Reuters Question Sands Corp.'s Ties to Macau Businessman | IXGAMES

Reuters, a well-established international news wire service, has raised questions regarding the suspicious connection between a Macau-based businessman and Sands Corporation. The Macau businessman is alleged to have ties with organized criminal groups. The basis for the allegations The allegation was based on an examination by Reuters of various documents coming from the US government, Hong Kong Court Records, and interviews with United States-based law enforcement officers. Based on the information gathered by Reuters, there is a suspicious connection between Cheung Chi-tai, an investor that helps bring wealthy gamblers to Macau casinos, and Sands, the company that manages the Palazzo and Venetian on The Strip and China’s Sands Macau. Reuters has also gathered information from a patron of Sands Macau that Cheung Chi-tai actually ran a VIP room at the property. The report also stated that Cheung has been actually accused of being the mastermind behind a plot to murder a Sands Macau dealer. The Sands Macau dealer was suspected of assisting a patron in cheating the casino for millions of dollars. Legal implications of such allegations These issues will definitely have legal implications in Nevada’s Las Vegas Sands. Nevada’s Foreign Gaming Act is requiring local officials to determine if establishing professional relationships with international casino partners and investors is good or bad for the state’s reputation as a gaming capital. Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese has declined to make a separate comment, stating that the responses would be similar to what the company’s executives said to Reuters. Officials of Las Vegas Sands said that, according to what they know, Cheung is not recognized as a shareholder or director with any of the gaming promoters used by the company in Macau. Other legal issues encountered by Sands Corp. Richard Suen, a Hong Kong businessman, was awarded by a jury with roughly $58.6 million for his assistance in Las Vegas Sands’ goal to get a gaming license so as to operate in Macau. The businessman claimed that he helped introduced Sands Corp. to key Chinese government officials. Las Vegas Sands has applied for an appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court. Other similar issues Aside from Sands Corp., another Nevada-based casino has also experienced legal issues with its international parter. The casino in question is MGM Grand Macau, which is partly owned by Pansy Ho. Pansy Ho is a Hong Kong-based businesswoman alleged to have ties with organized crime groups and triads through his father, Stanley Ho. The Nevada Gaming Commission and the state Gaming Control Board have spent days in 2007 to investigate the relationship between MGM Mirage, Stanley Ho, and Pansy Ho. According to the results of the investigation, the documents supporting the joint venture between Pansy Ho and MGM Mirage had enough safeguards to prevent a third party from influencing the business operation. However, it was discovered by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement that Pansy Ho is financially dependent on her father, making Stanley Ho a very influential person in Pansy Ho’s business transactions. As a result, MGM Mirage plans to sell half of its Borgata hotel-casino (based in Atlantic City) to avoid run-ins with New Jersey’s gaming regulations and rules.