Macau - Las Vegas in China


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bammie:

Macau - Las Vegas in China

 
19.12.04 14:31
Roulette an der Börse: Chinas Investoren sind im Spielfieber. Aktien aus dem Zockerparadies Macau versprechen den schnellen Reichtum, Gewinne von mehreren hundert Prozent binnen weniger Wochen sind keine Seltenheit. Doch der Boom dürfte bald an seine Grenzen stoßen.

von Christian Lamprecht

Am Roulettetisch sein Glück zu suchen, auf diesen Gedanken ist Stanley Ho in seinem langen Leben noch nie gekommen. Das behauptet er zumindest. Ho, der ungekrönte Casinokönig aus der chinesischen Glücksspielenklave Macau, weiß schließlich: Am Ende gewinnt immer die Bank.

Bei seinen Landsleuten hat sich diese Erkenntnis allerdings noch nicht flächendeckend durchgesetzt. Tagtäglich strömen tausende chinesische Touristen in die ehemalige portugiesische Kolonie vor den Toren Hongkongs, um sich an den einarmigen Banditen und Spieltischen der zahlreichen Casinos zu vergnügen.

Doch nicht allein die Kunden der Spielhöllen sind vergnügt. Auch die Anleger in den sogenannten Macau-Konzept-Unternehmen, die im nahegelegenen Hongkong an der Börse gelistet sind, haben Freude an der Entwicklung des Glücksspielgeschäfts. Eine Euphorie wie zu Zeiten der Internet-Spekulationsblase läßt mittlerweile auch Chinas wichtigsten Börsenplatz wie ein riesiges Casino (Paris: FR0000125585 - Nachrichten) erscheinen. Unternehmen, die in irgendeiner Form mit Macau in Verbindung zu bringen sind, begeistern Anleger mit enormen Kursgewinnen – teilweise binnen weniger Stunden. Fundamentale Daten spielen dabei jedoch meist keine Rolle.

Dabei ging es bis vor kurzem vor der Ruine der St. Pauls Kirche, dem Wahrzeichen Macaus, eher gemächlich zu. Doch inzwischen hat ein Bauboom ohnegleichen eingesetzt. Fast im Monatsrhythmus eröffnen neue Hotel- und Casinoanlagen. Gleichzeitig künden hunderte Kräne und Baugruben davon, was noch kommt. Ergebnis: Im zweiten Quartal betrug das Wirtschaftswachstum stolze 47,5 Prozent im Vergleich zum Vorjahresquartal. Der Glücksspielsektor legte gar um 80,3 Prozent zu.

Die Ursachen dieser Entwicklung reichen weit zurück. Als die Portugiesen im Jahre 1516 auf der Insel landeten, nutzten sie den Standort als Handelshafen für ihre Geschäfte im asiatischen Raum. Im 19. Jahrhundert wurde das Glücksspiel auf den drei Inseln legalisiert. Doch erst, als die Portugiesen Macau 1999 an die Chinesen zurückgaben, waren die Voraussetzungen für den heutigen Boom geschaffen. Seither strömen täglich zehntausende spielversessene Chinesen in die Sonderverwaltungsregion. Zur Freude von Stanley Ho.

Der 83jährige ist der ungekrönte König von Macau. Der Sohn einer wohlhabenden Familie, die im Zuge der japanischen Invasion in Hongkong alles verlor, zog 1941 auf die Inseln. Nachdem er mit Handelsgeschäften zum Millionär aufgestiegen war, erwarb er 1962 mit zwei Partnern die einzige Lizenz zum Glücksspiel. Das damals gegründete Unternehmen STDM ist noch heute der größte Arbeitgeber Macaus. Zu Hos Konglomerat zählen unter anderem das legendäre Casino Lisboa, eine Fährflotte sowie Hotels, Kaufhäuser, eine Fluggesellschaft und die größte Bank Macaus. Bis zu zwei Drittel des Steueraufkommens, das in der Sonderverwaltungszone anfällt, wird von Hos Firmenimperium aufgebracht.

Im kommunistischen China ist Ho eine Ausnahmeerscheinung. Der 17fache Vater, der immer noch aktiv Tennis spielt und ein leidenschaftlicher Tänzer sein soll, wird seit Jahren in der vom US-Magazin "Forbes" veröffentlichten Liste der Superreichen angeführt. Aktuell rangiert Ho mit einem geschätzten Vermögen von 1,4 Milliarden Dollar auf Rang 406.

Mit der Liberalisierung des Glücksspiels gingen vier Jahrzehnte Alleinherrschaft zu Ende. Um für Wettbewerb zu sorgen, kündigte die Regierung 2001 Hos Monopol und vergab statt dessen vier neue Glücksspiellizenzen. Zwei davon sicherten sich die Spielmagnaten Steve Wynn und Sheldon Adelson aus Las Vegas, eine ging an Lui Chee-woos Galaxy Casino and Resort, die vierte verblieb in den Händen von Stanley Ho. Effektiv endete dessen Monopol erst im Mai, als Sheldon Adelsons neues Sands Casino die Tore öffnete. Damit war der eigentliche Startschuß für den Wahnsinn der letzten Monate gefallen.

Seither überschlagen sich an der Börse Hongkong die Ereignisse. So reichte allein das Gerücht, daß die Ruili Holding, eigentlich auf die Produktion von Elektronikartikeln und Spielzeug spezialisiert, in das Macau-Geschäft einsteigen wolle, um den Kurs der Aktie binnen zwei Wochen um 320 Prozent nach oben zu treiben. Nur ein Beispiel von vielen. Dabei stört es auch nicht, daß sich mittlerweile viele Unternehmen an den Macau-Boom hängen, die sich bislang wenig bis gar nicht im Hotel- und Glücksspielsektor hervorgetan haben. "Die Hausse nährt die Hausse", sagen sich offenbar viele Investoren. So hält Peter Churchhouse, Analyst bei LIM Advisors, die Kurskapriolen zwar für übertrieben, fügt jedoch hinzu: "Ich würde jetzt nicht aussteigen, das ist die Chance auf schnelle Gewinne."

Doch nicht immer geht die Rechnung der Spekulanten auf. Für einen handfesten Skandal sorgte ausgerechnet Ho selbst. Er hatte zunächst verkündet, sein privates Glücksspielgeschäft in das von ihm geführte Unternehmen Melco International Development zu überführen. Nach starkem Kursanstieg nahm er diese Aussage wieder zurück. Nun ermittelt die Börsenaufsicht. Händler fürchten bereits um den guten Ruf der Finanzmetropole Hongkong.

Für Ausländer ist der Hype ohnehin nur schwer zu durchschauen. Wer dennoch am chinesischen Glücksspiel-Hype mitverdienen will, ist gut beraten, auf etablierte Firmen zu setzen. Kaum verwunderlich, daß an dieser Stelle wieder der Name Stanley Ho zu nennen ist. Sein jüngster Coup: Mitte November kündigte das australische Glücksspielunternehmen Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd (PBL) ein Joint Venture mit Hos Melco an, um den US-Magnaten Wynn und Adelson mit einem Hotel- und Casino-Komplex Paroli zu bieten.

Die Investitionen von 163 Millionen Euro für das von PBL und Melco geplante Park Hyatt Hotel sollen laut einer Studie der Deutschen Bank (Xetra: 514000.DE - Nachrichten - Forum) bereits innerhalb von zwei Jahren wieder eingespielt werden. Derartige Nachrichten halten die Investoren bei Laune und sorgen für weitere Umdrehungen des Glücksrads an der Hongkonger Börse. Analysten prophezeien zudem gute Chancen auf dem Immobilienmarkt. Obwohl sich die Preise innerhalb des vergangenen Jahres bereits verdoppelt haben, sieht Ronald Cheung Yat-fai, Direktor bei Midland Realty, gute Chancen für einen weiteren Anstieg: "Der Bau zusätzlicher Hotels und der daraus folgende Zustrom an Arbeitskräften schafft Potential für weitere 20 Prozent."

Entsprechend kündigte Shun Tak Holdings vergangene Woche den Bau weiterer Hotels und Wohnungen für umgerechnet 433 Millionen Euro an. Dazu wurde bereits das Areal neben dem alles überragenden 338 Meter hohen Macau Tower aufgekauft.

Warnende Stimmen, die ein Überangebot an Hotels und Casinos prophezeien, verhallen derzeit noch ungehört. Dabei ist klar: Das Wachstum Macaus kann nicht ewig so weiter gehen, früher oder später wird es zu drastischen Gewinneinbrüchen und Firmenpleiten kommen. So wandte sich erst kürzlich ein gewisser Dr. Wise in einer Zeitungskolumne an die Investoren. Der Mann, der verblüffende Ähnlichkeit zum Präsidenten der SFC aufweist, verkündete unter der Überschrift "Ein Tag in Macau": "Jeder möchte gerne an der Party teilnehmen… aber man sollte zumindest wissen, was man kauft!"



Ich tippe, Macau Success könnte für 2005 sehr interessant werden.
Eine Hotel-Casino Anlage mit vielen Shoppingmöglichkeiten bzw. kulturelle Angebote, direkt im inneren Hafen von Macau klingt verlockend.

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Werbung

Entdecke die beliebtesten ETFs von SPDR


bammie:

Macau Success o. T.

 
19.12.04 23:53
Macau - Las Vegas in China 3310
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bammie:

Melco International o. T.

 
19.12.04 23:53
Macau - Las Vegas in China 3311
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bammie:

Shun Tak Holdings o. T.

 
19.12.04 23:55
Macau - Las Vegas in China 3312
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bammie:

Macau Success Top-China-Favorit

 
20.12.04 00:19
13.12.2004
Macau Success Top-China-Favorit
Emerging Markets Investor

Die Experten des Börsenbriefs "Emerging Markets Investor" sehen die Macau Success-Aktie (ISIN BMG5753B1063/ WKN A0DLG5) als Top-China-Favorit 2005.

Der Titel werde trotz einer Vervierfachung des Kurses in den letzten 12 Monaten mit einem einstelligen KGV bewertet, das in den kommenden zwei Jahren auf l�cherliche 3,5 fallen werde. Ein lokales Investment-Haus habe die Casino-Projekte der Gesellschaft als "Gelddruck-Maschinen" bezeichnet, was in einer Verf�nfundzwanzigfachung der Gewinne im kommenden Jahr zum Ausdruck kommen solle.

Die Experten von "Emerging Markets Investor" s�hen gute Chancen, dass Investoren das Papier im Zuge des ruhigen Jahresendgesch�fts zu 1,25 Hongkong-Dollar schnappen k�nnten.

Die Experten von "Emerging Markets Investor" halten die Macau Success-Aktie f�r einen Top-China-Favoriten f�r 2005.


Zwar riskant aber schaun wer mol.
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bammie:

in 2-3 jahren brummts

 
20.12.04 00:25
SJM to develop theme park in Inner Harbor


The Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. (SJM) announced plans for a theme park to be constructed in Macau's Inner Harbor as part of 4.7 billion pataca development scheme. The 23,000-square meter area under development will comprise a public park, entertainment areas, retail space, a hotel, and a cultural activity center. The new project kicks off the redevelopment of the Inner Harbor, which although rich in historic interest, has been overlooked by developers for some time. According to SJM's timetable, the company expects the project to be completed in two to three years' time at the earliest.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on December 8 to officially begin the work on the project, dubbed Ponte 16. Officiating at the event were Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau Director Jaime Carion, Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau President Lau Si Io, Macau Government Tourist Office Deputy Director Manuel Pires, SJM Director Ambrose So and SJM Director and Chief Operating Officer Louis Ng, as well as Chui and Associates City Planning & Engineering Consultants Ltd. President Jose Chui.


www.macautourism.gov.mo/english/ponte_en.phtml


Viva Las Vegas
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bammie:

Vorstellung: Macau

 
20.12.04 12:40
www.oav.de/content/laenderinfo/...ch/wh_2004_macau_kurz_mo.pdf


ist sogar in deutsch, hier kann man sich zunächst ein Überblick über die winzige Insel verschaffen. Im Grunde genommen, verhält sich es wie Hongkong.

In Macau finden 2005 sogar die Ostasiatischen Spiele statt. Das könnte ein wirklich sehr interessantes Jahr werden.

Irgendwelche Meinungen ?

greetz

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bammie:

Inet Meldungen

 
20.12.04 12:58
Gambling fever grips Asia  
Jul 8, 2004

Suddenly, it seems, everyone in Asia is placing bets on gambling.

While Singapore debates the merits of having a casino on its soil, others such as Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia are getting into the act by relaxing or reviewing their anti-gambling laws to allow for casinos.

Those which already have them, such as Macau and the Philippines, are trying to stay ahead of the game by sprucing up what they have to offer to the high rollers from the region.

The buzz was clear at a casino conference held in Singapore recently.

The record number of more than 1,000 participants, from gaming company bigwigs to officials, made the event the biggest in nine years.

Quite obviously, what lies behind the surge of interest is the high payoff on offer.

Asians spend about C$24 billion a year on gambling, including illegal betting offered by underground operators taking advantage of tough laws.

???Asians love to gamble,??? Dr Ambrose So, director of the Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), which until last month had a monopoly on Macau???s casinos, told The Straits Times.

Add to that East Asia???s booming economies, most notably China???s, and the expected explosion in tourism that will result, it is no wonder that governments are putting their chips on the industry.

It???s also no wonder that Dr So???s company and the likes of United States gaming giants MGM-Mirage and Caesars Entertainment, are looking for elbow room at the table.

Governments are not just salivating at the taxes that betting will bring in ??? one estimate is that here, they could account for as much as a fifth of the Government???s revenue ??? they also know that gamblers from overseas also splurge on hotels, food and entertainment like other tourists.

For that reason, established players are remodeling casinos-only destinations into ???destination resorts??? with all the tourist frills.

For instance, Macau???s ???gambling king??? Stanley Ho plans to spend US$380 million on three new trump cards, namely, Macau Fisherman???s Wharf, Ponte 16 and East-West Cultural Village.

The sell: ???Macanese hybridised culture that distinguishes it from the rest of the world and keeps people coming back???.

The state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), which runs all 16 casinos in the country, is betting US$15 billion in a mega-project on Manila Bay which will come with a theme park, hotels, shopping malls and condominiums.

Oh, there will be three casinos there too.

Meanwhile, others are placing wagers elsewhere – just in case.

Malaysia???s sole casino operator Genting Berhad, for instance, is diversifying by boosting its power-generation business in the face of possible competition from Thailand and Singapore.

Singapore???s idea runs along the same not-just-a-casino line.

The casino will be part of giant resort and residential development in the Southern Islands, complete with hotels and convention centres.


www.asianpacificpost.com/news/article/148.html



$1.2b theme park for Macau port
Raymond Wang

Cruise ship operator Macau Success has teamed up with casino tycoon Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) to build a HK$1.2 billion theme park in Macau's Inner Harbour area.

The park, Ponte 16, will be be built on a 23,066-square-metre site with potential gross floor area of 63,584 sqm.

It will feature a 250-room hotel, a casino with more than 100 gambling tables to be run by SJM, a 25,833 sqm shopping arcade, a cultural space and car parks. Construction is expected to begin next year and be completed by the end of 2006.

Macau Success will boost its stake in a joint-venture property development company to 24.5 per cent from 10 per cent and set aside about HK$300 million for Ponte 16, executive director Marco Lee said.

The Macau government has conditionally granted the land for HK$87.26 million.

SJM unit SJM-Investmentos has agreed to transfer 14.5 per cent equity interests in the joint-venture property development company to both Macau Success and independent third party Joy Idea for HK$1.4 million.

After the transfer, SJM-Investmentos will own 51 per cent of the project, while Macau Success and Joy Idea own 24.5 per cent each.

A Macau Success spokesman said the company was optimistic about Macau's growth potential.

``We are keen to further diversify our businesses and tap into the huge potential markets of hotel, casino and property-related businesses there in future.

``The proposed joint development in Ponte 16 not only enables the company to take part in the hotel and related industries in Macau, but also can have a synergistic effect on the company's existing cruise and travel agency businesses,'' he added.

Trading in the shares of Macau Success was suspended on Tuesday pending the announcement. The stock closed at HK$0.93 per share on Monday.

www.thestandard.com.hk/...frame.cfm?articleid=52114&intcatid=2



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bammie:

Casino Connections

 
23.12.04 11:26
CASINO CONNECTIONS Part 2 - Stanley Ho's house of cards

Jul 22, 2004
Money laundered through Macau casino ended up in Richmond and Vancouver banks


Stanley Ho, the undisputed gambling czar of Macau has friends in high places in virtually every corner of the globe.

In Canada, he has been feted and wooed and given medals by the likes of Jean Chretien, Brian Mulroney and several premiers of British Columbia.

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton, deposed Philippine president Joseph Estrada, ex-British premier Margaret Thatcher and China‘s top dog Jiang Zemin are just some of the names on his rolodex.

The trim billionaire has the ugliest mansion in Vancouver, that is at the entrance of Stanley Park, while his business ventures stretch from coast-to-coast.

Ho, 83, who has three wives and 17 children, is described by his mouthpieces as “a well-respected international entrepreneur.“

But there is a dark side to the casino magnate, one which is secretly recorded in Canadian, American, British and Australian intelligence files.

The intelligence data, which has been vehemently denied by Ho and his friends in high places, state the operations of the gambling king are intricately linked to Asian organized crime.

A RCMP document called the Asian Organized Crime Roster has him listed as Triad leader while a similar American report put Ho on a watchlist.

But all the alleged criminal connections are downplayed and Ho continues to build his global business empire with little hindrance and a lot of influence.

Now, however, an investigation by the Far Eastern Economic Review magazine shows that police suspicions about Ho‘s operations are not too off the mark.

A report by prize-winning writer Barry Wain alleges that Ho‘s multibillion-dollar gaming flagship Sociedad de Tourism e Diversoes de Macau (STDM) is allegedly at the centre of a money-laundering scheme moving billions of dollars out of China through Macau into Hong Kong.

Some of the laundered money has already made its way into B.C. banks and casinos.

Prosecutors in Hong Kong who are handling the Bank of China scandal say US$1.4 million of US$26.5 million allegedly embezzled by a former bank branch manager was illegally moved in the form of an STDM cheque.

The money was allegedly taken by Hui Chiu Fan who with two accomplices entered Canada via Vancouver using false identities.

The trio of fugitive bankers then deposited large amounts into accounts at the Royal Bank Canada branch on Ackroyd Road in Richmond and the Vancouver area branches of the Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

Hong Kong police said Hui‘s STDM cheque, looked like casino winnings and did not trigger warnings at the banks where he cashed it.
As part of their investigation Hong Kong police interviewed a casino manager in Macau, who said the money was handled by a junket operator, a middleman who takes gamblers to so-called VIP rooms. But the manager said he had no records.

Asian organize crime investigators in Vancouver tracking Hui and his accomplices spotted them at a house in Richmond two years ago. The house was once used as a marijuana grow operation. Later they had information that trio were hiding out in an area outside Hollywood in California.

Last April one of the three, Yu Zhendong, 41, was handed over to Chinese authorities on the condition that he not be tortured or put to death. He was arrested in Nevada where some of the alleged money he siphoned was laundered through local casinos. The other two remain at large.
The Review said it sent a team of reporters to Zhuhai, the city directly across the Chinese border from Macau, where they said they had deposited the equivalent of US$12,900 (HK$100,620) with the owner of a stall in a sprawling shopping centre called Frontier Square. About 100 dealers in the centre, the report said, were willing to exchange cash on the spot or transfer it to Macau.

The Review team paid fees totalling US$232 to the stall owner.

“Hours later,“ the story said, “we collected a cheque for the full amount, on production of an identity card, at Ho‘s crown jewel, the Hotel Lisboa, STDM‘s flagship casino and heaquarters in Macau.

“Payable in Hong Kong dollars, the cheque was stamped in Portuguese for and on behalf of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau SA, STDM‘s subsidiary that operates the company‘s 12 casinos.‘‘

The cheque was drawn on the Hong Kong branch of an unnamed European bank and made payable in cash, which means the recipient cannot be easily traced. The cheque was later accepted by another bank in Hong Kong with no questions asked, according to the magazine.

The Hong Kong Standard said under Chinese law, citizens who leave the mainland as tourists or on business can take no more than US$5,800 with them. Yet, the report said, many can be seen wagering tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars a night at the tables in Macau. Central government officials were quoted as saying billions of dollars a year are smuggled to Hong Kong and Macau.

Chinese who deposit money inside the mainland and collect it in Macau casinos are not required to gamble, according to central government officials. Indeed, the report says, the funds are available for collection in three convenient options – cash for shopping, chips for gambling or a cash cheque for easy transfer to another location, they say.

For the most part, the story said, the system does not involve a physical transfer of currency, but rather an offsetting arrangement such as the one practised by Review reporters.

It quoted Macau-based central government officials tracking the flow of funds using agents and informants working in the casinos and under cover as saying at least US$1 billion of the billions channelled to Macau and Hong Kong every year are sent abroad to North American, Europe and Southeast Asia.

Some of the money, the Review said, is the proceeds of corruption, although officials have no way to calculate how much. Funds sent abroad typically go into property in the US and Canada to pave the way for the emigration of family members, according to Chinese officials and Hong Kong police.

Ho‘s spokeswoman, Janet Wong, declined comment on the money-laundering story.

Ho‘s family, including his daughter, Pansy who had applied to open a casino in Vancouver under the administration of Premier Glen Clark, is also mired in a family feud that is shedding light on some of the casino king‘s operations.
Winnie Ho, one of Asia‘s most powerful women and Stanley Ho‘s sister, claims that he had forced her to relinquish her stake in the Macau gaming operations and deprived her of hundreds of millions of dollars after she provided the entire startup capital for STDM in 1962.

Documents provided to the Review by Winnie Ho allegedly indicate triad involvement in Ho‘s casinos through VIP rooms, which were originally designed to allow well-heeled gamblers to play in relative privacy and comfort. The VIP rooms, it continues, have proven a boon to both STDM and Macau.

Allegedly, the story continues, a STDM list of loans to VIP rooms in 2001 includes loans from several convicted criminals and many others identified by retired Hong Kong police and central government officials as past or present triad bosses and members or persons with triad links.

The control for the VIP rooms triggered a bloody gang war in Macau, which spilt over into the Lower Mainland. (see Casino connections in the last issue of The Asian Pacific Post)

Documents provided by Winnie Ho also allegedly indicate that STDM has historically functioned at times like a bank, although it is not an authorised financial or credit institution.

Ho has issued a blanket denial of his sister‘s allegations.

The casino czar, while having influential connections worldwide, is no stranger to controversy.
He has tried several times through his daughters Pansy and Daisy to apply for casino licences in B.C., Alberta and Ontario.

After withdrawing them, for unspecified reasons but following criminal checks, Ho gained entry into the Canadian gaming world by teaming up with a B.C. computer whiz to develop a virtual casino, called DrHo.com.

DrHo.com is based in Antigua with technology designed by Vancouver-based Eyeball.com Network Inc.

Gamblers play poker, blackjack, roulette and a host of other games in real time with live dealers.

Asian Organized crime sources told The Asian Pacific Post that Ho and his connections are listed in numerous classified intelligence files.

“I am sure that our politicians know about this but he still has unfettered access to them,“ said the source, adding the issue has been raised in the House of Commons.

During another scandal involving him in the Philippines that caused the stock market to crash, Ho took out ads in Manila newspapers to defend himself from allegations that he was linked to organized crime.

Those allegations stemmed from reports in Canadian government files.

In the ads, Ho noted his “substantial investments“ in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.

“I have traveled freely and been welcomed there, including to Vancouver in 1997 when I hosted delegates at my hotel (Sutton Place) in Vancouver for the APEC conference, and to the United States when I met with President Clinton,“ he said.

Ho by then was named or listed in several Canadian intelligence databanks including the National Security Register of the Canadian spy agency ? CSIS.

In the United States, a report prepared for the Department of Justice by Philip Baridon listed Ho as one of 27 people linked to Asian organized crime who are on an American watchlist. Ho‘s named was removed after his lawyers visited with Department of Justice.

Unlike Canada or the United States, Ho has never been able to make much headway into Australia because of extensive Australian Security Intelligence Organisation reports on his background, connections and links.

Ho does not view the country as a “friendly nation“, according to a Queensland-based China analyst.

Ho failed in his attempts to get a casino licence in Australia.

The New South Wales Gaming Licensing Board (now defunct) has a report on Stanley Ho which is stamped “never to be released.“ Its officials have deemed Ho “an unsuitable person to hold a casino licence”.
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bammie:

Casino Connections Part 1

 
23.12.04 11:35
Casino Connections  
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Jul 8, 2004
A lavish feast to signify the reemergence of the 14K Triad in Macau will have ripple effects in B.C.

As the final touches were being put to the River Rock casino resort in Richmond ??? B.C.???s latest gaming complex ??? a lavish banquet was held in Macau attracting Asia???s A-list of tycoons and Triad bosses.
The feast at Macau???s Plaza restaurant was organized by Chau Chi-man, aka ???The Crow???, the brother-in-law of notorious imprisoned gang lord Wan Kuok-koi better known as “Broken Tooth”.

Local reports said, the banquet???s high-powered turnout reflected the support influential figures have given Chau, in his efforts to enlist 3,000 members of the 14K Triad for an ???underground police force???.

The gangster-cops??? primary role is to deal with the violent and unruly gangs in Macau.

On an international scale, Asian Organised Crime investigators said the 14K and their affiliates will use casinos around the globe for loan sharking, money laundering and a host of others signature organized crime activities.

While police have expressed concern about the potential rise in Asian organized crime related activities with B.C.???s ever expanding gaming policies, unlike in Macau there is no direct-link between the Chinese-mafia and local casino operators.

???They are simply going to be places where these fellas will operate in and operate from,??? said a B.C.-based gang-squad detective.

???By and large the casino operators here do a credible job in helping us track and keep out the bad element,??? he said.

???But the gangs and their connections are active.???


As for the 14K, a U.S. government study on the scope of Asian organized crime in Canada released last year said the Chinese Mafia gang is the fastest growing Triad group in Canada.

???14K???s global network has allowed it to steal credit card data from all over the world, including the United States and Canada, by installing magnetic recorders in credit card terminals,??? the U.S. report to Congress stated.

The 14K has a well established cell in Toronto while individual chapters operate autonomously across North America.

One police estimate puts the number of active 14K members in Canada at about 160.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service estimates the 14K triad, has a membership of more than 20,000 operating internationally.

Asian organized crime experts said the reemergence of the 14K in Macau will have ripple effects in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton.

No one disputes that B.C. casinos especially the larger ones are a magnet for an assortment of criminals with extensive international connections.

Some come there to make money, some come there to hide money and some come there to wash money.

Scores of them like Lower Mainland residents Kwok Tam, who had his picture taken with former B.C. premier Glen Clark to show off to his buddies, Betty ???Big Sister??? Yan, a prolific loan shark according to police reports and others with nicknames like Stupid Ricky and Black Ghost Ming are on casino blacklists.

Yan, for instance is a mother of a two-year-old boy and seven-year-old girl. She has been on the police radar ever since she landed in Vancouver in 1995 to claim refugee status.

A police officer familiar with her file said the 34-year-old Chinese citizen is connected to the Big Circle Boys Triad and the 14K.

She was ordered out of the country in 2000.

As she fights the deportation order on humanitarian grounds, Yan has been seen at casino parking lots in her Mercedes Benz operating what Vancouver police say is a ruthless and violent loan sharking operation taking everything from citizenship cards to furniture as collateral.

Vancouver police recently appealed to her victims to come forward but very few have dared.

According to police intelligence files, the Richmond resident, who has claimed to be a spy for China???s Ministry of State Security, was present when loanshark ???Pretty Boy Meng,??? was gunned down in a Richmond restaurant in 1988 and was in the house when underworld figure Tommy Wong, 43, was shot to death during a home invasion in Richmond on September 15, 2002.

More recently, before Vancouver police went public with her information, Yan had offered to help the RCMP and Immigration Canada get her one-time acquaintance Lai Changxing ??? China???s most wanted man who is seeking refugee status in Canada – out of the country in exchange for landed status.

Police say like Yan, they know of at least 20 loan sharks operating around Lower Mainland casinos charging interest rates of between five percent for day loans to 15 per cent a week.
The lavish banquet in Macau last month marked a turnaround for the 14K Triad and heralds a likely return to gang rivalry in the former Portugese colony.

This rivalry has already spilled over to the Lower Mainland.

In the late 1990s, gun battles, fire bombings and knife fights between and among 14K members and other gangs killed more than 30 people in Macau. The triads fought for control over casino VIP rooms, their primary money spinner, and the blood ran so thick in the streets that the police could only try to reassure tourists by saying the triads were sure-shooting professionals, Eastweek Magazine reported.

The gang war resulted in Macau triads turning back intruding gangs from Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China, but it went too far when they started targeting the Portuguese colonial authorities.

Several gaming and police officials met violent ends but after a car bomb almost killed the head of the criminal-investigation branch, 14K boss Broken Tooth was nabbed inside the Hotel Lisboa and finally jailed.

Present at the June 1st banquet organized by the jailed gang boss???s brother-in-law known as the ???The Crow??? were Broken Tooth???s mother and sister.

They sat at a corner surrounded by seven or eight tables of 14K foot soldiers.

One of the family???s arch-rivals is Tong Sang Lai who slipped into Canada and now lives not too far away from Canada???s largest poker room in Richmond.

Tong is listed in Asian organized crime files as the head of the ???Shiu Fong??? Triad which had been engaged in a bloody gangland war with the ???14K???.

At the height of the war in the mid-nineties, Shui Fong thugs out to kill Broken Tooth sent letters to Macau news outlets.

???Warning,??? it read. ???From this day on it is forbidden to mention Broken Tooth Koi in the press; otherwise bullets will have no eyes, and knives and bullets will have no feelings.??? As he lost the war for control of the casinos in Macau, Tong plotted his escape from Macau.

He initially applied for landed immigrant status at the Canadian High Commission in Hong Kong in early 1994. He was denied because of his crime links.

Two years later in a major security breach, Tong was granted landed immigrant status after he went ???visa shopping??? at the Canadian consulate in Los Angeles.

He bought a house on Fraserview Drive in Southeast Vancouver for $515,000 and equipped it with closed-circuit TV cameras.

Not long after his arrival, rival gangsters who themselves were running elaborate drug trafficking, loan sharking, illegal gambling and extortion rackets in the Lower Mainland tried to kill him.

Tong, a police source said, moved away from the house and now maintains a low profile in Richmond. He continues to travel between Macau and Vancouver.

The case led to an inquiry by Immigration Canada which said Tong was allowed into Vancouver because of an isolated slip by honest, overworked employees at the Canadian diplomatic mission in Los Angeles.

A RCMP investigation, however, uncovered widespread security problems at the consulate in Los Angeles.

In a memo obtained by The Asian Pacific Post, a senior RCMP officer said the Immigration Canada investigation was done with a ???carpet-sweeping approach???.

Whether the reemergence of the 14K bodes bad tidings for Tong remains to be seen.

Before Broken Tooth was jailed, he used to have the Chong Son Sports Club, a hangout for his gang members in Macau.

The recent banquet by his brother-in-law, described as an unprecedented event for the Chinese underworld, was held to mark the opening of the new Heng Son Sports Club.

Eastweek reported that on the morning of the banquet, the Heng Son Sports Club took out a full-page ad in the Macao Daily noting the support of 241 initial members.

Chief among the influential people listed as backing the club were industrialist Ma Man-kei, a Chinese People???s Political Consultative Conference vice chairman and Macau Chamber of Commerce president and Ho Hau-chiu, the brother of Macau???s Chief Executive Edmund Ho.

They were made honorary lifetime chairmen.

Huang Shao-tsen, the alleged former boss of Taiwan???s Bamboo Union gang, and Albano da Conceicao Augusto Cabral, the former deputy director of the colonial Judicial Police, were also named honorary chairmen.

???By midday, there was a strong Triad flavour in the air as nearly 100 people crowded into the new club???s office upstairs in the Chun Fook Industrial Building, including a stream of young men with peroxide-laced hair. Amidst the hubbub, they offered incense before a statue of Kwan Ti, the God of War,??? Eastweek said.

Quoting an unidentified Triad member, the magazine said the establishment of the Heng Son Sports Club with Chau aka ???The Crow??? as chairman will make him responsible for bringing together the scattered members of the 14K for new work.

Other top club officials included industrialist Ma Man-kei???s sons Ma Yau-shun and Ma Yau-man.

Ma Yau-shun is the eighth child in his family and is reportedly known as the ???Eighth Prince??????. He is a shareholder in the Casino Lisboa???s Fu Sing VIP Room.

The ostentatious Lisboa Hotel, is the flagship of Macau gambling czar Stanley Ho who has extensive business dealings in Vancouver and Toronto. His daughters had applied for casino licences in B.C. under the NDP government.

Stanley Ho, the Asian casino king, is listed in a variety of intelligence reports in Canada and the U.S. as having strong Triad connections. Australia has banned him from operating casinos. His office has vehemently denied any criminal links.

Eastweek reported that ??????although he holds no government post, Ma Yau-shun is responsible for major United Front tasks. He???s very familiar with key government figures and gang members in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan and is frequently used to mediate disputes.???

???He???s got extensive links with all walks of society and he never says no to friends who want to borrow money. But he keeps a low profile and seldom attends public occasions. This time, he stayed for the whole event,?????? said Eastweek???s Triad man adding ???That???s really rare.??????

Aside from the Ma brothers, others in attendance included Broken Tooth???s Triad big brother ???Blackie Hwa??? who is the director general of the newly-minted Heng Son Sports Club and boss of the Casino Lisboa, Four Seas gang boss Chia Jun-nien and a high-ranking member of the Bamboo Union – one of Taiwan???s most powerful organized crime syndicates.

A number of high level representatives of gang lords in Hong Kong with affiliates in Vancouver and Toronto also attended the banquet.

???It is only a question of time before we see how the events in Macau will play out locally,??? said a Vancouver-based Asian organized crime expert.

Stanley Ho

*NEXT ISSUE - ASIAN CASINO KING STANLEY HO‘S HOUSE OF CARDS*

Antworten
Eskimato:

Toller Thread.

 
30.12.04 06:36
Werden die Shares auch in den Staaten oder in Deutschland mit Volumen gehandelt?

Wie Du vielleicht weisst, bin ich auch ein grosser Freund asiatischer Gamingshares, dazu gehören z.B. SNDA und NCTY. Die Macaustory gefällt mir, wo kaufst Du diesen Share, etwa direkt in Hongkong?

Gruss E.

Shanda Interactive liegen z.B. beim Aktionär und Börse Online seit langem im Musterdepot und haben Rückendeckung der chinesischen Administration.

bigcharts.marketwatch.com/charts/...5105&mocktick=1&rand=7691"


Shanda Honored as One of the Excellent Model Enterprises of China's Cultural Industry  
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 01, 2004  

SHANGHAI, China, Dec 1, 2004 /Xinhua-PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited (SNDA) today announced that Shanda, along with 41 other outstanding enterprises, has been named as one of the excellent model companies of the cultural industry in China by the Ministry of Culture, the major government organization that oversees the cultural industry. Shanda received this honor due to its outstanding contribution towards exploring and advancing the national network culture through online games. The award also demonstrates the supportive attitude that the Ministry of Culture has towards the growth and prosperity of the online game industry.

Antworten
bammie:

Hallo Eskimato

 
30.12.04 13:57
schön das Dir die Story gefällt :) In Deutschland kann man sie auch handeln, allerdings mit wirklich dünnem Volumen.

Noch, habe ich nicht gekauft, da ich erstmal abwarten will, obs nur heiße Luft ist (ähnlich wie bei den OTCs) oder es doch was werden könnte. Zumal Informationen hier schwerer zu bekommen/finden sind.

Andererseits, wenn man bedenkt, das die Ostasiatischen Spiele 2005 ausgerechnet in Macau stattfinden, hat das schon was. Mein pers. Favorit ist Macau Success selbst.

Bei Shun Tak Holdings, habe ich herausgefunden, das es Gerüchte gab, das die Casinogeschäfte in den Konzern integriert werden sollen. Der CEO hats aber dementiert.
Diese Fantasie ist damit raus. Könnte aber dennoch interessant werden.

Alle haben große Projekte vor und primäres Ziel wären eben die Spiele 2005.

Nächstes Jahr steht noch ein Mega Event an. Die Gaming & Casino World 2005

www.terrapinn.com/2005/casino_AU/confprog.stm    ganz interessant.


          §
William P.Chan, Executive Director, Macau Success Ltd ist auch dabei!






greetz bammie
Antworten
bammie:

Gaming Continues To Pay Off

 
02.01.05 13:41
Monday, January 3, 2005

Gaming Continues To Pay Off

BY BRIAN DEAGON

INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

Las Vegas has a slogan: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

That would include the billions left in slot machines and gaming tables each year.

Gaming casinos — the operators no longer use the word "gambling" — always ensure the betting odds are in their favor. And people who visit them know this, studies show. Visitors factor the cost of a hotel room, food and tickets for a show. Then they'll chuck another $500 in the wallet expecting to leave it behind — and most of them do. They win some, lose some, and lose some more.

"People know the house has the advantage, but they still go for the entertainment value," said Joe Weinert, vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, an international gaming consulting firm. "They put down that money hoping the next card dealt will be lower than the one they have in the hole."

1. Business

In Las Vegas, the world's gaming mecca, visitors gambled away about $5 billion in 2004. They also spent another $6 billion or more on rooms, drinks and other forms of entertainment. That ratio used to be just the opposite.

"Las Vegas used to be known for cheap hotel rooms, but they've shed that image," Weinert said. In October, the average room cost was $101, up 13% from a year ago. Many top-tier properties are getting $175 a night or more, he says.

This shift from gaming to amenities is evident at MGM Mirage. (MGG) In November, it announced plans for a project that promises to transform the Las Vegas strip into an urban center. MGM's $4 billion Project CityCenter will include a 4,000-room hotel and casino. That part isn't unusual, but MGM will also build 1,650 condominiums and add a half-million square feet of retailing space.

"Throughout its history, Las Vegas has been transformed repeatedly by a series of significant developments," said Terry Lanni, chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage, at the project's unveiling. "Our master plan represents a significant new direction for our city and our company."

The industry's also going through major consolidation.

Harrah's Entertainment (HET) is buying Horseshoe Gaming and Caesars Entertainment. (CZR)

MGM Mirage is buying Mandalay Resort Group. (MBG)

Boyd Gaming (BYD) is buying Coast Resorts.

And Penn National Gaming (PENN) is buying Argosy Gaming. (AGY)

• Name of the game: Keep customers coming back. Toward that end, Las Vegas has changed themes many times over the decades. In the 1990s, it promoted family theme-park attractions. It's now back to promoting fun for adults.

2. Market

The gaming industry is highly competitive, but it's a market that keeps growing. The 442 commercial casinos in 11 states in 2003 generated more than $27 billion in gross gaming revenue, up 2% from 2002. Even in 2001 — when 9-11 sacked tourism — casino revenue rose 6% to $25.7 billion. Sales are up 145% since 1993.

About 25% of the U.S. adult population, or 53.4 million, visited a casino in the past year, making a total of 310 million trips, according to the American Gaming Association. The West continues to account for the largest share of casino visitors.

State and local governments collected $4.32 billion in gaming taxes in 2003, $320 million more than 2002. That's an effective tax rate of 16% on gross gaming revenue.

The industry has gone through several major growth spurts in hotels and casinos, and each time the warning goes out that the market will be saturated. But it hasn't happened; nor is it likely to in the foreseeable future.

Despite economic ups and downs, the growth in consumer spending on commercial casino gaming has never faltered. Las Vegas, with more than 29,000 rooms, had a hotel occupancy rate of 94% in October, up 6% from a year ago. That's despite having more rooms than before and a higher room cost.

3. Climate

One reason for the rising revenue is the expanded reach of the gaming industry. At least 20 states now allow casino gambling, up from 11 a year ago. Maine has legalized it, and Pennsylvania is expected to do so this year.

A handful of gaming bills have been submitted in Massachusetts that would create two resort casinos and allow slot machines at the state's four racetracks.

New York has seen the recent addition of casinos. Empire Resorts (NYNY) will build two new American Indian casinos in the Catskill Mountains, a big tourist destination in the summer. Indian casinos now operate in 28 states.

"Indian casinos are another parallel trend that is fueling the expansion of gaming," said Mike Pollock, managing director of Spectrum Gaming Group. "It's been a dramatic force for more than a dozen years, and it's another way states can generate revenues."

Indian casinos have cut into revenue at small gambling locations like Reno and Laughlin, Nev.

But they haven't taken away business from the most popular destinations such as Atlantic City, N.J., and Las Vegas.

And as the number of gambling locations grows, it softens the stance that some state legislatures have held against casinos.

Gaming is legal in 48 states in one form or another. Thirty-eight states allow lotteries. Eight states have racetrack casinos.

Many states justify gaming operations by dedicating the revenues to popular spending programs, such as education.

4. Technology

The biggest change in gaming in the past few years has been the advent of Internet gambling. It generated an estimated $4 billion in revenue in 2003.

But Internet gaming still faces plenty of hurdles.

"Internet gambling was seen as both a threat and an opportunity for casino companies five years ago," said Weinert. "Some of the biggest players jumped into the market, but they quickly got out."

MGM Mirage invested millions in Internet gambling in 2001, but sold it in 2003 and took a $5 million loss.

The problem U.S. casinos face with Internet gambling is a lack of regulations that would clarify what's legal. The global legal framework for Internet gambling is a complicated mix of laws and regulations. Most credit card companies no longer do business with Internet casinos over fears that the activity may be illegal.

"The increasing pressure on financial institutions to not allow for the use of credit cards basically cut off the lifeblood of Internet gambling," said Weinert.

5. Outlook

As the recent initial public offering of Las Vegas Sands (LVS) showed, the equity markets remain bullish on gaming companies.

Shares of the casino operator surged 61% on its first day of trading. Las Vegas Sands recently added 1,000 suites to its Venetian resort and plans to build a $1.6 billion resort. But analysts say its true growth potential is in the enclave of Macau on the China coast.

Macau already has big casinos, but it's expected to become the epicenter of Asian gaming. When 2004 figures are tallied, it's expected to top Las Vegas in total gaming volume, analysts say. Las Vegas Sands has one of three coveted gaming concessions in Macau and recently opened the $265 million Sands Macau.

• Upside: The expansion of gaming into more states presents a big opportunity. It's a situation that also feeds on itself. States that don't allow gambling see their residents travel to other states that do, and they become concerned about losing tax revenue.

"The expansion of gaming is here to stay, and it won't go away," said Pollock. "It will continue to grow in various ways."

At horse racing tracks, which have seen gradual declines in attendance over the years, operators are luring people back by adding slot machines. Another positive for the industry is the ongoing consolidation, which is making companies significantly more efficient.

• Downside: One issue that could threaten the gaming industry is a class-action lawsuit. Gambling is a known addiction for some. A class-action suit could allege the industry is knowingly drawing people into a vice that can be addictive.

"The American Gaming Association has been very frank in saying they don't want to become the next target, like tobacco, alcohol or the fast-food industry," said Weinert.

To prevent that, the association has been aggressive in funding research into gambling addition.


www.investors.com/editorial/industry.asp?v=1/1
Antworten
bammie:

Gambling industry experiences

 
02.01.05 13:44
Gambling industry experiences momentous year as changes abound


LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mark down 2004 as perhaps the most momentous year in the history of the gambling industry as investors embraced Las Vegas casino companies and tourists flocked to the city in record numbers to indulge in the whirlwind changes.

"It was an incredibly dynamic year," said Hal Rothman, a history professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "It's the increasing normalization of the industry. It has come more and more to the center and its economic power has manifested. It's reach is growing every year."

A slew of high-profile events helped shape the industry this year, raising awareness not only on Wall Street but in the very homes of people making the trek to Sin City.

Las Vegas has been omnipresent with its images that appear on various network and cable TV shows. A poker craze also has helped lured a sea of men and women here and a successful marketing pitch has ignited the city's appeal. Media outlets can't write enough about the place.

Those aspects have kept Las Vegas front and center in the world of tourism. If the numbers tell the story, Las Vegas hit the jackpot. The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority is projecting the city will host approximately 37 million people in 2004, surpassing the previous record of 35.8 million in 2000.

Passenger traffic at McCarran International Airport has already broken its 2000 record of nearly 36.9 million passengers for the year, and is on pace to handle more than 40 million people.

For the average consumer visiting Las Vegas, the changes have been enormous. High-end retailers and celebrity chefs are bringing their wares and fare in droves to Las Vegas. Another expensive Cirque du Soleil production landed on the Strip and successful Broadway shows have lined up, ready to call the commodious casino theaters home.

"Las Vegas isn't about gambling anymore," Rothman said. "If Las Vegas was only about gambling, it wouldn't be doing the business it's doing."

To accommodate this robust growth, the Las Vegas Strip added about 1,100 hotel rooms to its inventory in 2004. Next year, another 3,665 rooms will come online, bringing the Strip's total to nearly 103,000 rooms.

"The diversity of the product of Las Vegas continues to expand," said Kevin Bagger, LVCVA's research director. "There's more and more reason for people to come to Las Vegas."

The strong demand has pushed average daily room rates up to record levels, but Bagger said people are still getting a lot for their money in Las Vegas.

"The value proposition still exists in as Vegas," he said. "The scope and depth of their experience here is worth the increases. 2004 has proven to be a very strong year for Las Vegas."

The success of Las Vegas has also driven gambling stocks to new heights.

Marc Falcone, a Deutsche Bank equity gambling analyst in New York, estimated that gambling stocks on average are up 130% over three years.

This year alone, the top players in the industry — MGM Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands, Boyd Gaming and Wynn Las Vegas — have made some shareholders very wealthy and plenty more exceptionally happy about their investments.

Record profits and exploding land values on the Strip keep pushing the stocks skyward. Falcone said an acre on the Strip could fetch $15 million to $20 million.

But consolidation in the industry might have caused the biggest reverberations, helping trigger the soaring stocks and Las Vegas mania.

In February, Boyd Gaming signed a $1.3 billion deal with Coast Casinos that eventually created a company with a major Las Vegas presence and about $2 billion in revenues.

That set the pace for the rest of the year, with MGM Mirage agreeing in June to purchase Mandalay Resort Group for $4.8 billion in cash, $2.5 billion in debt and $600 million convertible debentures.

Harrah's Entertainment countered, bent on keeping its status as the world's largest gambling company, and completely shook up the industry's landscape. In July, Harrah's agreed to buy Caesars Entertainment for $1.8 billion in cash and exchange about $3.4 billion in Harrah's stock for all shares of its Las Vegas-based rival.

Harrah's also will assume about $4.2 billion in Caesars Entertainment debt.

That same month Harrah's completed its $1.45 billion acquisition of Horseshoe Gaming Holding.

MGM Mirage and Harrah's await approval by federal and state regulators. Both deals are expected to be OK'd in 2005. The Financial Times reported that the MGM Mirage's buyout was the top U.S. deal of the year in terms of the acquiring company's stock market performance.

Rounding out the list was Penn National Gaming, which inked a deal in November to acquire Argosy Gaming for $1.4 billion cash.

"Karl Marx wasn't right about much but he was right that capitalism would continue to merge until it became one," Rothman said. "We saw a a lot of evidence pushing us in that direction."

But the industry would make louder noise with the emergence of Macau and the astonishing money the Las Vegas Sands reported making after opening a casino in the Chinese territory west of Hong Kong.

The excitement surrounding Macau and Las Vegas fueled the success of the Las Vegas Sands public offering in December. If there is an appropriate gambling analogy, the company doubled down on Las Vegas and Macau and hit blackjack on both hands.

The Sands ranked as the best performing first-day gainer for a U.S.-based company IPO this year, and best first-day showing for a U.S-based IPO since Jet Blue gained 67% in May 2002.

Wall Street and the public, Falcone said, are "beginning to embrace gaming stocks as legitimate investment vehicles. Investors are starting to look at gaming stocks as more main stream. Gaming companies are no longer considered just gaming companies."

Other smaller transactions have had their effects on the industry. Caesars and Harrah's have sold casino assets to smooth the merger process. Colony Capital, a private investment firm based in Los Angeles, agreed to buy four properties from both gambling entities for a total of $1.24 billion.

The sale of the four properties is expected to be approved next year and would bring the number of Colony casinos to six in the U.S, including the Las Vegas Hilton and Resorts International in Atlantic City.

But barring a terrorist attack or a drastic correction in the booming real estate market, don't look for the Las Vegas to slow down in 2005. The city appears to hold all the right cards.

Caesars Palace is slated to open its new 949-room tower in the summer, and casino developer Steve Wynn is opening the $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas in April. Wynn should generate at least a million new visitors in 2005, lifting the city's financial prospects.

Several older Strip properties are also rumored to be for sale, their locations making them prime for redevelopment. And the city is awash in high-rise condominium projects.

"Without question, 2004 was probably one of the most exciting years for a gaming investor," Falcone said. "I envision 2005 as going to be equally as exciting."

www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/...31-vegas-in-2004_x.htm
Antworten
bammie:

Macau, Australian Casino Barons Mull Singapore Lic

 
02.01.05 13:46
Macau, Australian Casino Barons Mull Singapore License

MELBOURNE (Dow Jones)--A new US$320 million Asian gaming venture backed by Macau casino baron Stanley Ho and Australia's richest man Kerry Packer will be among hopefuls jostling for the right to operate Singapore's first Las Vegas-style casino.

The partnership between Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. (PBL.AU) and Ho's Melco International Development Ltd. (0200.HK) is expected to submit a draft proposal to develop a Singapore resort with gaming facilities, according to people with knowledge of the joint venture and Singapore's plans.

"They'll have a look at it. If they get the chance to do something, I'm sure they would," one person told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday.

With the Singapore Government seemingly noncommittal about the project, the timing of any development could be some way off, they added.

Singapore this week said potential investors will have until the end of February to submit their proposals. With the facility to target tourism, the government expects any development to have a mix of non-gaming attractions, with casino revenues making a minority contribution to the resort's total haul.

Publishing & Broadcasting, which is 36% owned by Packer, last month forged a joint venture with Melco to develop gaming businesses in China and elsewhere in Asia.

PBL is the owner of a stable of magazines, Australia's top rating Nine television network and the Crown casino in Melbourne and the Burswood casino in Perth.

As well as scouting for new opportunities, the partners plan to build a six star hotel and casino in Macau, one of the world's most lucrative gaming markets and a special administrative region of China.

Australia's biggest casino operator, Tabcorp Holdings Ltd. (TAH.AU), may also bid for the new gaming license, but stressed its focus is on the domestic market following a A$3.9 billion acquisition spree over the past 14 months.

"We can't rule it out, but our focus is very much on the integration of TAB and Jupiters into Tabcorp," a spokesman said.

Still, industry insiders say the Australian firms are expected to face intense competition from global heavyweights including Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage (MGG) and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (HET), both which are negotiating their way through separate mergers.

South Africa's Peermont Global Ltd., a South African luxury hotel and casino company, is also considered a contender.

U.S. authorities are yet to sign off on a friendly US$7.9 billion merger between MGM Mirage and Mandalay Resort Group (MBG), which would create the world's second biggest gambling company behind the planned US$5.2 billion acquisition of Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment Inc. (CZR) by Harrah's.

sg.biz.yahoo.com/041230/15/3pk8n.html
Antworten
bammie:

HK's Macau stocks plunge

 
08.01.05 21:36
Friday January 7, 7:32 PM
HK's Macau stocks plunge as Ho comment stems euphoria
By Alison Leung

HONG KONG, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Are all bets off?

Investors in Macau-concept stocks may be thinking of cashing in their chips after gambling magnate Stanley Ho's comments that the recent run was close to its peak prompted a big sell-off.

Trading and investment firm Wonson International , which had said it is in talks to invest in gambling and hospitality businesses, led losers, falling 45 percent on Friday.

K. Wah Construction shares dropped 22 percent after a rise of more than 1,000 percent in the past year on hopes its chairman will sell his private Macau casino business to the firm.

Selling sentiment in Macau-related shares also spilled over to blue-chip stocks. The Hang Seng Index fell 1 percent to close at 13,574.86, as some speculators had to sell other stocks to cover their Macau-related positions.

"Macau concept stocks won't be this hot forever. I think they've almost reached saturation point," Ho, known as the "casino king" told reporters on Thursday.

Ho added he would be more selective in choosing new hotel projects in future adding he would only consider five-star hotel proposals.

GAMBLING FEVER

Investors have been pouring into Macau-concept shares as gambling mad mainland Chinese tourists pour into the former Portugese territory. Casino gambling is illegal in mainland China.

New hotels and casinos are mushrooming in the once sleepy enclave. Big Las Vegas casino operators have also moved in after the government opened up gambling to foreign investors.

Shares in previously little known firms such as Melco International , A-max Holdings and Heritage have skyrocketed on the idea of a "Las Vegas of the East".

Market watchers said it was difficult to evaluate Macau-concept stocks as their project contracts lack solid details.

"The market is not being rational. The early rally lacked fundamentals. This bubble will burst sooner or later, said Alex Wong, research director at Rexcapital Asset Management.

Leather product distributor Pearl Oriental Enterprises Ltd. was one of the very few gainers among Macau-concept stocks on Friday, bucking the trend to end up nearly 55 percent on news that it would buy 40 percent of a Macau hotel casino development project for HK$514 million (US$65.9 million).

Melco International , which is managed by Ho's son Lawrence Ho, lost 9.09 percent. The company signed a joint venture with Australia's largest publishing and gaming firm, Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd. in December to expand in the gaming business in Asia signed.

Its stock has tripled in value over the past three months.
MACAU-CONCEPT STOCKS                 FRIDAY   1-MTH    3-MTH

                                       (PTC CHANGES)
Wonson International      -44.76    +163.64   +262.50
K. Wah International      -27.33    + 50.77   + 58.11
ESUN Holdings             -24.50    + 79.76   +331.43
K. Wah Construction       -21.93    +149.57   +294.59
South Sea Holdings        -18.97    + 88.00   +135.00
Softbank Investment       -17.21    + 18.82   + 10.99
Heritage International    -15.79    + 20.00   +380.00
A-Max                     -12.73    +124.30  +4185.71
HK Chinese                -11.66    + 38.46   + 53.19
Melco International       - 9.09    + 29.03   +240.43
Macau Success             - 7.33     - 1.42   + 98.57
Shun Tak Holdings         - 4.76     + 8.11   + 77.78
Pearl Oriental            +54.88    +398.04   +477.27






2005 hat erst begonnen.
Antworten
bammie:

Stanley Ho's comment

 
08.01.05 21:45
Casino operator ups stakes in 'Macau concept' spree: report  
  2005/01/06 09:08

Casino operator Stanley Ho Hung-sun has bought a 20% stake in Emperor (China Concept) Investments (2955), a "Macau concept" stock listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, brushing aside fears of a casino glut in the former Portuguese enclave. Speaking at the opening of Macau's newest casino-hotel, Golden Dragon, Ho said his Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau would take the stake in Emperor, which was suspended from trading in Hong Kong yesterday, pending an announcement of "a shars subscription agreement involving the issue of new shares".

Golden Dragon operates under Ho's gaming concession, one of three licences awarded in Feb 2002 by the Macau SAR government. Hong Kong-owned Galaxy and Las Vegas-owned Venetian later obtained approval to split their concession, bringing the number of licensed operators to four.
 
Antworten
bammie:

Macau Enjoying Unprecedented Economic Boom

 
09.01.05 22:13
Macau Enjoying Unprecedented Economic Boom
4 January 2005

MACAU – As reported by the Financial Times: "It is a quiet Monday afternoon, but the Sands Macao, the former Portuguese colony's first foreign casino, is packed with Chinese tourists in dark blue nylon suits.

"Among them, Li Enhui, a thirtysomething timber trader from Zhejiang province in eastern China, is happily collecting five chips he won from the blackjack table.

"…Li is not the only person getting lucky by betting on Macao. Since the sleepy territory, which returned to Chinese rule in 1999, deregulated its gaming industry in 2001 to allow foreign investment, it has enjoyed an unprecedented economic boom. Macao's economy expanded 22% in the third quarter of 2004, after a 48% jump in the previous three months.

"…The only city in China where gambling is legal, Macao made the landmark decision three years ago to end local tycoon Stanley Ho's 40-year-old monopoly on casino operations and offer new licenses. Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas Sands Corp., Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Ho each won one.

"The money has poured in ever since. Adelson is planning another resort in addition to the Sands Macao. Kerry Packer, Australia's richest man, and Ho are building the territory's first six-star hotel. And Wynn Resorts and MGM Mirage Inc. are planning developments…"  
Antworten
bammie:

Officials begin talks on New Year flights

 
09.01.05 22:16
By Joy Su
STAFF REPORTER
Saturday, Jan 08, 2005,Page 2

Government-authorized aviation representatives yesterday met with Chinese officials in Macau to discuss the politically charged cross-strait charter flights for the coming Lunar New Year, according to a report in a Chinese-language newspaper.

The Taipei Airlines Association, the government's authorized representative in the matter, yesterday made a low-profile exit, taking extensive measures to keep their trip to Macau from the media. According to the China Times Express, Association chairman Lo Ta-hsin (樂大信) and Secretary General Solo Su (蘇賢榮) had departed on Thursday evening from Taipei's Sungshan domestic airport, taking the additional precaution of flying first to Kaohsiung before taking off for Macau.

The association representatives met yesterday with Pu Zhaozhou (浦照洲), an official of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in charge of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau affairs (浦照洲), according to the report.

Both Lo and Su left after having assured the media they were still in Taipei and that they were uncertain as to when they would negotiate charter flights with China. As of press time yesterday, neither could be reached for comment.

The Central News Agency, however, last night reported that according to an unnamed Chinese Civil Aviation Administration official, Pu had not departed for Macau, and that he was working in Beijing. He said Pu was prepared only to meet with a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegation from Taiwan and some business representatives on Monday.

The top Chinese official in charge of Taiwan affairs is also slated to meet the KMT delegation on Monday to exchange views on the launch of direct cross-strait charter flights, the report added.

Meanwhile, the government has made the words "no comment" its latest mantra, refraining from discussing cross-strait flights in detail. Asked whether he had any information on the progress of negotiations in Macau, Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) refrained even from confirming that Lo and Su were in Macau.

"I haven't been able to reach them. Their cellular phones are turned off," Chiu said, denying knowledge of when Lo and Su would return as well.

Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) took a similar stance, telling reporters that "the details cannot be made public, but we're working toward a positive result."

He did say that Taiwan would be willing to allow flights that made "virtual stopovers" in Hong Kong, or another third destination. While the government had been calling for direct, reciprocal flights, Wu raised the possibility of flights entering the airspace of a third nation without making a transit stop before proceeding to Taiwan.
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bammie:

2005 - Casino Industry Predictions

 
09.01.05 22:26
31st December 2004,

It's mid-afternoon on the final day of the year. Before I turn off the PC and go into Lübeck to have a few beers and watch the fireworks it's time to make a few predictions for 2005. Feel free to add yours, or comment on mine.


Britain.

The Gambling Bill will be passed to the House of Lords for further debate and scrutiny. It has already been revised several times and I see further revisions ahead but not drastic ones. The somewhat modest growth in the casino business is now not so much a threat to horse racing and other sectors of the leisure industry as it was, so it should be passed back to the House of Commons without many more changes.

The wrangling however will be over the setting up of an independent advisory committee and their choices for the sites of regional casinos. This one promises to be alot of fun.

The election is odds on to be in May 2005 and will be another Labour victory, however with a reduced majority. Michael Howard will then immediately resign from the Conservative leadership.


The US.

Wynn Resorts will open in Las Vegas on the 28th April. It will be mobbed from day 1 however gaming revenues will not be as spectacular as some analysts believe. Gawkers are not always gamblers.

Many new developments in Las Vegas will move on from the planning stage and the Stardust and New Frontier are favourites to see major changes during the year.

The Mandalay/MGM Mirage & Harrah's/Caesars mergers will be completed and in April they will both launch major marketing campaigns to capture some of the upswing in business generated by Wynn Las Vegas.

Las Vegas itself in 2005 will set new visitor records especially as there are numerous attractions planned to celebrate the cities 100th Birthday.

Table games, led by the continuing surge in popularity of Poker will see % gains in drop and hold far higher than slots. New Poker rooms will open at the MGM Grand and Caesars and smaller casinos will also follow suit. The WSOP, now owned by Harrah's at to be held at the Rio will again break participation records and the first prize may approach $5 million.


Indian Gaming will once again continue see see a rise in estimated revenues led by California that has now become 2nd in casino win behind Nevada.

Win in Atlantic City will be dominated by The Borgata and again tables will show significant yearly gains with slot win either static or declining.



Continental Europe and Russia

On the European continent there will be little in the way of spectacular change. Casinos Austria will consolidate themselves as the world's largest casino operator (by number of venues) with the opening of the Brussels casino and the incorporation of Spielbank Niedersachsen.

European directives on money laundering will mean that casinos across the continent continue to see declines in table game play. As opposed to the U.S. table games will remain under pressure and there will be further placements of electronic games to replace live gaming.

The state or quasi-state monopolies on gambling products in many countries will meet further legal challenges and I think by the end of the year many countries may declare that they are opening the door slightly to allow foreign or domestic competition to enter the market.


Russia and Eastern Europe

During 2005 the size and scope of many companies gaming empires will become public knowledge. Operations will seek international recognition and possible listings on financial markets.

Eastern Government's will also increasingly see the gaming industry, like they do in the west as a means to earn additional tax revenue. I would not be surprised to see Russian companies expanding west and buying smaller operations in the newer EU member states during the year.


Africa

Gaming in Africa will continue to be dominated by South Africa. Virtually every other country has operations but news and information will remain hard to find.

Tourism to Southern Africa is likely to see a significant increase in numbers following the Tsumami tagedy in Asia.


Asia & Australasia

After the tragic and appalling tsunami disaster large parts of the region will be struggling in 2005 and well beyond to get back on their feet again.

Macau will continue to dominate the gaming news and will almost certainly overtake Las Vegas for revenues during the year. Visitation from mainland China will see more very significant rises. The newer casinos will also become more adept at attracting high rollers from other Asian countries.

More U.S. owned operations will open led by Las Vegas Sands. Investors in Wynn Resorts will also start asking why their company has taken so long to enter the market.

Singapore will decide who will get the concession to build a single casino on Sentosa island. No predictions on this one, other than operators already based in the region would seem to be favourite.

In Australia casinos will lose significant numbers of players at the high end of the market to Macau. The consolidation in the industry in 2003 and 2004 however will not be repeated. Smoking bans and problem gambling legislation will also result in flat revenues for the year.

State government's will reluctantly have to seek further treatment for their addiction to revenues from slots and more cuts in the total number of Pokies outside of casinos are almost inevitable.

Australasian companies may well look at purchases overseas during 2005. Britain will see the first Aspers open and the company is a 50/50 joint venture with a subsidiary of Kerry Packer's PBL. Tabcorp and Sky City are also rumoured to be scouting for opportunities, Malaysia's Genting International certainly is.

We may also see the first headlines indicating that foreigner only casinos in China could be a possiblity for the 2008 Olympics.


Suppliers, New technology and the Internet
On the Internet revenues from online gambling will continue their very significant growth. This will be led by sports betting with Poker moving up into 2nd place.

Online casinos will move more toward offering slot and number related products. The coup by Microgaming to land Tomb Raider in 2004 will lead to more significant intelectual property being employed online. Wheel of Fortune, the most successful slot ever, is already available to non U.S. based players.

The entire online gambling/betting industry is now of such a phenomenal size that any outright efforts by the U.S. to outlaw it completely look doomed to failure. Regulation of both casino gaming and sports betting on the Internet will increasingly look to be the only sensible option available.

In the meantime European and Caribbean based sportsbooks will have another very successful year. There will also be further substantial financial transactions in the industry mirrowing or even dwarfing the Sportingbet/Paradise Poker deal.


Casino suppliers/Slot manufactures

The race to develop as many new models as possible for exibition at the gaming shows will slow in 2005. Manufacturers will instead concentrate on upgrading and re-packaging their existing products so that they remain competative in the marketplace.

The trend will continue for traditional gaming equipment suppliers to offer more complex solutions to operators. The larger profit margins on such equipment simply cannot be ignored.

Software suppliers to casinos will also continue to do well as even the smallest of operators take onboard systems that they may have previously avoided due to concerns about reliability and pricing. Gaming Commissions are now almost universally insisting that the incorporation of a slot management system, as well as possible incorporation of reception and tables is a condition of licensing.


Hand held and mobile gaming

The slot of the future will not be a big box that requires moving around. Downloadable games will take over the industry and be almost standard moving into 2006. Slot and casino games will be available on almost every portable device for communication.

2005 will also see casinos offering hand held devices that the player can take and play in the bar or restaurant. Tie ups between Internet sportsbooks and land based casinos to provide content and prices will also be in the news during the year.



That is an hour or so of my thoughts.
What do you think ? The floor is open.
Antworten
bammie:

Casinos Coming to Asia

 
12.01.05 19:09
Gambling and the Law®: Casinos Coming to Asia
by I. Nelson Rose
 

The explosion of legal gaming that is sweeping the world has finally reached Asia.

Most Asian nations have had some form of legal gambling for decades, usually lotteries and racetracks. Some are quite successful: Japan has one of the world’s largest lotteries, and nothing comes near the Hong Kong Jockey Club when it comes to bets on horse races.

Illegal and gray-market gambling have also always been big. The most blatant are the tens of thousands of pachislo machines, indistinguishable from slot machines, which now out-gross traditional pachinko machines in Japan. These gaming devices are technically legal because they do not pay out in cash. Players are paid in tokens, which the mob conveniently buys for cash.

But the gaming industry has seen few major breakthroughs in Asia, until recently. Now, every government is looking at major expansions, including bringing in casinos.

The proliferation has even hit the biggest market of all — China.


The 1950s image of an overpopulated, economically struggling, Marxist backwater is far from reality for much of 21st-century China. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) does have more than 1.2 billion people, but the country is going through an economic boom that is so spectacular that more than one observer has called it a bubble.

I am writing this in July in Beijing. Every day, the newspapers contain stories that would be unbelievable anywhere else. For example, the China Daily reported, “China’s tax revenue grew 26.2 percent in the first half of the year.” Imagine what America’s budget deficit would look like if “income tax from individuals and companies was up 28.2 percent” from the same time last year.

There are hundreds of millions of people now in the middle and upper classes. Particularly in the southern and coastal regions, and in major cities like Beijing and Xian, incomes are skyrocketing. Villas are advertised in the Shanghai papers for US$250,000 to $5 million, triple the prices of 1999.

The richest part of China is the semiautonomous Hong Kong. The South China Morning Post reported that retail “sales leaped 19.7 percent to $16.5 billion in May,” due mainly to increased tourism from the mainland.

Legal gambling is already one of the prime beneficiaries of the loosening of restrictions and a booming economy. The Hong Kong Jockey Club was only first allowed to take bets on soccer in August 2003. For its first 11 months, it reported a handle of HK$16.1 billion (US$2.06 billion) and a gross profit of HK$3.3 billion (US$423 million). I don’t know of another sportsbook in the world that makes 20 percent on more than $2 billion in bets on all events, let alone on only one sport.

The former British colony of Hong Kong has only sports betting (and the world’s most successful racetrack). The former Portuguese colony of Macau has casinos.

Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of China in 1997, Macau in 1999. Fear was rampant at the time. Was the Communist government in Beijing going to tolerate what were arguably the most wide-open, capitalist cities in the world? The answer has been, surprisingly, yes.

When Portugal controlled Macau, a company owned by one of the richest men in the world, Stanley Ho, had a monopoly on casinos. It would not have been surprising if the new government had outlawed gambling; China still considers gambling one of the few sins worthy of the death penalty. Instead, three years after the turnover, the new rulers of Macau decided to issue more casino licenses and put them out to bid. Stanley Ho did win one, but so did Steve Wynn and a Hong Kong group that issued a sublicense to another American, Sheldon G. Adelson, owner of the Venetian in Las Vegas.

In May 2004, Adelson, aided by his on-site top executives, including VP and General Counsel Thomas Smock, opened the Sands, the first new casino in Macau in 40 years.

I visited the Sands two weeks after it opened. It is a magnificent, western-style casino, which has been enormously successful by testing and, where necessary, disregarding accepted wisdom. For example, it was said that Asian gamblers would not play slot machines. The Sands installed a few video poker machines in a dark corner. The games have proven to be so popular that the casino has ordered hundreds more.

How gambling will spread depends almost entirely upon the unique laws and politics of the region.

Until recently, residents of mainland China could visit Macau only as part of a tour group. China now allows its residents to travel there independently, and the exit and entry point between Zhuhai and Macau has become one of the busiest border crossings in the world.

A string of casinos is being built in Macau, intentionally designed to conjure up comparisons with the Las Vegas Strip. Laws will first have to be changed. For example, the traditional Macau casino was nothing more than a room with table games. It made sense to keep out minors at the door. But hotel casinos have restaurants, shows, and gamblers who bring their children. Tom Smock has told me that legislation is already pending to let minors enter the buildings.

Steve Wynn forced another change in the law, when he refused to begin construction of his massive hotel-casino project until the Macau government allowed casinos to issue credit to players.

The PRC is committed to aiding the growth of casinos in Macau and sports and race betting (and shopping) in Hong Kong. Construction is beginning on the world’s second-longest bridge, spanning 19 miles across the China Sea, to connect Macau, Hong Kong, and Zhuhai.

The government has even allowed an Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming to be set up at the University of Macau. Jason Zhicheng Gao, a noted professor and expert poker player from Canada, has been recruited as the organization’s first director.

China hopes to have the best of both worlds. It can get all the jobs, tax revenue, and economic growth from legal gambling while keeping it somewhat isolated in its remoter regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

But China cannot control what other countries do. By the time you read this, Singapore also may have voted to legalize casinos. Adelson’s Sands said it would invest $2 billion if Singapore gave it a casino license. Thailand, Taiwan, and even Japan are debating the issue.

Chinese players call slot machines “tigers.” It will be interesting to see how governments will react when they realize that it is they and not the players who have caught a tiger by the tail. spades



Professor Rose is recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on gambling law

www.cardplayer.com/poker_magazine/archives/...e.php?a_id=14469
Antworten
bammie:

Macau official indicates max limit of casinos

 
14.01.05 18:51
Macau official indicates max limit of casinos for Stanley Ho

A senior economic official hinted that "18" to "19" would be the maximum number of casinos for Macau 's casino mogul Stanley Ho, according to Friday's Macau Post.
Francis Tam Pak Yuen, secretary for economic and finance of the Macau Special Administrative Region government, who oversees the gaming sector, said the government and the Macau Gaming Co Ltd ( SJM) owned by Stanley Ho were exchanging views on the issue of its maximum number of casinos, as well as the possibility of merging several small casinos into medium-sized ones.
Meanwhile, some industry insiders expected that as the government liberalized the gaming sector in 2002, Macau's total number of casinos will reach about two dozens by the end of the decade.
Ho had dominated Macau's gaming sector for 40 years before 2002, and his SJM now operates 14 casinos with two more slated to be opened shortly.
Macau's legislation on gaming business limits the number of casino-operating concessions to three. However, the number of casinos or sub-concessions that each of the three concessionaires may run is not specified by law.
Antworten
bammie:

Macau visitor arrivals up 20% in first two months

 
25.03.05 14:16
Macau visitor arrivals up 20 pct in first two months

MACAU, March 21 (Reuters) - Macau welcomed 2.92 million visitors in the first two months of 2005, up 19.6 per cent from the same period last year, the government said on Monday.

The tiny territory, the only place in China where casinos are legal, logged a record 16.67 million visitor arrivals last year and tourism officials expect the figure to rise to 20 million this year. In the first two months of the year, the Macau government collected 2.7 billion patacas ($337.5 million) in direct casino gross revenue taxes, an increase of 30.3 percent on the same period last year.

Macau's 17 casinos pay 35 percent of their gross receipts as direct tax to the public coffers.

Gambling, tourism and textile and garment exports are the mainstays of Macau's economy, which government officials say is estimated to have grown by about 25 per cent last year, compared with 15.6 per cent in 2003.
Antworten
bammie:

Es lockt der größte Zockermarkt der Welt

 
01.04.05 16:21
Alles auf Rot

Von Jörn Sucher

Jahrzehnte lang war Las Vegas die Welthauptstadt des Glückspiels. Nun schickt sich Macau an, die US-Zockermetropole vom Thron zu stoßen. Auf der Halbinsel im Süden Chinas ist ein wahrer Casinoboom ausgebrochen.

Hamburg - Sheldon Adelson, 71, sollte eigentlich nichts mehr aus der Ruhe bringen. Mit einem Vermögen von rund 15 Milliarden Dollar zählt der Chef des Casinokonzerns Sands nach Angaben des US-Magazins "Forbes" zu den 20 reichsten Personen des Planeten. Dennoch geriet der "Sugardaddy mit knallharten kapitalistischen Visionen" ("Die Zeit") jüngst in Verzückung. "Ich hatte vergangene Nacht einen Traum. Ich sah den Platz und ich sah die Kunden, um Asiens Las Vegas zu schaffen", schwärmte Adelson.

Der Casinomogul meinte Macau. Im vergangenen Jahr eröffnete Adelson als erster westlicher Akteur ein Hotelcasino auf der Halbinsel an der Südküste Chinas. Um die Zocker aus der benachbarten Volksrepublik anzulocken, baute er das 240 Millionen Dollar teure Sands nach Feng-Shui-Manier. An der Decke baumelt ein 50-Tonnen-Kronleuchter. Die Bar hat 200 Teesorten im Angebot. Vor allem die Klimaanlage begeistert die Spieler. "Hier wird mir nicht so schnell schwindelig", freute sich ein Gast.

Damit nicht genug. Derzeit wird zwischen den zu Macao gehörenden Inseln Taipa und Colonea eine neue Landmasse aufgeschüttet. Adelson will auf dem Sumpfland gemeinsam mit mehreren amerikanischen Hotelketten für zwölf Milliarden Dollar ein gigantisches Vergnügungszentrum aus dem Boden stampfen. Ein Dutzend Casinokolosse mit insgesamt 60.000 Betten soll entstehen.

Unter anderem will Adelson dort eine Kopie der Prunkherberge Venetian aus Las Vegas bauen. Das Zockermekka in Nevada stand auch Pate bei der Taufe des Projekts. In Anlehnung an die legendäre Hauptstraße der amerikanischen Zockerhochburg, den Strip, heißt das Spielerparadies in der südchinesischen See Cotai Strip.

Hongkongs Schmuddelschwester putzt sich heraus

Noch vor wenigen Jahren wäre Adelsons Milliarden-Engagement in Macau undenkbar gewesen. Lange galt die portugiesische Kolonie als schmuddlige Schwester der benachbarten Glamourmetropole Hongkong. Prostitution und Bandenkriege belasteten das Image der Stadt. Die Sicherheitskräfte beruhigten Besucher, indem sie erklärten, dass die Killer in Macau Profis seien. Diese verfehlten ihr Ziel selten. Für Unbeteiligte sei die Gefahr, bei einer Schießerei umzukommen, daher gering.

Das Glücksspiel kontrollierte ein einzelner Mann. Stanley Ho, der heute 83-jährige Vater von 17 Kindern, besaß jahrelang alle Casinos und häufte ein Milliardenvermögen an. Ausländischen Spielhallenbetreibern blieb der Zugang verwehrt.

Das änderte sich erst 1999, als die Volksrepublik China die Kontrolle über Macau übernahm. Im Gegensatz zu den portugiesischen Hausherren leitete die Regierung in Peking entscheidende Reformen ein. Die Gangster wanderten hinter Gitter. Macau bekam den Status einer Sonderverwaltungszone - während Glücksspiel auf dem Festland immer noch verboten ist, rollt die Roulettekugel dort weiter. Außerdem knackten die neuen Herrscher Hos Casinomonopol und vergaben weitere Lizenzen.

Während sich Adelsons Konsortium eine Genehmigung sicherte, ging die andere an einen weiteren Casino-Tycoon, nämlich an Steve Wynn. Wynn, dessen Vermögen "Forbes" auf 2,1 Milliarden Dollar schätzt, baut gerade in Las Vegas das mit 2,5 Milliarden Dollar teuerste Hotel der Welt. 700 Millionen Dollar will er in ein Projekt in Macau investieren.

Es lockt der größte Zockermarkt der Welt

Neben Wynn und Adelson bereitet mit Kirk Kerkorian ein dritter Big Boss aus Nevada den Einstieg in den chinesischen Markt vor. Zwar ging Kerkorians Casinogruppe MGM Mirage bei der Lizenzvergabe leer aus. Dafür hat sich der 87-Jährige mit dem Exmonopolisten Ho verbündet. Den US-Bürger Kerkorian stört dabei nicht, dass Ho Ende der Neunziger mit einer Casinoeröffnung im "Schurkenstaat" Nordkorea für Furore sorgte.

Die Casinokonzerne haben es auf den wohl größten Zockermarkt der Welt abgesehen. In der Volksrepublik entsteht derzeit eine zahlungskräftige Mittelschicht. Billigflieger könnten die Massen nach Macau chauffieren, damit diese dort ihre Ersparnisse an den Spieltischen zurücklassen. Schon heute strömen täglich 50.000 Gäste vom Festland in die Spielhallen der Sonderverwaltungszone.

Die Bosse begeistert vor allem die Spielwut der Chinesen. In Vegas hält sich ein Gast im Schnitt dreieinhalb Tage auf und verliert 140 Dollar. Zocker aus der Volksrepublik verspielen mehr als das Doppelte in der Hälfte der Zeit. Entsprechend euphorisch ist die Stimmung. Beobachter erwarten, dass die Casinos in Macau noch in diesem Jahr mehr einnehmen als die Häuser in Las Vegas.

Las-Vegas-Kopie in drei Jahren

Für das amerikanische Spielermekka wäre das bitter. Dabei hat sich Vegas schon in der Vergangenheit häufig erfolgreich gegen Angreifer gewehrt. Seit den Achtzigern befahren Casinoboote die Flüsse der USA. Insgesamt haben nunmehr 48 US-Bundesstaaten das Glücksspiel in irgendeiner Form legalisiert. All das hat nicht an der Vorherrschaft von Sin City rütteln können.

Ebenso legendär wie erfolglos war auch der Versuch, Atlantic City an der amerikanischen Ostküste als Konkurrenzveranstaltung aufzubauen. Der Baulöwe Donald Trump zog dort in den Achtzigern auf eigene Rechnung reihenweise Casinos hoch. Als ihm die Pleite drohte, brachte er seinen Konzern an die Börse und startete mit dem eingesammelten Geld einen neuen Angriffsversuch. Dieser endete im vergangenen Jahr mit dem Antrag auf Gläubigerschutz.

Doch diesmal hat Las Vegas das schlechtere Blatt. Der schieren Spielermasse in China hat die Glitzermetropole in der Wüste Nevadas kaum etwas entgegenzusetzen. Sheldon Adelson jedenfalls rechnet mit einem wahren Ansturm auf seine Betten- und Blackjack-Burgen. "Es dauerte 75 Jahre bis Las Vegas das geworden ist, was es heute ist. Wir werden dasselbe in weniger als drei Jahren schaffen", verkündete der Sands-Chef.


www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,348614,00.html



Wahnisnn :) Eine zukünftige Goldgrube :)

greetz
Antworten
Waschbär:

hört sich gut an,

 
12.04.05 19:31
hast du mir vielleicht noch ne Site auf der man sich das Handelsvolumen usw.an der Heimatbörse anschauen kann?
greetz
Antworten
bammie:

moin waschbär

 
13.04.05 07:43
na klar hier:  
www.infocastfn.com/infocast_fbx/...seaction=Home.main&LangId=1

geht aber nur mit dem IE , keine anderen Browser ;)


greetz bammie
Antworten
Waschbär:

gracias

 
14.04.05 18:38
Hab mir ein paar ins Depot gelegt.Wann sind eigentlich diese Spiele und die Casinoworld,denn dann wirds bestimmt wieder heißer hergehen mit diesem Wert?
greetz Waschbär
Antworten
bammie:

Guten Morgen

 
15.04.05 07:42
also die Asiatischen Spiele sollen dieses Jahr im Sommer beginnen, genaues Datum hab ich jetzt nicht zur Hand.


wenn du mehr News über die Welt der Casinos lesen willst, schau mal hier:

www.gamingfloor.com/Editorial.htm

greetz  
Antworten
Waschbär:

gab es news?

 
23.05.05 12:10
Aktie war ein paar Tage vom Handel ausgesetzt.
Antworten
Waschbär:

servus ihr arivaner und -innen

 
24.08.05 23:12
ist noch jemand in diese Aktie investiert?Finde diesen Wert sehr interesant und hab mir vor einiger Zeit ein paar zugelegt.Denke hier steckt auf Jahre gesehen,enormes Potenzial drin.Würde gern mal eure Meinungen hören!
greetz Wb
Antworten
lancerevo7:

.

 
04.09.06 20:47

China: Macao löst bis Ende 2006 Las Vegas als größte Kasino-Stadt ab

Macao wird zum Ende des Jahres höchstwahrscheinlich Las Vegas als größte Kasino-Stadt der Welt abgelöst haben.

Macaos Glücksspiel-Industrie nahm im ersten Halbjahr 2006 3,1 Milliarden Dollar ein, Las Vegas nahm im gesamten Jahr 2005 "nur" 3,3 Milliarden Dollar ein, gab das Büro der Glücksspiel-Industrie bekannt.

Zudem sollen in den nächsten zwölf Monaten mindestens sechs neue Kasinos entstehen, welche über 2.000 neue Tische mit sich bringen werden. 18,7 Millionen Besucher empfingen Macaos Kasinos im letzten Jahr.

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