By Tash Reddy
There's something strange in the neighbourhood, but there's no need to call the ghostbusters in yet. The One Armed Bandit or the Sibaya Casino Ghost has become a talking point in the province since recent reports on his alleged exploits.
The Independent On Saturday decided to look into the mystery to find out more about the elusive apparition - is he a marketing ploy by the casino to win over more customers, a figment of someone's imagination, a story concocted by a disgruntled gambler who lost money, or even a story cooked up by rival casinos?
According to Melville Vogel, general manager at Sibaya Casino, The One Armed Bandit is a myth. "It doesn't exist. It is just the actions of mischief makers and by condoning it we are contributing to the mischief making."
Vogel said he first heard the story a few months ago that a builder had died on site during construction and his ghost was haunting staff and patrons. One story told of a security guard who had been chased around the car park until he collapsed. A story, said Vogel, that is absolutely untrue.
"There is no record of the alleged incident. I questioned all of them and nobody knows who I'm talking about. Our records show no staff member who has left since.
"Also, the story got more detailed with people telling me the colour of his overalls and his hat, how many fillings he has in his teeth and so on.
"I placed a call to the department of health and safety and got a certificate confirming there were no deaths at all, during or after the construction of the casino," he said.
According to Vogel, the fuss died down for two months before it flared up again. Staff and gamblers at the casino laughed at the story and said they had had no eerie or mysterious experiences yet.
"We believe it was started by disgruntled staff members. It's a ridiculous story," said one staffer who refused to be named.
Security guards denied the rumours of the ghost, but said they were eagerly awaiting a visit from the one armed phantom so that he could tell them how to win big.