Potential OLG Partner Scrutinized

Published: August 21, 2012 02:08 pm EDT

It has been reported that increased scrutiny regarding the relationship between MGM Resorts International and controversial Hong Kong businesswoman Pansy Ho could jeopardize a proposed project which could see an $800 million casino come to the National Harbor area of Prince George’s County, Maryland. MGM Resorts International has also lobbied hard to become a partner in the OLG's gaming modernization strategy for the Province of Ontario.

An article by the Las Vegas Review-Journal states that Pansy Ho is the daughter of the controversial Stanley Ho. International law enforcement agencies have alleged that Stanley's fortunes are under the influence, to an undetermined extent, of Chinese organized crime groups. The report explains that in 2010, New Jersey gaming regulators did not approve of Pansy's involvement with MGM. The regulators stated that Stanley provided Pansy with 90 per cent of her 50 per cent ownership stake in the MGM Grand Macau.

Multiple gaming lobbyists --- notably MGM --- have set their sites on Ontario since the McGuinty Liberal Government inexplicably announced earlier this year that it would be walking away from the mutually beneficial slots-at-racetracks program with the vast provincial horse-racing industry in March, 2013. The SAR Program has annually delivered roughly $1.1 billion in revenue to the provincial government since its implementation. The provincial horse-racing industry employs in upwards of 60,000 Ontarians and is responsible for a massive economic spinoff structure which annually contributes roughly $2 billion in impact on the province every year.

(With files from the Las Vegas Review-Journal)

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