A Gordian knot of interests tie together the gaming markets of Las Vegas, Macau and future sites for development. A couple of these strands threaten MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM)'s expansion plans.
One end of the knot is in Macau. Billionaire Stanley Ho was in on the ground floor of development there, at one time owning more than three-fourths of all the casinos. His share has dropped substantially with the influx of new developers, including the Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) and Wynn Resorts, Ltd (NASDAQ:WYNN).
How does this add up to trouble for American firms? Under Stanley Ho's leadership, the Ho family was long suspected of having ties to organized crime. This suspicion has caused the children and their partners a great deal of difficulty in gaining permission for developments in other parts of Southeast Asia.
$72.48 (02/06/07)
