POLICE probing the murky world of Hong Kong's casino ships face a high stakes industry where ownership is obscured behind a web of offshore companies.
Three local companies manage four ships, all registered with ''flags of convenience'' and all raising the ire of Macau casino king Stanley Ho.
The 25-year-old New Orient Princess, now ablaze beached off Junk Bay, has undergone four name changes on paper in the past 12 months.
Lloyd's Shipping Intelligence may list a Panamanian company, Gatmore Enterprises, as its final owners, but Post sources said the ship was controlled by a small group of local high-rolling punters turned investors.
The source, until recently a shareholder, said that to turn a profit the owners must attract big bets to compete with Mr Ho's established set-up in Macau.
''It's undisciplined and dangerous, not a good a trade to be in when the owners are playing your money as if they were on the other side of the table.
''These people are gamblers themselves, they lure in their friends and they seek big money.'' The ships also attract professional gamblers whose faces are often unwelcome in Macau.