It is the money laundering story that has everything - a casino gambler, a pile of cash, a fake "uncle", and a quick trip to Newcastle to see a woman about a brothel.

Singapore national San Wei Koh is in a NSW jail after police collected more than $600,000 from a safety deposit box at The Star casino in Sydney, and Koh told them the story about his aunt in Newcastle.

Police found more than $600,000 in a casino safety deposit box. Credit:Ian Waldie

A NSW judge who sentenced Koh to at least nine months jail wasn't quite sure what to believe, but had no doubt he shouldn't believe everything, the Newcastle Herald reports.

"The facts are somewhat convoluted. They have a sense of being less than the full narrative," said Judge Graeme Henson, after Koh pleaded guilty to two counts of dealing with property suspected of being the proceeds of crime.