HONG KONG (AFP)--Pansy Ho, heir-apparent to the Macau casino
empire run by her tycoon father Stanley Ho, said Wednesday she was
studying a U.S. ruling that she was an "unsuitable" partner for
gaming giant MGM Mirage (MGM).
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement also recommended
the company be "directed to disengage itself from any business
association" with Pansy Ho, who owns 50% of the $1.25 billion MGM
Grand Macau.
The report was revealed in a filing by MGM to the U.S. stock
exchange late Tuesday.
The regulator didn't give any reason for its findings in the
filing.
Pansy Ho said in a statement she was aware of the regulator's
report to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, which has the
power to issue and revoke gaming licenses in the state.
She said: "I and my advisers will need time to read and consider
the contents of the report and decide how best to respond to it in
due course."
MGM Mirage's partnership with Pansy Ho has been approved by
regulators in four other U.S. states - Nevada, Illinois, Michigan
and Mississippi - where the company operates casinos, reports
said.
The Financial Times said the regulator's finding could
jeopardize MGM Mirage's license for its casino in Atlantic City,
but the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong quoted MGM as saying
the recommendation was "not binding."
New Jersey formally launched its investigation into Pansy Ho's
partnership with MGM Mirage in late 2005.
"Stanley Ho is a wealthy Chinese businessman who has been the
subject of numerous public allegations suggesting that he has ties
to Asian organized crime," the New Jersey attorney general's office
said in its 2005 annual report, according to the Post.
The regulator's "investigation focuses on the relationship of
Pansy Ho and her father," the newspaper reported.
Pansy Ho is the eldest child by her father's third wife and, is
one of the principal heirs to his business empire.
Stanley Ho had enjoyed a monopoly over Macau's gaming market for
four decades until the government began issuing licenses to
overseas casino operators in 2002. He has never been accused of any
wrongdoing in Macau or Hong Kong, where his corporate flagships are
listed.
The 600-room MGM Grand Macau was opened in the former Portuguese
enclave in 2007, but has since struggled amid fierce competition
and a recent decline in the number of mainland Chinese tourists
following a visa curb by Beijing.