Dr Stanley Ho, the grandfather of gambling (at least as far as Macau is concerned), has weighed in to the great Cotai debate.
Dr Ho, in remarks quoted in a sister publication to Hong Kong’s Standard newspaper, said the decision by Las Vegas Sands Corp. to cut back its development in Macau was not playing fair.
“Whenever a project cannot sustain development, thank you, give it back. Either put up it for auction or pass it to others. Then it’s fair,” Dr Ho said.
Dr Ho also had words of comfort for the staff at SJM, his casino operating company in Macau, who may have been fearing for their jobs if the current gambling revenue growth slow-down turns into a full-blown recession.
“My employees are not only treasures to me, they are extremely precious and I can’t afford to cut their jobs,” Dr Ho stated.
Oh and the King of Gambling made another confession. He never touches high-risk investments.
“I cannot gamble because I hold a gaming licence and am accustomed not to gamble or even speculate.”
Perhaps there’s a lesson there for all of us.
