The Macau Metro Monitor, August 30, 2011

SANDS CHINA STILL WAITING FOR COURTS TO RULE ON PARCELS 7 AND 8 Macau Business, Vegas Inc

No decision has been made by the Court of Second Instance regarding Sands China's appeal of Macau govt's rejection of its application for Sites 7 & 8.  Meanwhile, the Nevada Supreme Court has ordered Judge Gonzalez to take another look at whether Sands China is subject to being sued in Nevada.  The court ordered that proceedings in Jacobs’ lawsuit against Las Vegas Sands and Sands China be put on hold until that matter is resolved.  That process is likely to take months.

The Supreme Court order states, "The District Court’s order … does not state that it has reviewed the matter on a limited basis to determine whether prima facie (presumed to be true) grounds for personal jurisdiction exist; it simply denies petitioner’s (Sands China’s) motion to dismiss, with no mention of a later determination after consideration of evidence, whether at a hearing before trial or at trial. While the order refers to the District Court’s comments at oral argument on the motion, the transcript reflects only that the District Court concluded there were 'pervasive contacts' between petitioner (Sands China) and Nevada, without specifying any of those contacts."

JUNKETS 'ENCOURAGE MONEY LAUNDERING': WIKI CABLES Macau Daily Times

According to a leaked 2009 US diplomatic cable titled ‘The Macau SAR economy at 10: Even jackpots have consequences,’ the dependence on junkets is known as "a formula that facilitates if not encourages money laundering."  The report also says “oversights of both casinos and junket operators is limited and remains a serious weakness in Macau’s AML [Anti-Money Laundering] regime”.