Why would Ho want to go? The run-down enclave, dotted with pastel colonial buildings and empty high-rises, has been racked with mob violence–kidnappings, murders and car bombings–in the past three years as competing triad societies have vied for control over VIP rooms, the high-roller gambling dens that Ho licensed out. Ho’s gambling monopoly may be up for grabs. Furious that the town has been overrun by gangsters, Chinese leaders are rumored to be considering divvying up the city’s nine casinos when his license expires in 2001. Ho, according to a relative, is “doing his best to negotiate with the Chinese” and often flies to Beijing. “He is definitely hedging his bets,” says a Hong Kong banker who follows Ho’s businesses.
There’s quite a bit to hedge against. The Portuguese government is struggling to show that it hasn’t totally lost control to the gangsters. Alleged triad king Wan Kuok-koi, a.k.a. Broken Tooth, went on trial last week on triad-related charges. Wan reportedly wants to be acquitted before the Chinese move in and impose the death penalty. “The Chinese know exactly where the triad members live, where their money comes from,” says Ho’s relative. “They have been investigating these guys for years.” Even from prison, Wan reportedly wields power. The trial’s first judge quit in fear. A new Portuguese judge says he will not be intimidated, unlike “everyone” else.
Ho denies that his VIP rooms are to blame for the violence; he points out that they have bolstered gambling revenue, which constitutes 60 percent of Macau’s taxes, during the Asian financial crisis. Meanwhile, the Filipinos aren’t exactly welcoming Ho. Cardinal Jaime Sin said a “culture of gambling will lead us to a generation of lazy adults.”
“Times are changing; we are entering into a new era, Macau being Chinese,” says author Sa. “[Stanley Ho] may no longer be the right guy.” Start spinning those roulette wheels, Manila.
