casino in macau, many notorious figures started as runners for loan sharks within the casinos and eventually rose to positions of power. for example, alvin chau (周焯華), aka 洗米華, former ceo of suncity group, who was worth over usd 1b, was arrested in 2021 for illegal gambling and money laundering. he and malaysian model/actress mandy lieu had children together but were never officially married. another is wan kuok-koi (尹國駒), aka 'broken tooth (崩牙駒),' who led the 14k triad and was involved in loan sharking. it’s a tough path—you have to compete fiercely and maintain ties with the right politicians and bosses to get ahead.