Both legal tussles where the two are involved have become so intense that they have already dragged US federal agencies into the picture as there have been allegations of gross violations by the main protagonists of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. While some industry observers insist that Adelson may not be directly at fault for the legal complications, this may not even be a major issue in the long run.
When the casino business finally broke ground in Singapore, it decided to award just a couple of operating licenses. The Singapore experience eventually set the standards as other Asian markets viewed it as the perfect template for their respective casino operations. Thus, it became a norm for most oriental markets to have few brides pursued by many suitors. And with the expected competing bids having similar numbers, it would be interesting to note whether Asian governments would prefer the more acerbic American casino execs over their more conservative and soft-spoken Asian counterparts.
Matthew Ossolinski, head of an emerging markets fund that is investing in gambling and casino operations, has told Reuters recently: “Since their entry into the Macau gambling market, all three major Las Vegas-based casino operators have had their share of controversies that have caused disgrace and loss of face of their Chinese business partners and by government officials. Some industry players are now wondering if they have made the right decision or not.” However, there are no clear indications that these negative developments and bad publicity will adversely affect the Asian business prospects of these Las Vegas operators. In the event that there will be significant repercussions, then it would come off as an ironic departure from what used to transpire in the past when US regulators would openly criticize and question their casino licensees over their choice of Asian partners.
Posted on: April 27, 2012
Back to April 2012's archive
Back to latest News |
Del.icio.us
Digg
Google
Spurl
Furl
Simpy
Y! MyWeb