Kong Linghui has worn many hats: Olympic ping pong champion, head coach of China’s national women’s table tennis team, and now terrible gambler/defendant.
The 41-year-old is being sued by the Marina Bay Sands casino for SGD454,000 (HKD2.55 million) in gambling arrears. Apparently being a winner at the ping pong table doesn’t make you a winner at the roulette table. Who knew?
According to a writ filed at a Hong Kong court, Kong signed an agreement to borrow SGD1 million from the plaintiff (Marina Bay Sands Pte. Ltd.) on Feb. 19, 2015. SGD900,000 was given to Kong in the form of gambling chips on the same day and the rest went towards the casino to establish him as a “premium player”.
Since the agreement was made, Marina Bay Sands says Kong has only paid off around SGD545,000. The casino is now demanding that Kong pay back the rest of the funds with interest. Guess he better whip out that checkbook (or medal collection).
Kong is considered one of the world’s best table tennis players. He competed in the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Summer Olympics, where he won two gold medals and a silver medal — although in fairness, he won those because he spent years honing his sport, not because of “Lady Luck”.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated.
