The Macau Metro Monitor, March 19, 2013
LAS VEGAS SANDS CHALLENGES MIDDLEMAN'S CLAIMS OVER MACAU LICENSE Bloomberg
A trial is scheduled for next week in Nevada state court over claims by HK businessman Richard Suen that he helped LVS win a license to run a casino in the Macau territory in 2002 and that the company reneged on an agreement to pay him a “success fee.” A Nevada appeals court in 2010 reversed a $43.8 million jury award two years earlier in favor of Suen and sent the case back for a new trial.
Clark County District Court Judge Rob Bare in Las Vegas is scheduled to hear arguments today on pre-trial motions. Jury selection is to start March 27 with opening statements the following week. Adelson will take the stand April 4, according to court minutes.
Suen has claimed that it was through “guanxi,” a Chinese term for personal or human relationships, that he and his friends helped paved the way with Chinese government and Communist Party officials for the Macau license approval. Suen said that following meetings in Beijing, LVS offered him and his group a deal, which evidence from the first trial showed was worth as much as $96.2 million if LVS received a Macau gaming license. The company countered that Suen never provided evidence that linked the Beijing meetings with Macau officials selecting LVS to operate a casino.
XI URGES MACAU TO LAY GROUNDWORK FOR LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT Macau News
China President Xi pointed out that Macau is enjoying a “relatively good period” right now. However, according to Xinhua, he was quick to add that the city’s future development was also facing a string of challenges.
“I hope to enhance the sense of the Macau Special Administrative Region government and the community to take advantage of favourable timing and conditions, study to solve the outstanding problems that are restricting [Macau’s] development and to lay a solid foundation for Macau’s long-term development,” said Xi.
Meanwhile Macau CEO Chui said that the president and premier stressed the importance of collaboration among the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau. Chui promised that the Macau government would further strengthen its two main cooperation projects with the mainland, namely the development of Hengqin Island in Zhuhai and Guangzhou’s Nansha district.