally identified by police as Jessie Carlos, a former tax specialist at the Department of Finance, killed himself in one of the hotel rooms.
Carlos’ rampage brings to mind another incident in 1986 when Jaime Balabat, after losing hundreds of thousands of pesos at a casino, went to collect real estate commission from TV celebrity Elvira Manahan. Unable to collect, he hammered Manahan to death.
As there was outrage at the failure of intelligence by the authorities in the ongoing siege in Marawi City, there is now an outcry about security lapses in the Resorts World carnage. It’s easy to claim failure of intelligence or security lapses despite the fact that the concerned people were doing their best.
Failure of intelligence basically can be traced to lack of intelligent people who should be doing this job. In the case of Marawi, it would be the local government people or barangay officials who should have noticed the influx of newcomers to the community. They should have reported it to the Philippine National Police or military contingent in the city.
At Resorts World, the establishment can be faulted for lacking a quick response team that could have dealt with the situation the moment the gunman was seen on closed circuit television camera as he sat on the casino backstairs. Because the casino’s security people were not armed, it took some time before the gunman was neutralized. In the meantime, casino patrons were stampeding for the exits as fire started to sweep the curtains and floor carpeting.
Floor carpeting is flammable because of the fabric it is made of. It is treated with cleaning chemicals especially since countless casino patrons walk over it every night. Three days after the incident, the police came out with the identities of the dead. I was looking for some familiar names, friends I know who frequent Resorts World Casino almost every night. To my relief, I did not see names of people I know. They probably did not go that night or were some of the lucky ones who escaped during the mad stampede for the exits.
But the wife of a Pampanga congressman was among the 37 who died. We do not know if she was a regular casino-goer or was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. For sure, security will be tight at the other casinos in town after the Resorts World rampage.
Gambling is a big-time, profitable business. The country wants to compete with Macau and Singapore in getting its fair share of gambling money and the foreign tourists who come, not just to gamble but also to see some of our renowned tourism spots.