Category: Philippines casinos

Thailand makes unprecedented casino push

Wat Arun Ratchawararam (Temple of Dawn) – Image by Wiroj Sidhisoradej on Freepik

Thailand’s drive to legalize casinos as part of large entertainment complexes strives to duplicate Singapore’s stunning Marina Bay Sands. But Thailand doesn’t seem ready to create the regulatory structure to support Singapore style integrated resorts. Perhaps it really has something different in mind.

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is Asia editor at large for iGaming Business, a longtime contributor to Forbes, columnist for Asia Times and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about TV news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his biography, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook, ex-Twitter @MuhammadCohen and LinkedIn.

October 22, 2024
Macau junket boss arrest sends wide shock waves

Suncity leader Alvin Chau’s arrest escalates China’s crackdown on its citizens gambling and illegal money transfers. (Photo provided by Suncity Group.)

The arrest of Suncity chief Alvin Chau and others from the leading Macau junket promoter dramatically escalates China’s efforts to limit its citizens’ gambling activities and illegal overseas money transfers.

Suncity’s Hong Kong listed arm, which excludes its junket business but holds stakes in casino properties Hoiana in Vietnam and Tigre di Crystal in Russia plus a casino hotel under development in Manila’s Entertainment City, says Chau plans to resign as its chairman and CEO.

My ICE365 article on Genting’s licensing in Nevada while discounting its Philippines business highlights how regulators around the world have perfected the art of diminishing, if not disregarding, inconvenient facts. In Macau, at least for now, the authorities have lost their blinders when it comes to Suncity. This story has barely begun to unfold.

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a columnist for ICE 365, a contributor to Forbes, columnist/correspondent for Asia Times, and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.

December 1, 2021
Bank of Bangladesh money trail crosses Macau

The US$101 million theft from the Bank of Bangladesh account at the US Federal Reserve Bank of New York saw a majority of the funds sent the Philippines, much of it laundered via Manila gambling tables. A new BBC World Service podcast, The Lazarus Heist, looks at the theft in the broader context of North Korea hacking and other criminal activities. It’s a thoroughly compelling yarn.

Podcast producers reached out to me to help them understand the casino business in Asia. Some of my comments about Macau are featured in the ninth installment of the series, which begins in earnest around the seven minute mark, with my remarks beginning after 14:30.

I’m delighted to say that fellow CNN alumnus Mike Chinoy is also featured in the same podcast episode, sharing his insights into North Korea. During my 1991-1995 tenure in the CNN newsroom, amid the William Kennedy Smith (Blue Dot) rape trial and the OJ Simpson murder trial, Chinoy’s unflinchingly honest reporting from Beijing and North Korea – along with Christiane Amanpour’s life saving work in Bosnia – made us proud to be associated with the network.

Former US diplomat and broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a columnist for iGaming Business, a contributor to Forbes and Inside Asian Gaming, columnist/correspondent for Asia Times, and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.

June 29, 2021
Melco Crown needs City of Dreams Manila jackpot

Macau casino operator Melco Crown’s new City of Dreams Manila resort needs to hit the jackpot to put the Philippine capital on the global gaming map and to show that the company can create a successful property in a challenging environment. Melco Crown’s sons of billionaires co-chairmen Lawrence Ho and James Packer have enlisted the star power of Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese to aid their cause.

Totally globalized native New Yorker and former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen is a blogger for Forbes and author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set in his adopted hometown during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie. See his bio, online archive and more at www.muhammadcohen.com; follow him on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.

March 14, 2015