New Jersey regulators are no longer so uncomfortable with Pansy Ho as MGM Resorts International’s partner in Atlantic City.
The Casino Control Commission in 2010 had found Ms Ho, a daughter of Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho, unsuitable as a New Jersey licensee on the basis of her father’s alleged ties to organized crime. The ruling forced MGM to put its 50% stake in The Borgata up for sale in order to continue operating its far more lucrative casino in Macau.
But much has changed since. The CCC no longer exists, the state’s famously stringent regulatory regime has been loosened in the wake of Atlantic City’s declining fortunes, and now The Wall Street Journal reports that officials within the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement, which supplied the information used to blacklist Ms Ho, are discussing whether to reconsider their earlier determination regarding her.
It was a determination MGM always disputed. Neither Stanley nor Pansy Ho have ever been charged with a crime. Other US jurisdictions, notably Nevada, have found nothing wrong with the Ho connection. Add in the fact that with Atlantic City gaming revenues tumbling the last five years, MGM has been unable to get the price its wants for its Borgata stake, the percepton could be that it’s in the city’s best interests to keep the Las Vegas-based resort giant in town.
State Senator Jim Whelan, who represents Atlantic City, said regulators may have been too tough on MGM and could be changing their approach as the gambling industry has matured and has become less influenced by criminal elements. “The reality is that MGM has been licensed all over the world, and this is something that should have another look,” he said.
“The question is: Is this a new time because the city is in such a dire financial situation?” said Gary Ehrlich, a former deputy director of the DGE. “New Jersey could say it is the best regulator in the world, but then Atlantic City closes down, and where’s the glory in that? Maybe they’re becoming more realistic.”
The division declined to comment, the Journal said.
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