MACAU DAILY TIMES
US-based casino operator MGM MIRAGE [now MGM Resorts International] tried to sell its 50% stake in MGM Grand Macau [now MGM Macau] during the global financial crisis of 2008-09, according to a May 2009 US government diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.
MGM Macau president Grant Bowie is quoted as saying that “for the past several months, as part of its asset divestiture plans, MGM has sought to divest all or part of its 50 percent share” in the joint-venture with local businesswoman Pansy Ho Chiu King.
But MGM’s intention was thwarted after New Jersey gaming authorities found Ho to be an ‘unsuitable’ partner.
“Bowie felt the report could diminish the attractiveness of MGM’s investment in Macau, as potential investors may ‘become shy’ about partnering with Pansy Ho,” the cable says.
The MGM executive said the report unfairly criticised Pansy Ho “for the sins of her father”. “Pansy knows where the edge of legality is for our casino operations and she helps keep us away from there. We lose business because of it,” he added.
In a later cable, signed September 2009, Bowie is quoted as saying that Ho was called to Beijing “several times in 2009 to advise the Beijing government about developments in Macau, including Macau Government plans and efforts to diversify Macau’s economy away from gaming”.
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