Before Subhas Kim Kandasamy left Singapore for boarding school in London, his mother gave him the following advice: “You’re going to be drinking, and you’re going to be gambling. Just make sure that if you do those things, at least be chic about it.”

Little did she know just how much her son would take it to heart. On a Monday evening in late July, Kandasamy presided over two different mahjong tables at Maxime’s, the Robin Birley founded private members’ club on the Upper East Side, gently instructing a well-dressed cohort about dragon tiles as white-jacketed waiters liberally poured wine and handed out cocktails.

Kandasamy is a hot commodity in New York: in September 2024, the Singaporean founded Mahjong Palace, a social gaming club that gives mahjong and Cantonese poker lessons. Ten mo

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