In the blood
“There appears to be something about Chinese culture and social life that encourages gambling,” said Loren Tepperman, a sociologist at the University of Toronto, noting that many Chinese start betting when children in family games.
Across Asia, opportunities for gambling have proliferated.
Millions of mainland tourists pour into casinos in Macau, the only city in China where […]
Whales ahoy
Las Vegas has long relied on “whales”, or players who bet up to US$5 million in the course of a single trip, and Asian tycoons like Oei Hong Leong of the wealthy Indonesian-Chinese Widjaja attract media attention at the gaming tables.
One ethnic Chinese billionaire reportedly gave a US$1 million credit line to his daughter when […]
Sharks’ fin soup
Las Vegas Sands has exported its exclusive “Paiza Club,” which offers personal concierge and limousine services, from Macau to its Venetian Resort, known for its canals and gondolas.
“The fact that we have a club like this in a Venice-themed building in the middle of Vegas tells you the degree to which we cater to our […]
Down but not out, Lebanon casino and cabarets battle on
JUNIEH, Lebanon - From the glamour of the Casino du Liban for the high society to downright seedy bars for the low-life, Lebanon even in wartime caters for all tastes.
“The show must go on” has long been the motto of the casino nestled on a hill on the tip of the Bay of Junieh, located […]
Casino Prince’s owner bids for fairy tale Golden Slipper success
SYDNEY — If Casino Prince lives upto his favourite billing at the A$3 million Golden Slipper, it will be a fairy tale come true. His owner Steve Smith, an ambulance driver in Sydney, won Casino Prince in a raffle at Sydney’s Star City Casino.
Casino Prince, trained by Anthony Cummings, son of the legendary Bart, has […]
Mirage to develop hotels with Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala
NEW YORK - US casino operator MGM Mirage Inc. MGM.N said on Thursday it was forming a joint venture with Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co. to develop luxury nongaming hotels and resorts around the world.
“The combination of MGM Mirage’s operational expertise and Mubadala’s extensive resources will create a formidable hotel company,” Mubadala’s Chief Executive Khaldoon […]
Billionaire Stanley Ho opens new casino in booming Macau
MACAU - Billionaire gambling king Stanley Ho celebrated the long-awaited opening Sunday of his Grand Lisboa casino a gleaming gold complex that is Ho’s biggest response to American rivals who have stormed into Macau and seized big chunks of the gaming market.
Ho unveiled his latest casino shaped like a giant lotus flower _ just days […]
Casinos could be dirty money avenue: Asian group
MANILA - Casinos, including those on the Internet, top the list of potential money laundering routes and an upcoming study will investigate how much they are being used to wash dirty money, a regional body said on Thursday.
Real estate, jewellery and dealers in high-value goods such as precious metals and stones were other avenues for […]
Macau jackpot winner may lose multi-million dollar prize
HONG KONG - A Hong Kong woman who won 43 million dollars in a Macau casino may not get her money because the slot machine was not working properly, the territory’s gaming inspector said on Sunday.
The machine showed the woman had won the equivalent of 5.5 million US dollars after putting in just five Hong […]
It’s not cricket! Warne penalised over poker text
CANBERRA - Australian test cricket great Shane Warne has been caught out by another text message on the first day of his new career as a poker professional.
Warne, who retired from Test cricket last year with a record 708 wickets, was given a five minute penalty for sending a text message during a poker game […]