U.S. gaming regulators examine alliance between MGM, daughter of Macau casino operator Stanley Ho

27.02.2007, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «U.S. gaming regulators examine alliance between MGM, daughter of Macau casino operator Stanley Ho»

LAS VEGAS: The reign of Hong Kong casino magnate Stanley Ho in Macau's crime-ridden past will be scrutinized Tuesday by Nevada gambling regulators, who will decide whether it should jeopardize a joint venture between his daughter Pansy and MGM Mirage.

Pansy Ho and MGM Mirage Inc. are constructing a $1.1 billion (€840 million) casino in the Chinese enclave, the most lucrative gambling market in the world and a short ferry ride from Hong Kong. Regulators can force MGM to dissolve its partnership to keep its license in Nevada if it finds Pansy Ho to be an unsuitable partner. Such an outcome, while unlikely, would be devastating to MGM's plans to expand its casino and hotel operations in Asia with Macau as its linchpin.

Stanley Ho has long run up against allegations that he is linked to the organized crime gangs that allegedly ran VIP gambling rooms in his casinos when the Chinese territory was still under Portuguese control. When authorities sought to nab the leader of the 14K triad gang Wan Kuok-Koi, better known as "Broken Tooth" Koi, it was to Ho's Hotel Lisboa casino that they came to arrest him in May 1998, according to press reports. Ho has always denied he is linked to the gangs, but many presume that he must have had dealings with their loan-sharking operations as the monopoly casino operator in the colony for four decades.

"Stanley had to exist there without getting in battles with the triads," said Dan Grove, a former Hong Kong FBI agent who once worked for MGM competitor Las Vegas Sands Corp. in Macau. "Stanley's reputation suffered but I've never heard anyone say that Stanley is a triad guy with any degree of certainty or accuracy." The 85-year-old casino magnate continues to dominate in Macau, controlling land, hotels, 17 casinos, and a helicopter and ferry service that keeps visitors coming. Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at $6.5 billion (€4.94 billion), making him the world's 84th richest person.

But lingering concerns about his past have hampered his efforts to expand elsewhere. He was forced to give up part ownership in Australian casinos in the mid-1980s when gambling authorities decided he was an unsuitable licensee. Last year, he sold a $170 million (€129 million) stake and stepped down as chairman of the company now run by son Lawrence Ho, Melco International Development Ltd., to facilitate approval from Australian authorities for the company to partner with Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd. to develop a Macau casino of its own.

Now, it is his daughter, Pansy Ho Chiu-king, 43, who faces scrutiny from Nevada's Gaming Control Board. It is set to determine at a Tuesday hearing in Las Vegas, where she is scheduled to appear, whether she is effectively an extension of her father and his empire. Under Nevada gambling laws, holders of state licenses such as MGM Mirage must not violate any gambling laws abroad. They are also forbidden to enter into "unsuitable" associations that would "reflect discredit or disrepute upon this state" — a broad definition that gives the board discretion to probe further into Ho Chiu-king's past.

MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said she is a businesswoman independent of her father. "Pansy Ho is a businesswoman of great reputation and integrity," Feldman said. "This is not about Stanley Ho. I'm sure that some of our competitors would like it to be about Stanley Ho, but it's not." The Mississippi Gaming Commission approved the alliance between MGM and Pansy Ho in February 2005. The New Jersey Attorney General's Division of Gaming Enforcement is also looking into the arrangement.

Construction has begun on the partnership's MGM Grand Macau, set to open late this year, and the pair are in talks with the Macau government about building a second casino there. Pansy, her sister Daisy and their father hold a controlling interest in Macau transportation and hotel company Shun Tak Holdings Ltd., and experts say regulators want to be satisfied that that Pansy's interests are sufficiently separated from those of her father. Nevada gambling authorities may ultimately decide to allow MGM Mirage to proceed in Macau and take its place among its Las Vegas peers, such as Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands and Steve Wynn's Wynn Resorts Ltd., which are already operating there, said William Thompson, professor of public administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"We don't want to upset the apple cart, we want MGM to be successful in Macau," Thompson said. "We want Steve Wynn to be successful, we want Sheldon Adelson be successful, because this is going to ultimately bring revenues back to Nevada."

Thompson said that the board could set conditions on its finding of suitability in a hearing that is expected to last a few hours. The recommendation of the three-person board must later be approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission. University of Macau law professor Jorge Godinho said regulators should not judge Pansy Ho by the once criminal past of Macau, which came under Chinese control in 1999 and has seen significantly greater enforcement since then.

"It's sort of unfair to say 'Your father in the '90s or '80s had criminals inside his casinos," Godinho said. "First point, that was 10 years ago and that was not her." "And it's not a crime of course to be a daughter of your father."

Über MGM Grand Hotel and Casino:

Das MGM Grand gehört zu den grössten Hotels der Welt. Der Hotelkomplex besitzt 5'044 Hotelzimmer und ist direkt mit dem Casino verbunden.

Das Casino ist mit seinen 15'930 m2 riesengross und bietet alle Casinospiele an. Die Tischspiele Roulette, Black Jack sind zahlreich vorhanden. Ebenso findet man einen Pokerraum und unzählige Spielautomaten.

Zur Geschichte des MGM Grand Hotel

1973 wurde das original MGM Grand eröffnet. Das Original-Hotel-Casino wurde 1986 von MGM an Bally Entertainment Corp. verkauft und umbenannt ins heutige Bally's.

1993 öffnete das heutige MGM Grand als damals grösstes Hotel der Welt seine neuen Tore.

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