Inside Asian Gaming

IAG JUN 2020年6月 亞博匯 32 Ho was widely accused of underworld ties but never charged or convicted of any crime. He abandoned casino efforts in the Philippines and Australia amid doubts he’d get licensed. Beyond Macau, Ho ran casinos in North Korea and Portugal, where he received the Great Cross of the Order of Prince Henrique, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and, as in Macau, had a street named for him during his lifetime. New Jersey relented on its Pansy Ho ruling after she reduced her stake in MGM China and MGM failed to find a buyer for its share of Atlantic City’s Borgata. Stanley Ho was appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1990 New Year Honors, to go along with top awards from Macau and Hong Kong. Probity questions aside, junket rooms represented a major business advance. STDM received an upfront payment, rent, guaranteed chip sales and a percentage of revenue while cutting marketing and administrative 持股，當中包括連鎖總公司於1997年破產、並由何鴻燊拯救的澳 門唯一一間百貨公司新八佰伴。當時，澳門人花出的每一筆錢都 至少有一部分被何鴻燊收入囊中。 棋高一著 何鴻燊在其賭場內引入了貴賓廳，即由博彩中介人在娛樂 場內經營的所謂賭場中的賭場。金融研究員Angela Veng Mei Leong（與其第四任妻子梁安琪並無關聯）在2002年的一篇學術 論文中寫道，在貴賓廳出現於澳門之前，「三合會的力量有限，因 為他們沒有直接進入賭場的行政管理，只能從高利貸及其他『輔 助』非法活動，如賣淫、販毒及走私等獲取有限的利潤……20世紀 80年代，貴賓廳及疊碼仔的出現（利用泥碼的轉碼業務），在賭場 中為三合會開闢了一個法外之域。」 何鴻燊被廣泛認為與黑社會有牽連，但從未被檢控或定罪。 他曾因圍繞其是否可獲得賭牌的疑問而放棄了染指菲律賓及澳 洲的博彩業務。澳門之外，何鴻燊還在朝鮮及葡萄牙經營賭場。他 曾獲葡萄牙授予平民的最高榮譽殷皇子大十字勛章，並且與澳門 一樣，葡萄牙亦有一條仍在世時即以其命名的街道。新澤西州在 COVER STORY