Stanley Ho has long been a controversial figure and recent reports from New South Wales in Australia suggest he is about to become the subject of further controversy. He has, according to the Malaysian Star newspaper, apparently made contributions to the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to the tune of A$109,000 (US$85,680) and is surmised to be pushing for a second casino in Sydney. Labor will be contesting the New South Wales elections next month.

In 1994 a Sydney casino licence was awarded to a consortium headed by Las Vegas’s Showboat. The Packer Group, which owns and operates the only casinos in Melbourne and Perth, unsuccessfully appealed the decision. Following the opening of the Star City Casino in Sydney in 1995, the operators were given exclusivity for 12 years. This will end in six months time and the Packer Group is expected to try for another licence.

The joint venture partnership PBL Melco, between James Packer’s Publishing and Broadcasting and Lawrence Ho’s Melco International Development Ltd has three casino projects in Macau as well as the Mocha slots venues there. Melco International Development Ltd, a Hong Kong listed company, has father Stanley Ho and his Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau both as substantial shareholders.

Crown Macau is scheduled to open this year and the prospect of a future Crown Casino in Sydney would be worth some lobbying. It is thought unlikely that any decision on licensing a second Sydney casino would be made before the elections, and then only if the Australian Labor Party retains control of the New South Wales government. (E-02.19.07)

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